Skip to main content

Home/ Groups/ sharingknowledge
Innovation Blues

Comments on Economics: An ordinary Joe | The Economist - 0 views

  • Finally, countless Americans are, by world standards, vastly over-paid and have been found out. There is nothing a laborer in Manhattan can do that someone just as competent but living in El Salvador cannot do for perhaps one-fifth the price. It should be no surprise that 6% of the world's population can no longer enjoy 25% of the world's output -- there was no place to go but down.
  • Normally, the lack of a middle class would preclude a nation from being a world power, but the Anglo-American establishment was able to pay for American industrialization by borrowing British capital; from America’s inception until World War I, it was a debtor nation.
  • Unlike England, which prior to the welfare state of 1909, really did have a large middle class (roughly 40% of the population) America never did; for most of its history the middle class have never been more than 6% of Americans (probably less the 3% today). Middle Class values were the preserve of the WASP establishment, a small elite of German Jews, an even smaller elite of African-Americansand an assortment of assimilated white “ethnics”, but for the most part the American population was working class; focused on today, consuming all they produced.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • When Pat gets old he can retire comfortably and leave his widow comfortable as well, again was this because of savings, no; Pat got a company pension (inflation adjusted) and health care for the rest of his life with right of survivorship. All of this sounds great, but it wasn’t real; it was all a result of America ability to overcharge the world for capital goods; the costs of all these benefits were passed on to the rest of the world in higher priced capital good and dollar inflation. These programs allowed people to live middle class lives they never earned and could never keep (absent the programs). In fact, by 1970 it cost an American producer more in labor cost per ton of steel than what he could get for it on the world market. The fantasy world America has built post-World War 2 has been falling apart since the 1980s and the last leg, the dollars reserve currency status, is about to go. The disappearance of the American Dream is simply America reverting back to where its populations core values and behavior patterns would naturally take it.
  • The American Dream is rapidly fading because it was never real or at least never genuinely earned by Americans. When I speak of the “Middle Class”, I don’t simply mean possessing a middle class income, but rather having middle class patterns of behavior and world views. To be middle class is to be future time preference oriented; to accept short term pain for long term gain; to always be looking to get ahead and to plan ahead. Simply put, to be middle class is to consume less than what you produce, reinvesting the excess to produce more in the future.
  • America was the only large industrial power left standing after World War 2 and because it could charge the rest of the world what it wanted for capital goods, it could extract “rents” to support the fantasy of the American Dream. Consider the 1950s, the beginning of universal White middle-classdom and take a typical Irish guy; Pat. Pat grew up in an ethnic Irish slum like his father and grandfather, but he now can afford to buy a house; is it because he diligently saved his money and stayed focused, no; it is because he can get a VA loan or an FHA loan with no money down and easy payments. Pat dropped out of school at 16 and is not too interested in expanding his skills, is he on the streets, no; because of unions he can get an assembly line job. Moreover, because the NLR act effectively unionized every major industrial company and industry, Pat can look forward to annual raises (regardless of productivity) for his entire working life. When his children are old enough, Pat can afford to send them to college, is it because he saved before each child was born and spaced his children accordingly, no; they can get government loans , grants, and go to a subsides state college. When Pats parents get old they are not a burden, is it because they learned middleclass values and started to save, no; his parents rely on social security and Medicare (after 1965).
  • Europe is on the verge of a complete and total economic collapse...why?...because for decades their government has used force to take money from those who work hard and then give that money to those who don't work hard.
  • The capitalist equivalent of a socialist revolution is a Great Depression that wipes out the value of the paper assets the wealthy had accumulated, leaving the government to reallocate the real assets more equally. We almost had this happen in 2008, but the 1 percent blackmailed the rest with fear of collateral damage.
Innovation Blues

Austerity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 0 views

  • In economics, austerity refers to a policy of deficit-cutting by lowering spending often via a reduction in the amount of benefits and public services provided.[1] Austerity policies are often used by governments to try to reduce their deficit spending[2] and are sometimes coupled with increases in taxes to demonstrate long-term fiscal solvency to creditors.[3]
Innovation Blues

Joseph Stiglitz - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 0 views

  • "They’ll say the IMF is arrogant. They’ll say the IMF doesn’t really listen to the developing countries it is supposed to help. They’ll say the IMF is secretive and insulated from democratic accountability. They’ll say the IMF's economic ‘remedies’ often make things worse – turning slowdowns into recessions and recessions into depressions. And they’ll have a point. I was chief economist at the World Bank from 1996 until last November, during the gravest global economic crisis in a half-century. I saw how the IMF, in tandem with the U.S. Treasury Department, responded. And I was appalled."
  • Initiative for Policy Dialogue In July 2000 Stiglitz founded the Initiative for Policy Dialogue (IPD), with support of the Ford, Rockefeller, McArthur, and Mott Foundations and the Canadian and Swedish governments, to enhance democratic processes for decision-making in developing countries and to ensure that a broader range of alternatives are on the table and more stakeholders are at the table.
  • Commission of Experts on Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System Stiglitz at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, 2009. In 2009, Stiglitz chaired the Commission of Experts on Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System which was convened by the President of the United Nations General Assembly "to review the workings of the global financial system, including major bodies such as the World Bank and the IMF, and to suggest steps to be taken by Member States to secure a more sustainable and just global economic order".[41] Its final report was released on 21 September 2009.[42][43]
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • The Price of Inequality: How Today's Divided Society Endangers Our Future (2012) From the jacket: As those at the top continue to enjoy the best health care, education, and benefits of wealth, they often fail to realize that, as Joseph E. Stiglitz highlights, "their fate is bound up with how the other 99 percent live ... It does not have to be this way. In The Price of Inequality Stiglitz lays out a comprehensive agenda to create a more dynamic economy and fairer and more equal society"
Innovation Blues

Direct democracy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 0 views

  • Electronic direct democracy It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with E-democracy. (Discuss) Proposed since December 2011. Electronic direct democracy (EDD), also known as Direct Digital Democracy (DDD)[22] or E-democracy[22], is a form of direct democracy which utilizes telecommunications to facilitate public participation. Electronic direct democracy is sometimes referred to by other names, such as open source governance and collaborative governance.[citation needed] EDD requires electronic voting or some way to register votes on issues electronically. As in any direct democracy, in an EDD, citizens would have the right to vote on legislation, author new legislation, and recall representatives (if any representatives are preserved).[citation needed]
  • EDD as a system is not fully implemented in a political government anywhere in the world, although several initiatives are currently forming. Ross Perot was a prominent advocate of EDD when he advocated "electronic town halls" during his 1992 and 1996 presidential campaigns in the United States. Switzerland, already partially governed by direct democracy, is making progress towards such a system
  • The first mainstream direct democracy party to be registered with any country's electoral commission [checked against each country's register] is the UK's People's Administration Direct Democracy party. The People's Administration have developed and published the complete architecture for a legitimate reform to EDD [including the required Parliamentary reform process]. Established by musicians [including Alex Romane] and political activists, the People's Administration advocates using the web and telephone to enable the majority electorate to create, propose and vote upon all policy implementation. The People's Administration's blueprint has been published in various forms since 1998 and the People's Administration is the first direct democracy party registered in a vote-able format anywhere in the world - making transition possible through evolution via election with legitimate majority support, instead of potentially through revolution via violence.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • Direct democracy (or pure democracy)[1] is a form of democracy in which people vote on policy initiatives directly, as opposed to a representative democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy initiatives.[2] Depending on the particular system in use, it might entail passing executive decisions, making laws, directly electing or dismissing officials and conducting trials. Two leading forms of direct democracy are participatory democracy and deliberative democracy.
Innovation Blues

Medical Information & Trusted Health Advice: Healthline - 0 views

  •  
    Healthline is the first consumer medical search engine focused on delivering results from trusted, high-quality healthcare websites.
Innovation Blues

Bribespot - anti corruption movement - 0 views

  •  
    Bribespot is an app that allows you to see how much corruption is going on around. Using your smartphone (or a website) you can report locations where bribes are requested/paid, indicate the size of a bribe and area of government affected by it.
Innovation Blues

Cohere >>> make the connection - 0 views

  • The Web is about IDEAS+PEOPLE. Cohere is a visual tool to create, connect and share Ideas. Back them up with websites. Support or challenge them. Embed them to spread virally. Discover who - literally - connects with your thinking.
  • Publish ideas and optionally add relevant websites
  • Weave webs of meaningful connections between ideas: your own and the world's
Innovation Blues

MeetingBurner - Fast and free online meetings and webinars - 0 views

  • 75% of our users switched to MeetingBurner fromGoToMeeting and WebEx – give us a try and find out why!
  • What sets MeetingBurner apart? Speed Attendees click once to join a meeting, and it loads lightning fast. Simplicity Anyone can join meetings without calling tech support. Integration Phone bridges, Skype, and webinars in perfect harmony. Social One-click to share a recorded meeting on YouTube. Price Free and fully featured with no distracting ads for attendees. Meeting Temperature Instant data that lets you drastically improve your pitch, follow up with interested attendees, and turn your meetings into a powerful sales tool. Autopilot™ Meetings Record a meeting on Sunday, but have it play on a Tuesday as if it’s live. PayPal Integration Charge attendees directly from the registration screen. Mobile Native Android functionality and iPhone/iPad apps to view.
  •  
    A nice feature to charge people for attending meetings.
Innovation Blues

Rolling.fm - 0 views

  •  
    Rolling.fm gives you the opportunity to experience a virtual party based on your own social preferences and shared personal free music playlist. Either, casually sit back in a room that best fits your needs, and listen while others discover new music for you to enjoy. Or, be an active influencer and show off your great taste in music by sharing from the DJ Stage. Music is just one element of Rolling, so don't just listen! Meet new interesting people from all over and let them know what you our thinking through real time social interactions. Here are some of the basics to help you Get Rolling!
Innovation Blues

Wisdom - A Social Intelligence App for Facebook - 0 views

  • Wisdom™ for Facebook is a free collective intelligence application that gives you an unprecedented level of insight derived from the social graph of the Wisdom Network or your own. Wisdom is powered by the knowledge of millions of users.
  • Put the collective knowledge of millions to work for you. Tap into the Wisdom Network and discover what’s hot, and what’s not. Single? Use Wisdom’s filtering capability to find the most popular single spots in your town. Looking for new music? Match your tastes with others to see which bands you might be into. You’re no longer alone when you have the power of Wisdom.
  • Stay on top of what’s important in your own network. Wisdom gives you unprecedented insights into your own Facebook friends and makes sure you get to the content that means the most to you. Never miss another party or important update. And stay in the know about your friends’ favorite restaurants, movies and more! 
Innovation Blues

Dragontape.com / Features - 0 views

  • Create / Curate
  • Sharing To Your Social Networks Post directly to Facebook or Twitter account or your personal blog.
  • Drag the videos you want on your tape, arrange them, cut the parts you don’t need, set a number of seconds for fading in/out/.
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • Search for your favorite YouTube videos or Soundcloud tracks in Dragontape's search box
  • mport Your YouTube Favorites & Playlists Type 'favs: username' or 'playlist: username' in the search field to access your public YouTube playlists and favorited videos or search for the videos of specific YouTube users by entering 'uploader: '
  • Easy Listening Listen to some of the best curator’s tapes and and quickly browse through the songs without waiting for them to load.
  • Interact On Tapes Favorite and like to support the great tapes you just discovered and give your feedback by leaving a comment.
  • Edit Tapes You Like If you find a tape you really like, copy it to your own account and edit it to your likes.
  • Get In The Charts Promote your tape to get it in to the Hotlist - or even Featured list if we think it's really special.
  • Your Tapes In The Cloud You can create and access your tapes wherever you are, from your computer, iPhone, iPad and soon from your Android phone.
Innovation Blues

NewsWhip | News Worth Sharing - 0 views

  • We live in a world of too much information. With thousands of stories published each day, how can you find the best quality and the most compelling? We think the answer lies with people. We humans have an instinct for good stories, and we know the news stories worth sharing with our friends. So we’ve built a technology that tracks all the news shared on Facebook and Twitter each day, to find the fastest spreading, most shared, highest quality stuff, and reveal it to the world.
  • How it works NewsWhip's technology tracks all the news published by about 5,000 English-language sources –about 60,000 news stories each day. It gathers social data for each story – how many shares, likes, tweets and comments it has – at repeated intervals, building a live picture of how popular it is, right now. With this information, it calculates a social speed at which each story is travelling. The process is unique, new, and patent pending.
Innovation Blues

Overview of Online Project Management & Planning Software | Clarizen - 0 views

  • All Together NowClarizen’s pure SaaS-based project execution platform goes beyond project management, giving your whole team a centralized environment to manage projects, tasks, resources, budgets – as well as associate emails, chat and documents - with in an intuitive, easy to use UI. Project managers and organizations get real-time visibility and clarity, enabling them to make decisions based on data, not guesswork.  Users of the system gain a flexible, task management tool to help them understand priorities and get the important work done on time.
  • The Project Software Your Team will UseClarizen has great adoption rates, because it is provides each user a personalized dashboard showing only tasks, conversations, and documents that are relevant to them. As each user updates their status, using email, mobile apps, or from within Clarizen, this data rolls up to the manager’s view. As a project manager or executive, you have full visibility to plan, delegate, and get real-time status into what your team is working on.
  • Combining Project Structure with CollaborationClarizen marries project management with collaboration, ensuring that all email, chat and other unstructured communications are associated within the context of a project.  The result is a work management environment with robust simplicity: Clarizen is feature-rich and powerful enough for the most seasoned project professional, yet it’s easy for a novice to begin working more productively as soon as they begin using Clarizen.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • Real-Time Visibility to Your Projects' StatusGain real-time visibility to your project's status by empowering team members to take an active role in managing their own time and tasks. You can define your project's key deliverables and get immediate visibility about where you stand with Clarizen’s unique Roadmap view. Set your roadmap as an external widget, and share your progress with your team, your exec team, and even your customers or suppliers. Stay current through email alert notifications and easy-to-understand personalized dashboards. Know exactly what is new for you and what requires your attention, according to your role and responsibilities.
  • Start Today!Online project management software offers many benefits. A pure SaaS model means rapid ROI, minimal IT intervention, and ensures users are always working with the latest version of the application. Clarizen’s flexible and simple pricing model – no up-front investment and no hidden costs, allows you to add or subtract users as needed, adjusting your investment to your project planning and business needs.Best of all, you can login and get started immediately!
Innovation Blues

Make your meetings memorable - 0 views

  • About Me
    By signing up, you agree to the following terms of service.
    OR
  • Really Free Conferencing Hangout with your friends or colleagues, share videos (up to 9) and conference for free. Join the call with your browser, Skype or your phone directly. No long distance charges, our number is toll-free, really. More? In the US, you can even get called by the conference on your landline or mobile directly ! RECORDED : The recording of your call are saved to your reports. (coming soon)
Innovation Blues

Rocketr - Collaborative notetaking - 0 views

  • Capture and share ideas A lightweight tool for connecting insights
Innovation Blues

jovoto / Homepage - 0 views

  • Cloudstorm. Collaborate with creators globally. At jovoto ideas compete while talent collaborates. Inspire others, submit your idea and get inspired. Unleash the creativity of the cloud for your brand and organization. Start now – let us be your guide.
  •  
    A global platform to enable creative excellence through mass collaboration. Get challenged by contests for big brands, international companies and NGOs. Work in an inspiring environment with thousands of other talented creatives. Get into a sustainable deal: fair copyright handling, high prize money and the community decides who wins the prizes.
Innovation Blues

Flowchart Software - Online Flow charts software service with Realtime collaboration [2... - 0 views

  • Flowchart.com is an online multi-user, real-time collaboration flow charts service. It's Flowcharting made easy.
  • Collaborate together You can collaborate with your colleagues in real-time. All collaborating parties can chat and design flow charts at the same time. Flowchart.com does not require any software download, it works with your favorite browser such as: Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari, Google Chrome. Flowchart.com works on any Operating System.
Innovation Blues

Tokii.com Sign In - 0 views

  •  
    Tokii is about making good relationships better. Today's busy couples send 1000 texts and 400 emails to each other every year that often end up being misunderstood. Additionally, almost 70% of break-ups are a direct result of communication issues. Tokii will help you stay in sync and build a stronger relationship by stopping the guesswork.
Innovation Blues

Screenreach - 0 views

  •  
    Screach is a new, unique interactive digital media platform that allows anyone to create real-time 2 way interactive experiences between a smart device - through the Screach Application (www.screach.com) - and any content, on any screen or within the mobile device itself effectively turning any screen you ever come in contact with (TVs in your living room, stadia, etc) into an interactive experience.
« First ‹ Previous 61 - 80 Next › Last »
Showing 20 items per page