By John Hoffmire Across the United States, it is not uncommon to see billboards and advertisements for a local lottery. These are often joined by other joint lotteries, some of which cover several states. While the variety is seemingly endless, all the ads and sponsorships of the games share one trait: a warning. Often found
By John Hoffmire Traditional investors often put money into companies focused mainly on the returns they will see, while many nonprofits and government agencies provide funding for programs in return for measurable social impact. Impact investing attempts to join business and social concerns. The point of impact investing is to fund companies that not only generate
By John Hoffmire Those answering this question seem to have become more and more optimistic over the past several decades. Major advances in technology, education, healthcare and business practices have led to reduced poverty rates around the world. Although victory is still a long way off, it seems that we have a fighting chance in the
By John Hoffmire The beacon of development often conjures up images of radical innovations, disruptive models and leapfrog technologies. And yet, as nations attempt to embrace the promises of development, there is often a colossal failure of both imagination and execution in providing for even the most basic of human needs. Measurable social change, ensuring
The core of the American Dream — equality of opportunity and rewards commensurate with efforts and abilities — has enchanted millions of people across the globe. However, it is important to assess whether the reality bears out that ideal. Although two-thirds of Americans (69 percent) agree with the statement that “people are rewarded for intelligence
In the last 50 years, family structures have changed dramatically. Just half a century ago, 75 percent of children lived in a home with two married parents in their first marriage. Today, less than half of children are raised in such a traditional situation, and more than a third are raised by single parents. This
Uber, Craigslist, eBay, Airbnb; you know them, you may use them, they are all part of the shared economy. The concept is simple enough. Market your assets to peers in the informal cyber marketplace. Maria, a former wedding photographer, has a closet chock full of camera equipment, four small kids and a growing stack of
In a recent column, I asked readers to write in with ideas about how full employment would influence the debate about inequality in the U.S. Since the column was published, eradicating poverty and trying to address inequality have been even more ever present in the spotlight as issues to be addressed in meaningful ways. Many
In the past 10 years, rates of extreme poverty have been halved, from 15.7% in 2010 to 7.7% in 2019, according to statistics from the World Bank and World Poverty Clock. Although this is not enough, it still demonstrates a significant global accomplishment. In 1990, extreme poverty was defined as subsisting on one dollar per day.
Social Security policy is unsustainable in its current form. What has consumed a significant portion of America’s paychecks and helped sustain a significant portion of America’s seniors is destined for change. In 2019, the trustees of the Social Security program released a report predicting that all of the trust fund’s reserves would run out by
A “necessity entrepreneur” is an individual who starts a business not because they recognize an opportunity to make money, but because there is no other option to make a living. Sadly, billions of people in the developing world with little access to education or reliable jobs are in this position. Their microbusinesses are often simple.
The number of men who had DNA tests administered for themselves and at least one of their children rose by 64 percent last decade, according to The New York Times. The DNA tests confirm whether or not a man is unknowingly raising another man's child. More than 400,000 men had DNA tests administered in one
Malaria is an illness that sickened 228 million people worldwide in 2018—405,000 of whom died. By far the greatest number affected live in Africa’s poorest countries. Africa was home to 92 percent of the malaria cases and it was where 93 percent of the malaria-related deaths took place, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The American people are no strangers to the spirit of charitable giving. A phenomenal figure from Charity Navigator shows that as many as 50 percent of American households donated money when the 2010 earthquake devastated Haiti. This giving accumulated to $1.4 billion. Another example of American goodness was the $1.6 billion donated to victims of
How rich are the rich? According to the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Databook 2018, 42 million people (.8% of the world population) own 44.8% of total wealth. Add in the next richest 8.7% of population and now less than 10% of world population has over 84% of the wealth. The bottom 63.9% of population share
Individual debt, in all forms, is on the rise, and the staggering accumulation is having unforeseen and unintended consequences. To back up the claim that debt is rising, we point to outstanding credit card debt in the U.S., which is over $1 trillion for the first time. Combine this with poor personal financial management skills
Hospitalizations for several common diseases—including septicemia (serious bloodstream infection), fluid and electrolyte disorders, renal failure, urinary tract infections, and skin and tissue infections—have been linked for the first time with short-term exposure to fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5), according to a comprehensive new study led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. In addition, the study found that
An international team co-led by an Oregon State University chemistry researcher has uncovered a better way to scrub carbon dioxide from smokestack emissions, which could be a key to mitigating global climate change. Published today in Nature, the findings are important because atmospheric CO2 has increased 40 percent since the dawn of the industrial age,
All over the world, especially in developed countries, farmers and consumers are forming communities that revolve around food grown locally, yet in Africa, traditional or local agriculture is not given the full recognition it deserves, to promote the survival of the local farmer and also to sustain the economy. Food has always played a fundamental
Whether the concern is rooted in polluted air, in greenhouse emissions or in a dependency on a finite supply of resources, businesses and governments worldwide have begun the search for cleaner, more abundant fuels. Words like zero-emission, once only seen in environmental reports, are now entering board room and political discourse as leaders respond to a growing demand for better management of our resources and their associated externalities.
