Below is a link to an article about income inequality. primarily a reiteration of what we covered earlier in the class about the disparity in wealth between the top 1% and the bottom 50%. This article i found extremely interesting in its examples and the way the information was explained. I strongly recommend at least a short glance over the article its not very long.

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2016/apr/30/the-worlds-poorest-50-are-a-trillion-dollars-worse-off-whats-going-on

Theres not to many ted talks that can make me laugh but “is the future sustainable” was not only amusing it was incredibly fascinating. I had previously done allot of research on the concept of fish sanctuaries primary those kept in tanks that are extremely polluted. This ted talk was pretty surprising for me because i had not realized that there was a fully self sustaining fish sanctuary. I have looked into allot of self sustaining models for solutions to world hunger but i believe natural fish sanctuaries could be a possible real solution. and could be created with little to no infrastructure and maintenance. One other concept that i really liked is the concept of low maintenance high reward vegetation growth. Below is a link to a ted talk that explains everything about this computerized farming. its a really neat idea that could have the possibility of huge implications for the world.

https://www.ted.com/talks/caleb_harper_this_computer_will_grow_your_food_in_the_future?language=en

Below is a short article about the economic woes for Africa’s top 4 economies. I have been hearing allot in the news lately about how african economies are not doing as well as predicted and there growth is slowing. One thing i found shocking in this article is the percentage of revenue in some african counties and there reliance on oil. For example Angola receives 95% of its government revenue from oil. I just cant believe in todays world that fully organized government does not realize that a diversified portfolio is a means to avoid the scenarios they face today. But in broader terms what will the reduction in growth mean for the rest of the world. companies are pulling out because of stagnant growth which further exacerbates the crises. what will be the future result for countries like Nigeria? I think this actually might contribute to a rise in gas prices. which i hope not because i have been enjoying paying less at the pump.

http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/15/news/economy/africa-economy-south-africa-nigeria-kenya-angola/

The whats the goal videos was very interesting i thought the video regarding GDP as a false indicator of growth is an excellent video. One example that fits best into this is china. they have enormous GDP growth and allot of it is falsified by mass amounts of infrastructure and other factors being pumped up by government support which makes china look as if it is growing when the reality is the disparity of wealth is growing and peoples average lives are not getting any better. This falsified GDP levels of growth are making it look as if China is doing better than the rest of the world when the reality of the situation is just the opposite. The other video talking about happiness as an economic indicator was something that i had never heard before. I thought it would play a larger role than simply more happiness equals higher pay grade but the concept itself interests me and is something i will look into further down the line.

For as long as I have been alive my grandparents have been telling me social security is broken and does not work. sense I’ve gotten older i have realized that is simply not true. well not entirely. after reading the Why SS Is Not “Broke” And How The Trust Fund Works essay i was actually blown away. i had always known there was a cushion but i had no idea that our cushion was so large no less sustainable for over a decade. after reading this i am going to intently look into the history of ss and see more of what the real story is. Its pretty difficult knowing something that you have heard your whole life was misleading but you simply cant argue with empirical evidence.

The “Patients’ Costs Skyrocket; Specialists’ Incomes Soar” article revealed some of the most outlandish and asinine medical costs i have ever heard. It shows a huge disparity from the costs of medical care in the united states verses the rest of the world. I personally have had to deal with outrageously high medical bills for surgeries. I had my foot ran over by a 22 ton boom lift a couple years back. Though my medical bills were covered for the cost seamed abnormally high. I had two surgeries one in which consisted of removing one of my toes and cutting off a large amount of dead tissue the other consisted of putting in 3 metal plates and 13 screws into my foot. The medical bill for both proceeders including hospital costs were roughly 250 thousand dollars. Today i am still fighting over medical bills and where they should be allocated.

I have in recent years taken a look at the Chinese economy and have always had the same idea in mind. Which is that there is no way that there GDP is growing at such a fast rate without some sort of cooking of the books and that there set for an economic crises. The article i have posted below goes into depth about the latter. I have read countless articles about the impending chines debt crises and consider it a strong possibility in the near future. This article was extremely fascinating because it specifically talks about debt and credit. With china being the worlds second largest economy a debt crises can have horrific global repercussions.

China’s leaders are blowing their last chance to avert an economic crisis
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/04/13/chinas-leaders-are-blowing-their-last-chance-to-avert-an-economi/

Today brazil faces a terrible crises that can effect the global economy. Below i posted two articles about Brazils debt and corresponding political problems. Brazil being one of the worlds largest emerging markets could have big implications on the global economy if they were to fall into a prolonged recession. With the upcoming olympics and large deposits of natural resources as well as being a big player in the agricultural market what will come of the emerging titan? I think that brazil has the potential to change its course, not without a possible change in regime and economic policies. Brazil has massive oil reserves that are state run, with Petrobras being present Brazil has the resources to combat its debt crises. The two articles below go into depth about the upcoming economic crises bringing up historical and comparative references to give a really nice understanding of what is going on. I strongly recommend that everyone should at least glance over these articles.

Brazils crises Irredeemable?
http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21684778-former-star-emerging-world-faces-lost-decade-irredeemable

Brazil’s Highs and Lows
http://www.bloombergview.com/quicktake/brazils-highs-lows

I do not entirely agree with the train of thought behind the “Doctors Vote With Their Feet and Move to Canada” article. It states that the “tall tale” of the Canadian health care system, being so bad that they can’t find enough doctors and medicine in Canada so the doctors move to the U.S is a lie. Saying that its actually doctors moving to Canada because its far better there than in the U.S. Now I agree that the Canadian system is so bad they can’t find enough doctors and medicine to provide there citizens. This comes to no surprise as they have been having these issues for some time now. And most other socialized medical systems are pledged by the same issues. But i think it is more of a supply and demand issue than the job being better in Canada. My thoughts are socialism and socialized programs can never work to the degree a privet organization can. Private organizations can aways provide better care with a higher degree of satisfaction simply because if they don’t they will be replaced by another organization. Beyond that if Canadians don’t have enough doctors ( i.e high demand and low supply) wouldn’t the natural process of economics be doctors moving to Canada ( getting benefits to do so) to fix supply? I don’t have the most sound understanding of the subject but i believe my logic is true. The natural laws of supply and demand back my reasoning. Id love to hear others thoughts about this.