Every morning, without fail, my wife turns her attention to the greater good while she sips her first cup of tea. She steers her browser to a website (greatergood.com) where, with a click of the mouse, she can donate a few cents to ameliorate world hunger, fund autism treatment and research, and support the work of animal shelters. This simple...
Trendpost
Altruism will find an even broader and more comfortable home in the digital world in 2014, which will fuel giving and meaningful, focused acts of charity across the globe. Here are some sites that will be leading the charge: GoFundMe.com creates crowdfunding sites for individuals, groups and organizations to raise money for medical issues, education costs and other personal needs....
Your medical data is a hot commodity
There’s a hot new commodity on the market: individuals’ medical records, available literally for pocket change. It’s not only legal, but it’s a thriving industry. In fact, McKinsey & Co. forecasts that the trade in medical data will be a $10-billion annual industry by 2020, driven largely by health agencies’ conversion to electronic medical records to save the cost, time...
Obamacare: How secure is your medical information?
The millions of new users flocking to state and federal health exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act “could mean bigger data breaches with bigger lawsuits, fines and financial losses,” worries Experian, a giant in the data privacy business. Could, yes — but how great is the risk? Fears were worsened last November when a Congressional hearing revealed that an...
How can you protect your medical privacy?
The Health Information Privacy and Accountability Act of 2003 – HIPAA – offers basic, but not complete, protection of your medical records. Take these extra steps to ensure you’re shielding your medical records from thieves and peepers. Under HIPAA, your health care provider can share your medical records. Give your provider a written statement that revokes permission to share your...
The haves and have-nots: Trouble in Slavelandia
Welcome to the world of Income Inequality. Today the phrase seems to be on everyone’s lips — Democrats, Republicans, conservatives and radicals, millionaires, billionaires, the broadcast talking heads — and all over your browser and Twitter feed. President Obama has proclaimed Income Inequality “the defining challenge of our time,” and made it clear that Democrats will use it as a political...
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While there may be “growing populism” among voters in the U.S., compared to Europe, India, Thailand and other nations where it is surging, populism is not a significant trend. Whenever the seeds of an uprising have taken root in the U.S., the public face of protest has been quickly and skillfully controlled by law enforcement. Look no further than the...
Populism is powerful and growing — but it’s not everywhere
Your life is storybook-perfect. Contentment nourishes your soul and permeates the world around you. You love your job. You earn more money than you ever imagined possible and have accumulated more wealth than you’ll ever need. You have the perfect family, too. The ties that bind you and your spouse are as romantically strong as when you first met. And...
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Those seeking political advantage by directing attention at Income Inequality are likely to face unintended consequences. It is one thing to struggle for survival, suspecting the game is rigged, and quite another to have your face rubbed in it. Even the least politically aware citizens will come to understand that it’s not just their problem, a result of bad luck,...
Shape of the future: Global Chinatown
Not too long ago, the 20th century was called “The American Century.” Not only was Uncle Sam the world’s military superpower from the end of World War II through the next several decades, he was an unstoppable economic heavyweight. But after years of squandering the nation’s precious human, scientific, technological and economic resources on waging costly, never-ending wars — Cold...