Income-Inequality Gap Widens

The gap between rich and poor is growing.

• Widening Gap: The wealthiest Americans' share of national income has hit a postwar record, surpassing the highs reached in the 1990s bull market, and highlighting the divergence of economic fortunes blamed for fueling anxiety among American workers.

• Behind the Numbers: Scholars attribute rising inequality to several factors, including technological change that favors those with more skills, and globalization and advances in communications that enlarge the rewards available to "superstar" performers whether in business, sports or entertainment.

Changing the tax structure to improve this situation is not enough. Pay attention to this as the Democrats discuss it in the coming election.

WHAT IS GOING ON??? Getting sued for music piracy.

WHAT IS GOING ON? A woman just got sued by the The Recording Industry Association of America, representing six record labels, for music sharing and guess what? She lost. How much was the verdict for her illegally shared 24 songs over file-sharing site Kazaa? $220,000.

I don't know how to respond to this. A service comes out that allows you to share music but actually doing it is illegal. I know this is like the pipe and grass (marijuana) argument but come on! Millions of people did/do this. Are all going to be procesecuted? This just defies common sense. Unfortunately much of what goes on in the legal and political world around us doesn't either.

NOTE: Many of the 30,000 people sued by the RIAA have settled, for an average of $4,000.

The Power of Mindfulness

"Mindfulness" is the practice of focusing one's self in the present. Things like paying attention to your mood, heart rate, temperature, stress level, etc. By focusing like this you recognize things that may have escaped you previously or feelings you may be ignoring. Many people practice mindfulness as part of meditation.

Recently researchers at UCLA compared those who were more "mindful" to those who were not by monitoring their brain activity. Their finding was that those were more mindful experienced less negative emotions and showed greater calmness in their brain activity.

So based on this research we know that mindfulness works, but what it doesn't tell you is that it is not easy. It takes discipline and focus. When we are busy with deadlines, errands, and are bombarded by the information that surrounds us every day, it becomes quite difficult to focus on the present and on one's self. As a result some of us neglect ourselves to a point of extreme emotional discomfort that goes beyond the point that a little mindfulness each day can clear up. That is why we need to remember to be mindful everyday, even if just for a few minutes. You may already do this and not even know it. Possibly when you walking, cooking, or taking a shower part of your mind wanders into thinking about your current state. Remember the importance of these times especially when the more stressful moments arise.

Fat Tax

"LONDON (Reuters) - A "fat tax" on salty, sugary and fatty foods could save thousands of lives each year, according to a study published on Thursday. Researchers at Oxford University say that charging Value Added Tax (VAT) at 17.5 percent on foods deemed to be unhealthy would cut consumer demand and reduce the number of heart attacks and strokes."

A fat tax? Funny idea, maybe a good one though. I am usually against the government interfering with people's freedoms. I'm the first to say that people need to take personal responsibility for what they eat. However, as this article points out, this tax would hit the poorest groups the hardest. They try to use this as a point against the fat tax when in actuality it is the most important reason we need it. Lower socioeconomic groups also suffer the most from poor diets. The truth is that most inexpensive foods (i.e. fast foods) are also the most unhealthy, while healthy, fresh foods are significantly more expensive (been to Whole Foods lately?) making them inaccessible to the poor.

The point is that everyones got to eat but the poor have far less healthy options (ever seen a Whole Foods in Watts, or Compton?). Couldn't a tax like this be used to tilt the scales the other way? Possibly, tax unhealthy food and subsidize wholesome options???

Oh, and if you were wondering about why this matters to people like you and I, I can tell you that the increased health care costs of the poor come out of our tax dollars, which are directly related to diet and other lifestyle differences.

Models Banned for Being Too Skinny

"I absolutely don't want models who are too skinny... They are a bad example for young generations." Explained designer Raffaella Curiel who fired 15 models from her show in Rome because they were too skinny, complying with a fashion code signed by the Italian industry last year to combat anorexia.

I had never heard about this ban that came in the wake of a 21-year-old Brazilian model's death from anorexia a month earlier. At the time of her death the 5-foot-8 inch model weighed 88 pounds.

We all obviously understand the reasoning behind these new regulations but I am curious to know about the weight and height of the 15 models banned form the show. I mean where do you draw the line? I think anorexia and other eating disorders have a lot more to do with self-confidence and satisfaction than creating a certain appearance. Maybe this is the first step to make improvements or possibly a inane stab at addressing a problem that is more complex than we perceive it to be from the outside in.

The Tattoo Issue

"Nearly 50% of Americans between 21 and 32 have at least one tattoo or a piercing other than in an ear, according to a 2006 study by the University of Chicago and Northwestern University. Men and women alike say their tattoos make them feel sexy and rebellious, a 2003 Harris Poll found, while the unadorned of both genders see body art as unsightly and think those with tattoos and piercings are less intelligent and less attractive."

As I mentioned in my previous entry about emergence of Generation X & Y groups into working society, things are changing whether employers and institutions like it or not. Tattoos are becoming more and more popular especially with those who are thought to be creative or expressive types. Yet at the same time employers with "old school" values still find them unprofessional and even offensive.

It's interesting what people choose to judge as bad or no big deal. Simply think about what a tattoo is: A piece of art on someones body. Yet the stereotype that it carries is one that would be wholly unacceptable if it were geared toward something like race, gender or sexual preference. As the article explains, some of the world's largest organizations still have rules prohibit ting the employment of individuals who cannot cover all their tattoos. That is harsh, but I understand why they do it. They are scared that they will loose the business of their conservative customers, who have little else to do with there time then to be upset by someone elses appearance.

Now I know that tat's historically have certain affiliations with those from undesirous groups but when the statistics show that 50% of 21 to 32 year olds have at least one tattoo or a piercing other than in an ear, then perceptions have to change. It's now like all these people of gangsta's, or ex-cons.

Generation X & Y - What the Future Holds...

I recently attended a conference focused on the unique generational shift that is currently going on. The Baby Boomers (born 1944-1962) are getting old while Generation X'rs (born 1963-1981) are taking their roles as adults, and Generation Y's (born after 1981) are entering the workforce. What does this all mean??? Society is going to change quite a bit.

Interestingly generation X is one of the smallest generations since The Depression, but is sandwiched between two of histories largest generations, the Baby Boomers and Generation Y. This is why you've heard that organizations are very concerned about the aftermath of the Baby Boomer retirement. The fear is that there will be a shortage of quality employees to not only take the roles left empty by exiting Baby Boomers but also the question of who will manage the large group of younger generation Y employees.

This put's Generation X'rs in a very unique position as the intermediaries between two very different groups that have and will shape the world as we know it. How are these groups different? To help you with this imagine each of the following people as representatives to their respective generations (I didn't come up with these):

Baby Boomers - Bill Gates

Generation X - (None, that's why we are signified by the X)

Generation Y - Paris Hilton

Now, you may look at these representations and come to the simplified conclusion that I think those from the Y generation are idiots and that our society is going downhill, but you'd be wrong. Many people actually believe this point of view to be true and justify their concerns with evidence about how Y's are unwilling to work hard, can't focus, and are clueless when it comes to social interaction (e.g. showing respect for their elders). But this is only a shallow view of what this group brings to the table.

The Bad Background: Y's were raised by wealthy, protective, and overworked Baby Boomer parents taking excellent care of them (or at least hiring someone to do so). As a result they have a great feeling of entitlement and little discipline. They don't believe in sacrificing today for happiness tomorrow. They want to be happy today and tomorrow. To go along with this is a deeply ingrained feeling of equality. In there eye's people are people; things like age are not significant or justifications for special treatment (remember these are the kids having temper tantrums in the market, yelling at their parents because they tried to stop them from getting Power Ranger cereal). Again this all sounds negative, but look a bit deeper and you may see things a bit differently.

• When studying spiritual literature one is constantly reminded of the idea of focusing on the moment instead of dwelling on the past or anticipating the unknown of the future. Y's do this naturally.


• Feelings of entitlement combined with equality create a high standard for all to live up to. What I mean is, that someone who feels entitled has high expectations for themselves irrespective of the work they do or sacrifices they make. When this is combined with broadly supported feelings of equality with no thought of age, race, and gender then these high standards are expected for all.

Now, these characteristics don't appear to be as bad as they did before, do they?. When you add to this that Y's are resourceful, creative and fully integrated into the systems that Boomers still can't fully comprehend, and X's barely have a handle on, you find a group that is truly unique and definitely not inferior. That is except in one area: Focus.

It still waits to be seen whether Y's will have problems focusing on anything for long enough to really make any sizable impact. This is where the information overload, lack of discipline and constant connectivity may have hurt our newest generation. Will they be able to focus there energy, attention, etc. for long enough to meaningfully improve the world? I don't have the answer but I'll leave you with these quotes about managing Y's:

"Generation Y doesn't care about how much you know, until they know how much you care."

"Generation Y needs leaders not managers...Managers do things right; leaders do the right thing."

America Today

The last few posts have brought to light some of the interesting dichotomies that plague America today... On one hand, we are taught to believe that we are the most advanced in terms of human rights, given our long-standing commitment to and foundation in the concept of freedom (i.e. see Constitution and Bill of Rights). Yet, at the same time, while we sometimes over-value life, for example, the debate on stem cells, at other times, we just as easily undervalue it, for example see the value of a mexican post.

What kind of culture do we live in where an unborn fetus that is only a few cells large has more rights than an actual human being?

The Truth About Stem Cells

(skip to the bottom if you are already knowledgeable about stem cell research)

A few weeks ago a few friends and I had a contentious debate about progress of stem cell research and the actual use of stem cells. Without solid knowledge of the subject our debate was reduced to conjecture, and assumption. This weekend I did some research to find the bottom line on stem cell research.

Stem cells are specific cells found in the VERY early stages of development of all organisms. These cells have not yet specialized so they can become anything in the organism. For example, a stem cell can become a skin cell or a nerve cell later on in development. In fact, a stem cell is what eventually multiplies and multiplies until you have a whole organism (e.g. a human). So stem cells are what is used for cloning.

When a sperm and egg fuse you have your first stem cell. This cell then divides, and then those two cells divide, etc. taking us through the stages of embryonic development. As this process continues the stem cells change into specialized cells that make all the organs and tissues of an organism. These specialized cells cannot be used for anything else other than their specialized usage (not exactly true but good enough for our purposes). That is what makes stem cells so valuable. They can be anything. They can even be used to create a whole new organism (i.e. cloning). This means that someone who has a damaged organ that must be removed can use stem cells to create a new organ to replace it. Or someone who is paralyzed because his/her spinal cord was cut can use stem cells to re-attach their spinal cord and walk again. The applications are endless and there has actually been a case where a blind man's vision was restored using stem cells.

So up until this point I think we have covered what is more or less basic knowledge that most people have about the subject, but here is what most people don't know is: What is the source of stem cells?

Answer: A fetus. This is what creates all the debate about stem cell research and what has made it illegal in the U.S. It's the idea that using fetuses is morally questionable. But what people don't know is that the only stem cells that can be used for research are those of an embryo that has only reached UP TO 16 CELLS in size. At this point the fetus is still microscopic! This also means that stem cells can be created in a lab using the eggs and sperm of those who donate or sell them. They do not need to be gathered through abortions.

Also, in case you didn't know, people sell there sperm and eggs all the time. Stem cell research would not cause people to do this for the first time.

Tattoo Regret: Is Nothing Sacred?

Tattoos are getting easier to remove. Estimates: Up to 45 million Americans are tattooed; 17 percent of them regret it; the annual number of tattoo removal treatments might be 100,000. Summary by a removal company's CEO: "As your life changes from young to middle-aged to older, from single to married to divorced, you get tattoo regret." Sample reasons: 1) Get my ex-fiance's name off my body. 2) I don't want my tattoos to show around my strapless wedding gown. 3) I need to start looking employable and marriageable. 4) I want to replace my old tattoos with new ones. Current removal technology: multiple expensive laser treatments to break down each color. Impending technology: special ink that can be removed with a single laser treatment. CEO's pitch: The new ink will embolden "fence-sitters who always wanted a tattoo but have been afraid of the permanence." Half-cynical view: It'll make them feel as though they're getting a real tattoo when, in fact, they aren't. Fully cynical view: Removable tattoos for the era of removable relationships."

In today's world, obsolescence dominates. Hot one moment, gone the next, it seems that nothing these days has any permanence: not our goals, not our toys (as the only thing we can seemingly count on is that our new "technologies" our outdated the moment we receive them), not our relationships (see divorce statistics). Even the tattoo, what was once the ultimate symbol of permanent commitment, can now be edited right out of existence.

The question is, is anything sacred? Do we every commit to anything anymore for the long haul? And if the answer is no, what consequences are we suffering?

The Newly Rich Cash-Out of Love

"There is no question that a huge infusion of wealth to relatively young people has a disastrous effect on the marriage's stability," says Bern Clare, a Manhattan divorce lawyer.

In the world of hedge fund managers one can become an overnight multi-multi-millionaire. And with this new wealth come drama. High dollar value divorces are becoming more and more common among fund managers and with them, excessive demands. Just take a look at a few:

- "A case in which the dependant spouse insisted that she needed $800,000 a month in child support payments, even though she already had an income of $7 million a year. "The judge listened calmly and found she had plenty to maintain herself. Then he ordered $100,000" a month."

- "In one recent divorce, the entire settlement was hung up on the issue of whether the former wife would be given $500,000 or $750,000 a year to cover first-class air travel."

The reason why I decided to discuss this article is because I believe wealth interferes with many parts of our lives. Wouldn't you think that wealth would improve a marriage? Eliminating so many of the worries most of us have. But this is obviously not the case, and there are countless other areas where wealth damages our lives whether it be parenting, to our own internal happiness. As Dr. Richard Easterlin, one of the world's foremost economists explained: As a person’s income goes up, he or she doesn’t grow any happier in a lasting sense.

The point is wealth can be a vice without the proper foundation... A foundation where one understands that money is not a replacement for love, or a pre-requisite for happiness.

Public Schools - Adam Smith would be pissed!

Adam Smith, the author of the Wealth of Nations (the outline for capitalist economies) would be quite perturbed if he saw the state of public schools in our country. Why? Because they go against everything he stood for.

A capitalist economy is based on supply and demand, accountability, and above all humanity's innate greed. Being the antithesis of socialism, where people are supposed to be motivated by promoting the common good, capitalism correctly assumes that an individual's desire for self promotion is usually stronger. So why is our education system based on socialist philosophies, free of competition, or accountability? The public answer we are given is: Because no child can be left behind. But the "simple fact [is] that one of the surest ways to leave a kid "behind" is to hand him over to the government."

"Americans want universal education, just as they want universally safe food. But nobody believes that the government should run 90% of the restaurants, farms and supermarkets. Why should it run 90% of the schools — particularly when it gets terrible results?" Take for example Washington D.C. which spends $12,979 per student per year, but is "last in spending on instruction. Fifty-six cents out of every dollar goes to administrators." Washington D.C. is near the top when it comes to spending on education, but near the bottom when it comes to student performance on standardized tests.

The point made by this article, is that education is a business whether we like it or not. By shutting down public schools and allowing private schools to handle education we will allow the capitalist economy we are a part of to manage the quality and integrity of education. We will provide an atmosphere that rewards results because parents won't send their kids to a low performing school when they have the choice to send them to another.

The government can use the funds it currently spends on students to subsidize education without managing the whole schools system. In addition, the government can use these funds to help level the playing field between the wealthy and socio-economically challenged but first the overall structure must be changed to one that makes business sense.

Are Kids Staying Kids for Too Long?

This article, by Camille Paglia of Salon.com, raises a number of interesting points, from politics to pop culture. One however, stuck out in my mind. Are young adults (ages 18-25) revelling in their youth too long? Paglia refers to the recent pop culture debacles of Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan as examples of when parents hinder the development of their children but refraining from teaching responsibility.

"What links the Lohan and Hilton cases is the weird behavior of the parents -- either flaky and dysfunctional or overbearing and coddling. The Lohan and Hilton mothers seem to reject aging by trying to keep their daughters in developmental limbo. Paris in particular seems to have become a psychic prisoner, turned into a flash-frozen marzipan doll by her belligerently benevolent mom. Neither family is typical, of course, but are the Hiltons exposing an unhealthy symbiosis in recent American family life? Adulthood keeps getting postponed for white middle-class girls, who even after they arrive at college are obsessively linked by umbilical cellphones to their hovering parents, who want to shield their progeny from all of life's nicks and scrapes."

Although Paris and Lindsay's experiences are hardly American culture's common denominator, there is something to be said for teaching your kids to take responsibility for themselves at an early age, rather than allowing them to rely on you as a parent long as possible. Rather than "postponing" their adulthood, we should teach our children to embrace it, even if it means having our children endure a few of "life's nicks and scrapes" along the way.

If Paris and Lindsay are any indication, "developmental limbo" leads to nowhere - at least in their cases - other than rehab or jail.

Green Guilt Trip

Copied form the article:

The government and the greenies are afraid of making you feel guilty. Not me. And a whole lot of sources back me up.

Plastic: You're not throwing away plastic bags, genius — you're throwing away oil. In energy alone, recycling a ton of plastic bags saves 11 barrels of oil. Which means that Californians, by tossing away 19 billion plastic bags last year — all of them blowing across my lane of the freeway — wasted about 4.5 million barrels of oil. And those darling little plastic water bottles you tossed — 18 million barrels of oil to make them. What, did you think the Sparkletts fairy whisked them all away?

Paper: The lungs you ruin may be your own. A mature tree eats 13 pounds of carbon dioxide every year, so every time you don't recycle a huge stack of envelopes and junk mail and wrapping paper and newspapers, you're murdering a tree that could have saved you. You could heat your house for six months on the energy saved from recycling a ton of paper.

Aluminum cans: Too lazy to shuffle to the recycling bin? The energy you waste by throwing away a single soda can would run your TV for three hours. Throwing away an empty six-pack is like throwing away nearly a $3.50 gallon of gasoline. We Americans toss away enough aluminum cans in a year to rebuild every commercial airliner in America. Good work, cola-for-brains.

Et ceteras:

• You throw away three pounds of trash every day; two pounds of that could be recycled, unless you like the idea of living next to Landfill World

• You're adding 10% or 20% to your electric bill and sucking coal and oil by keeping energy vampires plugged in: phone chargers, TVs and printers.

• Pour away a gallon of motor oil instead of recycling it, and you're dumping enough energy to dry your hair for 216 days or to watch 60 Super Bowls.We've come to the end of this guilt trip; thanks for ride-sharing.

Price is Right

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-kurson6jun06,0,6477820.story?coll=la-opinion-rightrail

According to Ken Kurson of the Los Angeles Times nobody "give(s) much thought to Pierre de Fermat or Blaise Pascal," but thanks to Bob Barker, the probability theory developed by those "brilliant mathematicians from centuries past" has been seamlessly transmitted "into millions of homes for 35 years." Barker, who recently taped his last episode of The Price is Right, educated the public using "daily lesson(s) in the principles of behavioral finance." Besides being a staple of American "comfort entertainment," the game show was essential viewing if "you wanted to know how to exploit -- or get trapped by -- market inefficiencies and the often irrational behavior of competitors." And by combining "real prices" for real products with hot women, continuously fresh contestants, and the ever-youthful Prof. Barker, lessons were"made... as painless as possible."

Not so Helpful Self-Help

I was forwarded the quote below by a friend who knew I was interested in these kinds of inspirational, self-help statements. To the average reader this may seem insightful or even profound but I don't see it that way. After reading enough of these statements you come to realize that some of them are empty. They just incite you by stating a variety of issues but leave you hanging with no direction or even suggestion of how to move forward. I believe that most of us are aware that our society, and generally speaking, the world are flawed, so the question becomes "What do we do?" or "How can I better deal with these issues?" At the end of this forwarded message you'll see the following statement: "You can choose either to make a difference, or to just hit 'Skip Ahead'... " I don't see this as providing any substance. Without guidance, or insight it appears that passages like these leave us in a worse place than we started.

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints; we spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get angry too quickly, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too seldom, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've added years to life, not life to years.

We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We've conquered outer space, but not inner space; we've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul; we've split the atom, but not our prejudice.

We write more, but learn less; we plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait; we have higher incomes, but lower morals; we have more food, but less appeasement; we build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever, but have less communication; we've become long on quantity, but short on quality.
These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; tall men, and short character; steep profits, and shallow relationships. These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure, but less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition.

These are days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer to quiet to kill.
It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom; a time when technology has brought this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to make a difference, or to just hit "Skip Ahead"...

Springwise.com: Your Daily Fix of Entrepreneurial Ideas

This blog it awesome. It posts new and interesting business ideas. Everything from high-end camping to a service that allows you to send them an email that it then prints and sends via snail mail for you. Not to mention virtual travel guides, gorilla bakeries, and pizza vending machines. You can even be a "SpringSpotter" to help report new ideas and win prizes. Enjoy!

Sorry Soldiers, No More My Space or You Tube. No Big Deal...Right?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/14/AR2007051400112.html

Imagine that you're a soldier somewhere in the middle of nowhere: Afghanistan, Korea, Iraq. You see some pretty horrible things, are far from those you love, and are often excruciatingly bored. You look forward to your time on the web to communicate with loved ones, see what's going on back home, and just take in a little light entertainment. Sites like YouTube and MySpace surely go a long way in making your stay in a life-threatening environment a bit more comfortable.

But now the Defense Department decided has begun blocking access to YouTube, MySpace, and 11 other Web sites on its computers due to the "enormous amounts of traffic on those sites that could swamp the military's dedicated Internet network and disclose sensitive materials." No big deal, right? Wrong.

18,000 Naked Mexicans

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-05-06-mexico-tunick-photo_N.htm

It is amazing how in Mexico City they closed down one of the busiest centers in the world to take part in this modern art event that required 18,000 naked adults laying in the streets, while in the U.S. we get all bent out of shape over Janet Jackson's breast being revealed... And trust me they are more religious then we are. Their is something wrong with the extreme conservatism we find in the U.S. especially with regard to sex and nudity. It has no basis; Try not to get caught up in it!

Some Flayva for Your Laptop & Ipod

Monet Anyone???

http://www.gelaskins.com/

I don't normally write about products here but I really like this. Gelaskins takes interesting artwork and turns it into stylish skins for your laptop and Ipod. Take a look: