American Construction Workers

Why Did America Stop Working? The Pursuit to Fill Jobs

At a time when the 2016 presidential election is creating a bitter divide, arguments between neighbors and friends are seemingly at odds with the reality of the U.S. economy. The question is not whether the economy can produce jobs, the question is why did America's labor force stop working?

Dallas Police job applications

Good News Story of the Week: Dallas Police Department Applications Triple After Shootings

It’s only Monday, but the good news story of the week has to be that the Dallas police force has seen job applications triple since Chief David Brown challenged people disenchanted with policing to become part of the solution. The Dallas police came under attack on July 7, when five police officers were struck down and another […]

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Appalachian poverty

Hillbilly Poverty: Trump’s Appeal to Poor Appalachian Whites

The discussion of "hillbilly poverty" — a deep and abiding poverty that has been prevalent, but overlooked, for generations in the Appalachian region — seems to keep coming back to the fore, particularly this election season. It may be because white poverty is a blind spot to many Americans who are either white, but don't live in poverty, or are non-white and unaware of or too preoccupied with their own identity struggles to worry about the white underclass. Or maybe most Americans are aware, but feel helpless to do anything about it.

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Older workers

Hey, Older Workers: Raise Your Hand If Too Much Work Makes You Dumber

A study cited by the BBC claims that too much work makes you dumber. That's right, working too many hours after a certain age could be bad for our brains ... maybe.

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who voted for brexit

Who Voted for Brexit? An Analysis of Voter Turnout and Its Implications

Who voted for Brexit? A very interesting analysis on the characteristics and demographics behind Britain's decision to leave the European Union comes from Zsolt Darvas, a senior fellow at think tank Bruegel in Brussels, Belgium. Darvas did several regression analyses to find that low-income voters as well as older Britons supported leaving the European Union. Younger people and those with a degree were more likely to vote to stay in the Union.

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Interns

Emotional Intelligence and the Case of The Interns Who Didn’t Get It

Every now and then, a news story causes people to snicker with a satisfying sense of knowing someone else got their comeuppance, even though a more appropriate response would be to use one's emotional intelligence to consider applying lessons to one's own life. Here's one example of that.

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Michael Bloomberg tried many anti-poverty programs.

Could Poverty Be Alleviated With a Tweak to EITC?

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg wasn't successful in every venture he tried to implement to improve the city, and he earned a fair amount of grief for some of his ideas. But as a successful businessman, and one of the world's wealthiest people, he was the kind of politician who served the same way he ran his corporations — with a willingness to take risks. It's that kind of leadership that enabled the mayor to drive New York City's poverty rate down at a time when poverty rates nationally were rising. Several of the experiments that animated New York can be credited with keeping the city's poverty rate among the lowest in the nation’s 20 largest metro areas even today.

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Dodd-Frank Meme

Why Dodd-Frank Was Never Meant to Cure Any Banking Woes

Dodd-Frank's "too big to fail" solution is essentially a speed trap, designed to ensnare more and more firms under greater government control. It was never set up to avoid unsafe behavior in the first place.

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Lost Equality of Opportunity Is Biggest Threat to Education

between 2000 and 2014, the percentage of public schools with 75 percent to 100 percent poor black or Hispanic students increased from 9 percent to 16 percent. To rectify discrimination in high-poverty, segregated schools, the Education Department and Justice Department have supported the continuation of desegregation orders.

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Zenefits CEO David Sacks on his bold bet: Less than 10% of employees accepted ‘The Offer’

Zenefits CEO David Sacks made a daring turnaround move after the departure of the company’s founder: An employee buyout offer for anyone didn’t feel he or she could get behind Sacks' plan to save the company. How did it go?

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Take Mothers’ Labor Force Participation Seriously

There are two narratives about the labor force participation rates of mothers. The first argues that participation rates are low because women voluntarily choose to cut down on hours worked or quit their jobs after the birth of a child—the so called “opt-out” moms. The second narrative contends that the decline in participation after the birth of […]

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George Lucas

Happy Birthday, George Lucas! 7 Great Quotes From the Great Innovator

George Lucas, the film innovator, auteur, and genius behind “Star Wars,” turned 72 on Saturday, May 14. In honor of his birthday, here are seven inspiring quotes of his on innovation, technology, and America. 1) If America is the pursuit of happiness, the best way to pursue happiness is to help other people. Because there’s nothing else […]

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Why Western Civilization Classes Are Not Passé

Can you answer the following questions? Who fought in the Peloponnesian War? Who taught Plato, and whom did Plato teach? Who was Saul of Tarsus? Why does the Magna Carta matter? What are one or two of the arguments made in Federalist 10? Hard questions, right? Maybe not. Maybe you learned some or all of […]

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Our Dangerous Reality: There Are All Sorts of Threats America Must Prepare For

With the terrorist attacks in Paris, France and San Bernardino, California, Americans are increasingly concerned about the safety of their communities. Daily media reports about the spread of the Islamic State group, its infiltration of the refugees streaming out of the Middle East and its savvy social media efforts to radicalize Muslims across the globe […]

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Book Review: The Conservative Heart

By Robert M. Whaples, Wake Forest University Although Arthur Brooks’ book is titled The Conservative Heart, it might just as aptly have been titled The Libertarian Heart, and perhaps even The Liberal/Progressive Heart. Its goal is to share a compassionate world view, findings from social science research and practical advice to build a broad coalition for […]

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Why Ministers for Happiness, Tolerance, Youth and the Future?

Over the past two weeks, I have heard and read many questions, comments, and news stories regarding recent changes to the government of the United Arab Emirates. Why, everyone seems to want to know, did we establish a Ministry of Happiness, Tolerance, and the Future, and why did we appoint a 22-year-old Minister of Youth? […]

Things Science Says Will Make You Much Happier

It’s no secret that we’re obsessed with happiness. After all, the “pursuit of happiness” is even enshrined in the  Declaration of Independence. But happiness is fleeting. How can we find it  and keep it alive? Psychologists at the University of California have discovered some  fascinating things about happiness that could change your life. Dr. Sonja […]

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Narcissism is Increasing. So You’re Not So Special

My teenage son recently informed me that there is an Internet quiz to test oneself for narcissism. His friend had just taken it. “How did it turn out?” I asked. “He says he did great!” my son responded. “He got the maximum score!” When I was a child, no one outside the mental health profession […]

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What People Around the World Mean When They Say They’re Happy

Even though she is still healthy and lively, Mrs. Xie has already prepared the clothes she will be buried in. An 86-year-old Chinese woman who lives in Dongshan, a city on China’s southeastern coast, Xie has an active life, cooking for friends at the local Buddhist temple and joining in the chants there. Yet she has […]

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The Economics of Homelessness

Turns out the 2008 recession didn’t increase the number of homeless while at the same time the number of sheltered homeless didn’t expand during or since the recession. Nonetheless, the renewed effort since 2007 to count the number of homeless has ushered in a lot of politics into the issue of homelessness, a number that has not […]

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Science Behind the Factoid: Lottery Winners Are No Happier Than Quadriplegics

Here’s a frequently repeated, counterintuitive factoid: people who win large sums in the lottery are no happier, over time, than people who become paralyzed in traumatic accidents. This “fact” comes from Brickman et al’s 1978 paper called Lottery Winners and Accident Victims: Is Happiness Relative? The researchers interviewed 22 major lottery winners, 22 randomly selected […]

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Maryland to Mail Free Books Each Month to Baltimore’s Children

Not your typical government-sponsored program: “The Youth League of Baltimore will help coordinate the effort — dubbed ‘Governor’s Young Readers’ — by identifying local partners to lead fundraising efforts, promote the program and help families sign up for it. The program costs $25 per child, and according to the partnership, the Maryland Department of Human […]

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A winning strategy for 2016? Think positive

Most commentators don’t even seem troubled by the personal insults and relentless pessimism; they just view them as the natural state of politics. Negativity is the only way to win, right? Wrong. There is a better way to compete, a path that is both morally superior and more politically effective in the long run. Instead […]

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Share Happiness With the World

The research is fascinating. The talks are inspiring. But to make a difference, we need to act. Here’s how you can join the community that’s building a happier and more just America: Follow our Facebook page and let us know what you think about our daily examples of attitudes and actions that lead people to happiness. Hear more […]

Capitalism with a conscience

The Dalai Lama came to Washington, D.C. to lecture economists about empathy. What happened next surprised everyone. Read More.

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Social justice requires these four things

Our nation has a great deal of need. It’s made worse by misguided policies and a materialistic culture.

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Does work make us happy or miserable?

Do Americans hate our jobs, or do we actually like to work? The real answer isn’t what the media tells you.

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Is happiness like a treadmill we can’t outrun?

Humans are great at adapting our expectations to our environment. Sometimes that’s a big help. Sometimes it’s a burden.

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The Guardian Happy for Life app interactive dashboard

View up-to-the minute data exploring how the Guardian’s Happy for Life app is helping readers find a little bit of happiness every day. Download the app.

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Capitalism and compassion: Why morality matters in a market economy

n much of the world, including India, the free enterprise system has come to be associated with material greed, or wealth creation for its own sake. AEI President Arthur C. Brooks believes that supporters of the free market system need to develop a new way of addressing the big human questions of our time.

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