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.

Use your time wisely; by slacking off

A recent survey found that the typical American worker wastes slightly more than two hours a day, not including lunch and scheduled breaks. The No. 1 time-wasting activity is surfing the Internet and sending personal e-mails, followed by socializing with co-workers, conducting personal business and just plain "spacing out." All of this loafing is supposedly costing employers $759 billion a year in lost productivity. But guess what, American workers, it turns out, are wasting less time than they did just a couple of years ago - 19% less. And the U.N.'s International Labor Organization recently issued a report that found that the U.S. leads the world in worker productivity - and by a wide margin.

So here is the paradox. "We are a nation of doers, hard workers, yet we are also a nation of ideas, big ideas." It has long been known that idea generation requires idleness, but idleness makes us uncomfortable. These two aspects of the American personality constantly rub against each other. This leads our minds to constantly shift from guilt (for using work time on personal matters) to resentment (for having to work so-damn-much) to boredom. This cycle causes us to misuse a lot of energy when in fact we can accept that there is a healthy balance between work, idleness (and whatever else you do on the job) that each of us can find for ourselves if we look for it.

Maybe the Vegetarians Have It Right?

"Eating beef ' is less green than driving' "

Producing 2.2lb of beef generates as much greenhouse gas as driving a car non-stop for three hours, it was claimed yesterday.

Japanese scientists used a range of data to calculate the environmental impact of a single purchase of beef. Taking into account all the processes involved, they said, four average sized steaks generated greenhouse gases with a warming potential equivalent to 80.25lb of carbon dioxide.

This also consumed 169 megajoules of energy. That means that 2.2lb of beef is responsible for greenhouse gas emissions which have the same effect as the carbon dioxide released by an ordinary car travelling at 50 miles per hour for 155 miles, a journey lasting three hours. The amount of energy consumed would light a 100-watt bulb for 20 days.

Most of the greenhouse gas emissions are in the form of methane released from the animals' digestive systems, New Scientist magazine reported. But more than two thirds of the energy used goes towards producing and transporting cattle feed, said the study, which was led by Akifumi Ogino from the National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science in Tsukuba, Japan.

Sue Taylor, the press officer for the Vegetarian Society, told New Scientist: "Everybody is trying to come up with different ways to reduce carbon footprints, but one of the easiest things you can do is to stop eating meat."

Yet another way we can make small changes to improve our quality of life in the long run...

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.

Real Estate Reset

I know that most readers are aware that we are in a housing downturn after years of record setting home sales. Soon we will see how far this downturn will go.

Many, many people who purchased homes over the past 6 years did so through the use of an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM). As I'm sure you know, the interest rates on ARMs are based on the established interest rates at the times meaning they fluctuate. Well, now many of these loans are set to reset to much higher interest rates in the coming months; more than 2 million of them to be more precise. This means that the interest rates on these loans could jump by 35% or more, undoubtedly putting far more financial strain on those who have them. It will be interesting to see what happens...

Why discuss this on this blog? Because people in the US, especially those on the coasts and large cities appear to be short sited. They take ARMs on homes that are beyond their means and give little thought to the consequences 5 or 10 years down the line. This issue does not just concern matters of money. Americans consistently look for quick fixes to lifetime problems. Whether it's liposuction, or get rich quick schemes, we look for ways to avoid hard work and perseverance. The result is a rocky, up and down cycle that leaves us with less than we began with.

I'm convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.
Steve Jobs(1955 - ), Interview, 1995

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.

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.

The Value of a Mexican

The title sounds like a bad joke but Slate.com took it seriously and did the math. There's this idea out there that "Americans should care more about their countrymen than about a bunch of foreigners." Well, let's just assume this is true. Then the question becomes how much more$?$

"Surely there's some limit; virtually nobody thinks, for example, that Americans should be allowed to hunt Mexicans for sport. So, exactly how much are you willing to hurt a foreigner to help an American? Is a foreigner's well-being worth three-quarters as much as an American's, or half as much, or one-quarter as much?"

"Virtually all economists agree that immigration makes us richer, not poorer. Every immigrant is a potential trading partner, a potential employee, and a potential customer. He bids down wages, but that's a two-edged sword: It's bad for his fellow workers, but it's good for employers and good for consumers."

After doing some pretty daunting economic analysis looking at the hourly wage benefit to a immigrant worker and loss to an American worker the bottom line is:

The immigrant gains $7 an hour, which as "actually worth about five times the American's $3 loss. In other words, to justify keeping the immigrant out, you'd have to say he's worth less than one-fifth of an American citizen."

Research: Stem Cells Can Make Blind See

http://www.themoneytimes.com/articles/20070606/scientists_stem_cells_can_make_blind_see-id-104433.html

http://www.physorg.com/news100319385.html

Macular degeneration is the most common cause of blindness in older people and is believed to affect about 14 million people in old age and 30 percent of 75-year-olds. Lyndon da Cruz of the University College London Institute of Opthamology has had some success transplanting retinal pigment epithelium cells within patients' eyes. Now Cruz and his colleagues hope to use cells grown in a petri dish. The project received an $8 million gift from an anonymous U.S. donor whose father became blind and who obviously couldn't invest his money in a U.S. firm doing the same research. "This is totally geared toward getting in the clinic," said Pete Coffey, a colleague of Cruz' at the institute. "Our goal within the five-year period is to have a cohort of 10 or 12 patients we can treat. If it hasn't become routine in about 10 years it would mean we haven't succeeded. It has to be something that's available to large numbers of people."

Another interesting article from 2003 - Stem cells used to make a blind man (from eye injury) see again:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=4180

Who's Rich? Not the Smartest...

"Intelligence really isn't one of the key driving forces. In fact, people at the middle of the smarts spectrum have the fewest money problems."Ohio State economics professor Jay Zagorsky suggests different factors: "Staying married, not getting divorced, thinking about savings."

In Zagorsky's study of 7,500 middle-aged Americans, the smarter you are, the more you tend to earn. For each IQ point you have above someone else's IQ, you'll earn between $200 and $600 more. You would reasonably assume, then, that smarter people would end up wealthier. But that was not suggested by the study. Instead, people with higher IQs and incomes tended to spend more, maxing out credit cards and paying bills late. At the end of the day, those with lower IQs often had a greater net worth.

Rich don't save either

HSBC reports that people with more than $250,000 in household income, who constitute the top 1.5% of U.S. households, report facing many obstacles when it comes to saving. The #1 answer for what prevents them from saving more: the need to pay everyday bills. Some interesting facts:

• The savings rate in the United States dipped to zero in 2005 and has even fallen into negative territory, the first time since the Great Depression.
• 49% of respondents with at least $250,000 in income aren't saving more because they simply "want some spending money."

"Savings can be a challenge at any stage of your life." "Regardless of your income, financial status, or age, saving does require a level of control and awareness."

"It seems that awareness dims, however, with the more money you earn. More people who earn between $50,000 and $100,000 save consistently than people who earn between $200,000 and $250,000 per year, according to HSBC."

216 Common Chemicals are Linked to Breast Cancer

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-na-cancer14may14,1,1252250.story?page=1&ctrack=3&cset=true&coll=la-headlines-health

Experts have long suspected that diet plays a role in causing breast cancer. But new research found "no association that is consistent, strong and statistically significant" for any particular foods raising or reducing breast cancer risk.

There is substantial evidence, however, that regularly consuming alcohol, being obese and being inactive increase risk. Now new evidence of 216 common chemicals found to cause cancer in test animals has been reported. Of those, people are highly exposed to 97, including industrial solvents, pesticides, dyes, gasoline and diesel exhaust compounds, cosmetics ingredients, hormones, pharmaceuticals, radiation, and a chemical in chlorinated drinking water.

As Ana Soto, a Tufts University professor of cell biology who specializes in cellular origins of cancer and effects of hormone-disrupting contaminants"More and more, cancer looks like an environmental disease." This is not to say that there are not genetic and hereditary factors in the development of breast cancer, but simply to point out the apparently great influence of environment and lifestyle.

Some Facts About Bottled Water

http://health.yahoo.com/experts/healthnews/4505/water-facts-bottled-or-tap

"Bottled water has become the fastest growing commercial beverage sold in the United States. In 2005, Americans spent nearly $10 billion on bottled water."

"To date, no independent investigation has shown that bottled water passes more safety and health checks than tap water. In fact, the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) tested 103 brands of bottled water and concluded there was no assurance that water out of a bottle is cleaner or safer than water from the tap. Another of their conclusions didn't surprise me either: They estimated that 25 percent or more of bottled water is nothing more than tap water."

"...a five-year supply of bottled water cost over $1,000 compared with $1.65 for the same amount of tap water. Not to mention the environmental impact of the many discarded plastic water bottles that are not recycled. "

Prescription Painkillers Becoming More Popular than Marijuana

Marijuana has long been the most popular illicit drug in the U.S., but federal researchers say that there are now more new recreational users of prescription painkillers than new pot smokers.

"While marijuana continues to be the most commonly used illicit drug, the misuse of prescription drugs is clearly a growing national concern that requires action from multiple segments of our society," said Assistant Surgeon General Eric Broderick, SAMHSA's acting deputy administrator.

"We know that 70 to 80 percent of those 12 years or older said they got their drugs from a friend or relative and, very likely, those came from the family medicine cabinet. Only 4.3 percent got the pain relievers from a drug dealer or other stranger, and only 0.8 percent reported buying the drug on the Internet. Parents and other caregivers should store their prescription drugs carefully and dispose of any unused drugs before they can fall into the wrong hands."

FDA urges new warnings on antidepressants

http://health.yahoo.com/news/174727;_ylt=AioqeA3zXokxvp38epcrar0qLcsF

"All antidepressants should carry new warnings about an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior in young adults ages 18 to 24 during initial treatment, U.S. health officials proposed on Wednesday." Currently "cautions about the chances of suicidal behavior in children and teens who take the drugs" are listed in a Black Box on the packaging.

"Studies showed a 'slight increase;' in suicidal thinking and behavior among young adults during early treatment, which was generally the first one to two months, the FDA said. The data did not find a higher risk for adults older than 24."

"Adults 65 and older who are treated with the drugs have a decreased risk of suicidal thoughts and actions..."

Coffee, Healthy or Not???

http://health.yahoo.com/news/174676

"There's evidence...that the beverage may protect against certain types of colon cancer, as well as rectal and liver cancer... However... coffee may increase the risk of leukemia and stomach cancer, with the case for leukemia being strongest.
The findings suggest that people who may be vulnerable to these risks -- for example pregnant women and children -- should limit coffee consumption..."

Study: Online Dating is Virtually Irresistable to Married People

http://www.onlinedatingmagazine.com/news2003/onlinedatingmarried.html

"The Internet will soon become the most common form of infidelity, if it isn't already."
"The vast majority said they loved their spouses but sought an erotic encounter online because of boredom, a partner's lack of sexual interest or the need for variety and fun."
"Because there is no touching involved in online chat conversations, married people often rationalize their behavior as harmless fun"

The Many Health Benfeits of Sex

http://love.ivillage.com/lnssex/0,,askmen_bgswkm45-p,00.html

Here's the list. For more of an explanation on each read the article (it's short).

-reduce stress
-improve sleep well
-increase blood flow
-burns calories
-improves self image
-can cure headaches
-boosts your immune system
-repairs tissue
-improves cognition
-keeps skin healthy
-works as an antidepressant
-increases production of sex hormones testosterone and estrogen
-testosterone: helps fortify bones and muscles, and it keeps your heart in good working condition
-estrogen: protects against heart disease
-increases brain power
-increases heart rate
-can help fend off diseases and ailments
-improves self esteem

Survey Reveals Most Satisfying Jobs

According to the 2006 General Social Survey, based on interviews with randomly selected people who collectively represent a cross section of Americans “The most satisfying jobs are mostly professions, especially those involving caring for, teaching and protecting others and creative pursuits.”