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4 reasons we should fix economic inequality

4 reasons we should fix economic inequality
It’s safe to say that economic inequality bothers us. But why? Harvard philosopher T. M. Scanlon offers four reasons we should tackle — and fix — the problem. The great inequality of income and wealth in the world, and within the United States, is deeply troubling. One obvious reason for redistributing resources from the rich to the poor is simply that this is a way of making the poor better off. A justification for reducing inequality through non-voluntary means, such as taxation, needs to explain why redistribution of this kind is not just robbery. These reasons for redistribution are strongest when the poor are very badly off, as in the cases Singer describes. It’s important to note, though, that there is another sense in which these reasons are not egalitarian: They are, fundamentally, reasons to increase the well-being of the poor rather than objections to inequality, that is to say, objections to the difference between what some have and what others have. 1. 2. 3. 4. T. Related:  ethiek

US Economist Calculates Just How Inadequate Your State's Minimum Wage Is A simple tweak to how we calculate our minimum wage could lift millions of Americans out of poverty, one economist is proposing. In a new proposal from the Hamilton Project, the economic policy arm of the Brookings Institution, economist Arindrajit Dube suggests that lawmakers set state minimum wages at half the median full-time wage for the state. Doing so, he says, would would raise the minimum wage in all 50 states and lift 2.2 million people out of poverty. Many other developed economies, including those of France, Turkey and Portugal, already have minimum wages that meet Dube's requirement. In the 1960s and '70s, when the minimum wage was worth a lot more than it is today, the U.S. met that requirement too. Today, though, the national minimum wage in America is worth just 38 percent of the median wage -- far below the 50 percent benchmark that Dube is calling for. As you can see in the graph below, every single state's minimum wage is nowhere near where Dube believes it should be.

What are you revealing online? Much more than you think What can be guessed about you from your online behavior? Two computer privacy experts — economist Alessandro Acquisti and computer scientist Jennifer Golbeck — on how little we know about how much others know. The best indicator of high intelligence on Facebook is apparently liking a page for curly fries. At least, that’s according to computer scientist Jennifer Golbeck (TED Talk: The curly fry conundrum), whose job is to figure out what we reveal about ourselves through what we say — and don’t say — online. I hear so much conflicting information about what I should and shouldn’t be posting online. Alessandro Acquisti: My personal view is that individual responsibility is important, but we are at a stage where it is not sufficient. Jennifer Golbeck: I agree with that. AA: It’s also difficult to predict how information you reveal now could be used five or ten years out, in the sense of new inferences that could be discovered. What would a policy solution look like? AA: Indeed.

The Good Country Index Be a better writer in 15 minutes: 4 TED-Ed lessons on grammar and word choice There’s no denying it — the English language can be mighty tricky. When writing a paper, a novel or even an e-mail, you might look at a sentence you just wrote and think, “Is that comma supposed to be there?” or “Is that really the best word to use?” First, let’s look at the often-confusing comma. What about the Oxford comma? Now, take an adjective such as “implacable” or a verb like “proliferate” or even another noun “crony,” and add a suffix, such as “-ity” or “-tion” or “-ism.” Finally, when it comes to good writing, don’t take the easy route!

De 10 rijkste vrouwen ter wereld Zodra je een job gezocht hebt, verschijnt hier je laatste zoekopdracht. Van de 1.645 miljardairs op de aardbol zijn er een recordaantal vrouwen: 172 meer bepaald, tegenover 138 vorig jaar. Maar vrouwen blijven met een goede 10% natuurlijk nog wel serieus in de minderheid. Wat ook opvalt in deze top 10: rijkdom is vooral te danken aan erfenissen van overleden ouders of partner. Rijken van de eerste generatie komen niet voor in deze top. 1. Ze is niet rijk geworden door te werken, maar erfde heel wat centen toen haar man John Walton (zoon van Sam Walton, de oprichter van Walmart) in 2005 stierf. 2. Bettencourt is het enige kind van Eugène Schueller, de stichter van L'Oréal. 3. De dochter van Walmart-stichter Sam Walton blijkt fondsenwerver te zijn voor Hillary Clinton, die naar alle waarschijnlijkheid in 2016 een gooi zal doen naar het presidentschap. 4. Ze behoort tot de derde generatie van de familie Mars, van het alom gekende snoepgoed. 5. De rijkste persoon van Australië. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Math 101: A reading list for lifelong learners Ready to level up your working knowledge of math? Here’s what to read now — and next. Math 101, with Jennifer Ouellette First, start with these 5 books… 1. Number: The Language of Science Tobias Dantzig Plume, 2007 “First published in 1930, this classic text traces the evolution of the concept of a number in clear, accessible prose. 2. “This bestselling book originally published in 1988 remains one of the best introductions to the basics of large numbers, statistics and probabilities with illustrations drawn from everyday life: sports, the stock market, the lottery and dubious medical claims, to name a few.” 3. “Pair Paulos with the just-released How Not to Be Wrong. 4. “Most of us take zero for granted, but there was a time when it simply didn’t exist, until some enterprising Babylonian soul inserted it as a placeholder in Eastern counting methods. 5. Then, read these 3 foundational texts… 1. 2. 3. Last, here’s one from the cutting edge… And 2 quirky, personal favorites. 1. 2.

8 Warning Signs Of A Relationship Gone Horribly Wrong I read this list of eight with a knowing feeling that I had experienced quite a few of them. Thankfully, I ended that relationship before I was physically hurt. But the emotional scars? They linger. Can you relate to anything on this list? Click image to Zoom Here is the National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233. Here is the graphic in several languages:

Graduation…now what? | Playlist | TED.com Now playing Clinical psychologist Meg Jay has a bold message for twentysomethings: Contrary to popular belief, your 20s are not a throwaway decade. In this provocative talk, Jay says that just because marriage, work and kids are happening later in life, doesn’t mean you can’t start planning now. She gives 3 pieces of advice for how twentysomethings can re-claim adulthood in the defining decade of their lives. “In your 20s, you may not get married or figure out exactly what career you want to pursue. 10 wetenschappelijk bewezen manieren om gelukkiger te worden - Wetenschap 1. Probeer het gewoon Alleen al proberen om gelukkiger te zijn, verhoogt mogelijk het gevoel van welzijn. Onderzoekers van de universiteit van Missouri vroegen aan vrijwilligers uit twee groepen om naar opbeurende muziek te luisteren. De ene groep moest tijdens die activiteit een poging doen om zich gelukkig te voelen, terwijl de andere groep niets meer deed dan gewoon luisteren. 2. In deze door de technologie gedomineerde wereld zijn we met z'n allen verknocht aan onze mobieltjes en tablets. 3. Te lang in de zon zitten, is niet goed voor de huid. 4. In de westerse cultuur is meditatie nog steeds niet ingeburgerd. 5. Volgens onderzoekers van de universiteit van British Columbia en Harvard maakt geld wel degelijk gelukkig - maar enkel als je het aan anderen spendeert. 6. Niemand houdt van façades en valse vrolijkheid, maar volgens wetenschappers is lachen niet enkel een uitdrukking van gelukkig zijn, maar kan het ons ook gelukkig maken. 7. 8. 9. 10.

26 ideas from the future “One of the things about learning how to read — we have been doing a lot of consuming of information through our eyes and so on — that may be a very inefficient channel. So my prediction is that we’re going to ingest information. You’re going to swallow a pill and know English. You’re going to swallow a pill and know Shakespeare. The way to do it is through the bloodstream; once it’s in your bloodstream, it basically goes through and gets into the brain and when it knows it’s in the brain it deposits the information in the right places. I’ve been hanging around with Ed Boyden and Hugh Herr and a number of people… This isn’t far-fetched.”Nicholas Negroponte, founder, MIT Media Lab “I hope it will be a rejection of technology that makes us more isolated from one another and more easily surveilled. “The seamless integration of our physical and virtual worlds. “We will see the big picture with more clarity and resolution than ever before. 2. 3. “What is next? “How far can we go?

Melden van verwaarloosde of mishandelde dieren Merkt u dat er dieren verwaarloosd of mishandeld worden of dat een dier in nood is? Dan kan u dat melden aan de Vlaamse overheid, die sinds 1 juli 2014 bevoegd is voor dierenwelzijn in Vlaanderen. Ook problemen met verkoop van dieren kan u melden. Procedure U kan problemen in verband met dierenwelzijn melden via het online meldingsformulier voor verwaarloosde of mishandelde dieren. U moet de volgende gegevens zeker invullen: waar de dieren zich bevinden, over welke diersoort het gaat, wat u hebt vastgesteld en enkele persoonlijke gegevens. De dienst Dierenwelzijn zal uw melding behandelen en u op de hoogte houden van wat er met de melding gebeurt. 8 math talks to blow your mind Mathematics gets down to work in these talks, breathing life and logic into everyday problems. Prepare for math puzzlers both solved and unsolvable, and even some still waiting for solutions. Ron Eglash: The fractals at the heart of African designs When Ron Eglash first saw an aerial photo of an African village, he couldn’t rest until he knew — were the fractals in the layout of the village a coincidence, or were the forces of mathematics and culture colliding in unexpected ways? Here, he tells of his travels around the continent in search of an answer. How big is infinity? Arthur Benjamin does “Mathemagic” A whole team of calculators is no match for Arthur Benjamin, as he does astounding mental math in the blink of an eye. Scott Rickard: The beautiful math behind the ugliest music What makes a piece of music beautiful? Benoit Mandelbrot: Fractals and the art of roughness The world is based on roughness, explains legendary mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot.

Europees mensenrechtenssysteem Het Europees continent leed erg onder de verwoestingen van de tweede wereldoorlog. Om vernieuwde inspanningen te leveren om de vrede te bewaren en om samenwerking met elkaar na het einde van de oorlog te bevorderen hebben politieke leiders uit deze regio drie organisaties opgericht: de Raad van Europa, de Europese Unie (voorheen de Europese Gemeenschap voor Kolen en Staal) en, later, de Organisatie voor Veiligheid en Samenwerking in Europa (voorheen de Conferentie voor Veiligheid en Samenwerking in Europa). Deze organisaties hebben de Koude Oorlog en de val van het communisme overleefd, en blijven tot op vandaag dienen als forums voor dialoog en uitwisseling binnen het Europese continent. Ook al werden deze organisaties gesticht om in Europa vrede en stabiliteit te brengen, elk van hen werd opgericht met een verschillend doel: Raad van Europa Geschiedenis Belangrijkste instellingen Belangrijkste mensenrechtenverdragen en organen Het CPT schrijft een verslag over de landen dat het bezoekt.

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