1. Does Wealth Breed Narcissism: The New' Mirror, Mirror on the Wall' Study
... I wanted to test the relationship between wealth, entitlement and narcissism, guided by our earlier work suggesting that people who are wealthier, or who feel richer, tend to be a little more self-focused and self-interested than others. We found that wealthier participants reported significantly greater psychological entitlement. They were more likely to see themselves as deserving of good things in life and entitled to a bigger piece of the pie than others. We even found that students whose parents were wealthier and better educated (in other words, people who hadn't done anything themselves to be wealthy) felt more psychologically entitled. Further, we found that wealthier individuals not only feel more entitled, but they also report more narcissistic tendencies on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, endorsing statements like, "I like to be the center of attention," "I find it easy to manipulate people" and "I like to show off my body."...
2. How Candles Are Making New Opportunities for Women in Haiti
3. A U.S. manufacturing comeback won't rebuild the middle class
"... The reality is U.S. factories rely more on machines than actual workers, says Jesse Rothstein, public policy and economics professor at University of California Berkeley. Machines produce more for less, and with bargaining powers of U.S. unions not being what they once were, it becomes less likely workers will earn more.
In a 2012 study, Rothstein found that hires by manufacturers of durable goods (items lasting three years or more) were paid an average of 0.3% less in 2010 and 2011 than workers newly hired in 2007 and 2008.
A similar trend plays out if we look at manufacturing overall: The average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory employees were $8.43 for 2012, lower than $8.70 in 2009 and $8.75 in 2003, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. To be sure, some higher-skilled manufacturing jobs, such as welding, have seen wages rise.
The Boston Consulting Group notes the U.S. is steadily becoming one of the cheapest places in the developed world to manufacture. By 2015, average labor costs will be about 16% lower in the U.S. than in the U.K., 18% lower than in Japan, 34% lower than in Germany, and 35% lower than in France and Italy.
If the firm is right, it's likely that many more manufacturers will return jobs to the U.S., as it predicts. However, if trends in pay continue, it probably won't rebuild the middle class."
4. An affinity for lavish funerals is proving costly for Africa's poor
While insurance companies in the US, UK and Europe make the bulk of their money covering cars, homes and other material goods, their African counterparts are cashing in on the continent's custom of hosting pricey funerals.
In Africa, big, dignified burials are signs of prosperity, and small, restrained ceremonies are just the opposite. So Africans stretch their finances, often to unseemly ends, to fund funeral insurance so relatives can have a proper burial.
On average, funerals in Africa cost a staggering 40% of annual household expenditures, according to Foreign Policy, and include elaborate coffins, food for guests, requisite new clothing, and transportation to and from the ceremony. Funeral insurance hedges their ability to cover expenses. At Sizo Funeral Directors, a small funeral-insurance company based out of Soweto, South Africa, the cheapest package affords a $500 funeral, and covers up to 14 people for as little as $12 dollars a month. Larger packages run upwards of $50 dollars a month, and often much more. Consider that in South Africa, the continent's wealthiest country, non-farm workers make less than $1,500 a month. Funeral insurance policies tend to be bought on behalf of households, meaning that many Africans are covered for large portions of, if not most of their lives. ...
5. Minimum wage at $15 an hour: Would it help or hurt?
... A big question, though, is whether pushing up the minimum wage would dim the employment prospects of many who need jobs the most: young or unskilled workers.
In economics, the general rule is that if something becomes more expensive, people will buy less of it. In this case, critics warn that minimum-wage hikes will cause employers to scale back on hiring – using alternatives such as automation or foreign outsourcing wherever they can.
A countering view, held by backers of the Seattle wage push, is that if more US workers had decent incomes, consumer spending would rise and help fuel a virtuous cycle for the economy – including new hiring.
Economists haven't reached a consensus on the optimum minimum wage policy. White House economist Alan Krueger is known as a proponent of the idea that the minimum can be raised without having adverse effects on employment.
But when two other economists, David Neumark of the University of California at Irvine and William Wascher of the Federal Reserve Board, surveyed studies that have been done over the past two decades, they found the evidence weighted toward the view that boosting the minimum wage has at least modest negative effects on job creation.
Some supporters of greater wage support for low-income workers favor moves such as expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit – a move that doesn't directly burden employers with new costs. ...
6. For nuclear, good things come in small packages
... But the days of the behemoth light water reactor plants may be numbered.
The challenge comes from what are known as small modular reactors (SMRs), rated at under 300 MWe. Stimulated by a total of $452 million in matching funds from the U.S. Department of Energy, the race is on for these smaller reactors. Call them the new, improved, front-wheel drive reactors. ...
... Whatever the design, one of the big advantages the new entrants will have is that they will be wholly or partly built in factories, saving money and assuring quality. (Related article: Will Moribund Uranium Prices Rebound?)
Some designs, like those of Babcock & Wilcox (which won the first round of funding) and Westinghouse, are sophisticated adaptations of light water technology.
Others, like General Atomics' offering, called the Energy Multiplier Module, or EM2, are at the cutting-edge of nuclear energy. It relies on a high operating temperature of 850 degrees Centigrade to increase efficiency, reduce waste, and even to use nuclear waste as fuel. It is designed to work for 30 years without refuelling, relying on a silicon carbide fibre ceramic that will hold the fuel pellets.
"The ceramic does not melt and if it is damaged, the material tends to heal itself," says John Parmentola, senior vice president at General Atomics, which developed the Predator unmanned aerial vehicle and the electromagnetic launch system for aircraft carriers, which replaces the steam catapult.
Others designs include thorium fuel instead of uranium, the use of molten salt as a moderator and coolant. Three of them, including General Atomics' design are so-called fast reactors, where a moderator is not used to slow down the neutrons as they collide with the target atoms. Think fission on steroids. ...
7. Africa and Pakistan Face Polio Outbreaks, in Blow to Global Fight
...Of particular note are a set of questions posed in the survey about how blacks are treated today by some of the most important civic institutions in society: police departments, the justice system, public schools. Pew asked 2,231 nationally representative adults if they believed blacks in their communities were treated less fairly than whites by these and other elements of the community, including restaurants and stores.
Seventy percent of blacks felt this way about the police (no wonder). Meanwhile, only 37 percent of whites felt blacks were treated unfairly by police. Suspicion among blacks (and a stark divide in opinion with whites) remains notably high for elections as well (ahem). ...
Social isolation kills more people than obesity does—and it's just as stigmatized. ...
... Loneliness has doubled: 40 percent of adults in two recent surveys said they were lonely, up from 20 percent in the 1980s. ...
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