The Pursuit of Happiness

The Declaration of Independence states that our inalienable rights include “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Life and liberty are easy to understand, but that last phrase is less intuitive. How can people have a right to strive for happiness?
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Uniting to Fight Poverty: A TED Talk

How do we solve problems like poverty with so much political polarization?

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Welcome to the Pursuit

To pursue our happiness, to achieve our liberty, and indeed to find fulfillment in our lives, we must start with a moral consensus, a fundamental truth around which we all revolve. Think of an atom. The outer field of electrons is full of chaotic activity. Electrons are rapidly orbiting and moving in a constant buzz. What contains that chaos and gives it structure? The fact that the whole chaotic cloud orbits one central nucleus.

 

The Role of Parents in K-12 Education

The Role of Parents in K-12 Education

Two classmates grow up together from kindergarten. They sit next to each other in homeroom, have all the same classes with all the same teachers, and take the same state-required tests. One does well and one not so much. What accounts for the difference?

The answer depends on who is responsible for a child’s education.

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Using the Burger King Mentality to Destroy a Four-Year Investment

Using the Burger King Mentality to Destroy a Four-Year Investment

Forty-three years since its release, people still recall the “have it your way” Burger King jingle as one of the most effective pieces of advertising ever made, driving home exactly what Burger King was selling — convenience, made-to-order fast food, delivered to you just the way you like it, no questions, no lip, no delay.

It’s the Burger King mentality, and it’s great for ordering a drive-thru dinner. But the sentiment has crept into a lot of college campuses lately, and unless you’re in the student union food court, the Burger King mentality has no place at these institutions of higher learning.

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The Success Sequence: Why Education, a Job, Marriage, Then Kids Is the Working Order

The Success Sequence: Why Education, a Job, Marriage, Then Kids Is the Working Order

Ah, millennials. In some ways, they’re very traditional, suggesting that women should stay at home to raise their kids. In other ways, they are very Bohemian, doing as they please when the mood hits. But it turns out, the old-fashioned success sequence — a (high school or higher) degree, job, marriage, then children, in that order — is still the winning combination for securing financial well-being.

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Is Vaping Safe? Yes. Then Why Try to Force It Out of Existence?

Is Vaping Safe? Yes. Then Why Try to Force It Out of Existence?

Smoking is bad for you, but is vaping safe? What is vaping, you ask? Vaping is a substitute for cigarettes. Individuals suck the vapor out of e-cigarette whose primary ingredient is a liquid made from vegetable glycerin or propylene glycol (PG), a synthetic compound used in massage oils, injectable Diazepam, hand sanitizers, and a bunch of other products.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has “generally recognized as safe” pharmaceutical grade PG, which is what is used in vaping.

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Deaths of Despair: Opioid Abuse Devastates America. There Is a Solution

Deaths of Despair: Opioid Abuse Devastates America. There Is a Solution

Low-income poorly educated whites between the ages of 45-54 are dying too soon. Unlike every other age, ethnic and racial, education, and income group, this group’s longevity is decreasing. Why? Opioid abuse.

That’s right, prescription painkillers, heroin, Fentanyl, and other opiate derivatives killed more than 33,000 Americans in 2015. That’s about four times the number of opioid-related drug overdose deaths than in 1999.

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Farm Subsidies: Not Your Father’s Cropshares

Farm Subsidies: Not Your Father’s Cropshares

Imagine this scenario: A massive disaster hits and America’s food sources are wiped out. Miles of crops no longer exist. The cost of food skyrockets. America’s farmers are devastated. The land is destroyed, the farm equipment turned to trash, homes and livelihoods are ruined.

The government mobilizes into action. How? By paying the farmers for their losses.

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What's New on The Pursuit of Happiness?

Words Matter: The Power of Speech in Changing Minds

Words are powerful, and, when used well, they can incite people to both good and evil. They give those in positions of power, well, power – and lots of it. And, thanks to the Bill of Rights, specifically the very first item on it, people can say almost anything with presumably no consequences. … Read More

The Problems With Seattle’s Minimum Wage Debate

Recently, a University of Washington study released on the impact of raising Seattle's minimum wage from $11 to $13 in 2016 showed some disturbing effects. It revealed that the number of minimum wage jobs declined and while lower-income workers were making higher wages they were employed fewer … Read More

The Real Cause of America’s Declining Labor Participation Rate? Boys and Their Joysticks

A wily and widespread addiction has caused a massive epidemic among young men — one so bad that they are no longer working. This addiction has a name: video games. That's right, video games have sapped America's male youth of its ability to be productive, to function eight hours a day at a job. … Read More

Is There Any Room for Diversity of Thought on New England College Campuses?

The quintessential image of an austere college campus usually involves students walking across the quad with colorful leaves falling in the background. Their backpacks are heavy with books, or maybe the students are carrying a particularly thick text as they try waving their hands, engaged in … Read More

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