Dear Alexa, At work, I have become ashamed of my less-than-perfect smile since I am surrounded by colleagues who had the luxury of wearing braces in their youth. Should I get braces to perfect my smile, even though I am…
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Why Do We Need More King Peggys?
Our Monday Gender Issue: Having a woman as the king of an African fishing village can make a big difference. During 2008, a secretary who works at Ghana’s Washington DC embassy got a middle of the night call at her…
When Did We Get “Tough Love” From the Federal Reserve?
Demonstrating Russia’s current plight, this graph so perfectly illustrates stagflation: When GDP sinks and inflation increases, the stagflation that results is tough to cure. If monetary authorities target inflation with tight monetary policy, then interest rates go up and further…
China’s Demographic Flipflop
The wait list for the most popular retirement home in China has topped 10,000. With 1100 available beds and just 11 beds emptying annually, it could take 100 years for someone to get a spot. Part of the problem is…
How To Cope With (Water) Stress
Being water stressed means you are unusually vulnerable to a water shortage. Sort of like a household where one emergency can push it over the edge because it spends all it earns, so too with most water stressed nations. That one drought…
Gender Issues: What If We No Longer Said “He” and “She”?
Our Monday Gender Issue: In the February 10th issue of the New Yorker, I read “Pronoun Envy” by Anne Carson. Here is the beginning: Pronoun Envy “is a phrase coined by Cal Watkins of the Harvard Linguistics Department in November…
Why Would the Nigerian GDP Double Overnight?
We might have to say BRINC rather than BRICS. As a developing nation with the highest GDP in Africa, South Africa has been the “S” in BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China). Now though, Nigeria has raced ahead. During one weekend…
The Big Impact of a Little Salamander
The woodland salamander made me think of Adam Smith. In North American forests, wherever it is dark and damp, under a rock or a log, a very hungry salamander could be devouring her daily diet. Eating 20 ants, 2 flies…
Unusual Ways to Achieve Deficit Reduction
Hoping to diminish their country’s deficit, last year, Malta’s President and Parliament decided to sell citizenship. The price tag is $891,000 and the perk is that Malta is in the EU. Consequently, you get an island home with a back…
Does It Matter That Men Boast?
Our Monday Gender Issue: Teaching at a girls’ school, I continually run into the problem of modesty. My women know the answers and yet go to the board saying they might not be right. Now, an academic study from researchers…