From the site:
In Washington-speak, “means-testing” is a scheme to deny or reduce Medicare and Social Security benefits for people who are “too wealthy” in the name of saving money. It’s a counterproductive, harmful idea, but one that well-intentioned liberals often end up embracing.
From the site:
It was a bad idea from the get-go but new research shows that America’s 401(k) revolution has left us even worse off than we thought. Here’s a look at how we got into this mess and where it will take us if we don’t wise up.
From the site:
Last year, a pair of researchers from Duke University published a report with a bold title: “The End of the Segregated Century.” U.S. cities, the authors concluded, were less segregated in 2012 than they had been at any point since 1910. But less segregated does not necessarily mean integrated–something this incredible map makes clear in vivd color.
From the site:
Of course, you can understand why these people are so upset. Miss America, after all, is a very powerful position — she signs all of our laws and treaties. That's why the crown should only go to a white girl from Texas with big horse teeth.
But Nina Davuluri just won a beauty contest. She didn't do anything truly evil, like giving people health insurance. But her parents are from India, so she's an Arab. (audience laughter)
http://psp.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/08/19/0146167213501699.full#aff-1
From the site:
Americans may be more narcissistic now than ever, but narcissism is not evenly distributed across social strata. Five studies demonstrated that higher social class is associated with increased entitlement and narcissism. Upper-class individuals reported greater psychological entitlement (Studies 1a, 1b, and 2) and narcissistic personality tendencies (Study 2), and they were more likely to behave in a narcissistic fashion by opting to look at themselves in a mirror (Study 3). Finally, inducing egalitarian values in upper-class participants decreased their narcissism to a level on par with their lower-class peers (Study 4). These findings offer novel evidence regarding the influence of social class on the self and highlight the importance of social stratification to understanding basic psychological processes.
http://billmoyers.com/2013/08/27/a-plutocracy-ruled-by-self-centered-jerks/
From the site:
Two studies released last week confirmed what most of us already knew: the ultra-wealthy tend to be narcissistic and have a greater sense of entitlement than the rest of us, and Congress only pays attention to their interests. Both studies are consistent with earlier research.
http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/jay-bookman/2013/sep/11/there-tipping-point-wealth-concentration/
From the site:
Mining anonymous tax-return data compiled by the IRS, economist Emmanuel Saez reaches some telling statistical conclusions about the aftermath of the Great Recession and its disparate impact on American families:
http://toomuchonline.org/federal-regulators-finally-mind-the-gap
From the site:
Watching grown men fulminate in public can be an unnerving experience. Michael Piwowar and Daniel Gallagher — two distinctly CEO-friendly members of the five-person federal Securities and Exchange Commission — did plenty of fulminating last week.
http://otherwords.org/trumped-war-welfare/
From the site:
One way the top 1 percent is trying to ease concerns about inequality is pretending that our safety net is too generous to the bottom 1 percent.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101038089
From the site:
The 400 richest Americans are now worth a combined $2 trillion, according to Forbes.
From the site:
If you know anyone who still believes in a "liberal media," here's 15 things everyone would know if there really were a "liberal media" (inspired by Jeff Bezos' purchase of The Washington Post).
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/25/income-inequality_n_3814333.html
From the site:
Income inequality increased dramatically between 1979 and 2007, when a global financial crisis rocked not just the U.S. but the entire world. But maybe things have turned around since then? No. Just take a look at what happened in 2011:
Chris has it right – watch this video to understand how best to achieve political change in our society.
Researcher Paul Piff is really onto something with his research. Google his name to read more about his excellent work.
From the site:
The rich just love to look at themselves in the mirror. And that's only one of many signs that they're more narcissistic than everyone else, according to new research.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/27/how-dr-king-shaped-my-work-in-economics/?_r=2
From the site:
I had the good fortune to be in the crowd in Washington when the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his thrilling “I Have a Dream” speech on Aug. 28, 1963. I was 20 years old, and had just finished college. It was just a couple of weeks before I began my graduate studies in economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
