Town Hall Meeting

Inflation for 2010 is about the same as it was in 2009. Remember to keep this in mind when dealing with wage increases at work, or returns on investments.

2010 Consumer Price Index: 1.5%
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/cpi_01142011.htm

2010 Producer Price Index: 4.0%
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/ppi_01132011.htm

It sounds odd and totally wrong, but there are downsides to social mobility. Some of the most famous philosophers in history have discussed it: Kant, Benthem, Aristotle. This article from BBC News discusses the downsides they give, such as physical dislocation (moving to where the jobs are), isolation from family and shallow relationships with friends due to short friendships. Also, if riches are based on merit, then you would only have yourself to blame for your own poverty. Another downside is the things that generate money may be terribly soul draining. For example a banker may make a lot of money putting them into the wealthy class, and an artist may end up poor. So assuming upward mobility is desirable, then the incentive is to have more bankers and fewer artists…is this the best possible world?

While I think that social mobility is very important and vital to human existence, it is an interesting and useful thought experiment.

Sam Cooke was a very talented musician and civil rights activist. He wrote and performed some of the most famous songs of all time. He was senselessly murdered at the age of 33, in Los Angeles in 1964. According to Wikipedia, he “had 29 top-40 hits in the U.S. between 1957 and 1964.” He is considered a major pioneer of Soul Music. He also was a trailblazer by taking control of the business side of his art too, founding his own label and publishing company.

Check out this documentary about Cooke here on youtube. It is divided into 5 parts, here is the 1st…

Make her president!

-Thanks G for the link