A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I wrote a book about the rise of people working for themselves. A lot has happened since then — a historic recession, the emergence of widespread broadband, the explosive growth of smart phones, the further erosion of job security, lower barriers to entry for small […]
On Sunday night I did something that, when you stop and think about it for a moment, was weird. Accompanied by SaulonSports, I drove to Ray’s Hell Burger to pick up dinner for ourselves and our fellow Pinks. We asked for five burgers. And the folks behind the counter gave them to us in exchange for —
For the last maybe 20 years, I’ve been complaining about pennies. At first I was impressed by the spontaneous order in solutions like the “Have one, leave one. Need one, take one” dish. Then I realized that such accommodations only propped up an evil regime — and I griped to anyone who would listen that
Paul Sullivan — author of the terrific book, Clutch — has a fascinating piece in Saturday’s New York Times about the growing ranks of social scientists who are studying American elites. As wealth in this country concentrates at the top — and, increasingly, at the top of the top — how that happened and who inhabits this upper echelon
Every once in awhile, you hear of an idea so blindingly obvious and inarguably wise that you wonder why in God’s name it’s still a notion and not a reality. That happened to me this morning when I heard about the Taxpayer Receipt, the brainchild of the folks at Third Way. In a brief and
One of my favorite books of recent years was Predictably Irrational by Duke behavioral economist Dan Ariely. Now Ariely is back with a new book, The Upside of Irrationality, and it’s just as good and, in some ways, even better. Where the last book focused on how poor reasoning can lead us astray, this one explores
On the drive to Bradley Barbers for a cheap haircut last night, I was listening to Marketplace, when host Kai Ryssdal played a catchy, newly-released pop song about . . . Paul Krugman.The song, written and sung by Jonathan Mann, laments that Krugman isn’t involved in helping the government fix the financial mess and that too much responsibility rests on
The recession is horrid. And yet Americans still lead lives of staggering material abundance. That’s a point driven home in this TV clip, which everyone and her brother has sent to me this week.
Friday’s unemployment figures reveal once again the grimness of the 2009 labor market. So how are organizations responding? By taking steps that, not too long ago, would have been unthinkable.Consider IBM. According to Information Week, the company is offering its laid-off workers a fab deal: It will give them jobs . . . in emerging
