All the news, views, and filtered excellence fit to consume during your morning grumpy.
1. A new project from the Center for American Progress will provide evidence as to why a strong middle class is essential to a thriving American economy.
The fundamental thesis of this project is that the middle class is the heartbeat of the American economy. The middle class is the indispensable workforce and the all-important consumer. The great American entrepreneurs and inventors who have been vital to our national success have come from the middle class. It is the education and skills of the middle class that have driven the rise in productivity that has underpinned our prosperity. And it is a stable middle class that has kept America free of the turmoil of much of the rest of the world and has made vital investments in education, roads, and other economically important infrastructure. The ascendency of America to being the richest nation in the history of the planet is fundamentally a middle-class achievement. For our country to succeed going forward, we need to get back to the fundamental truth that our success hinges on the strength of the middle class.
A good starting point for an excellent research project.
2. How the poor, middle class, and rich spend their money.
3. Yesterday was a big day for women in America.
Why? Because on Wednesday, the law that provides American women with access to preventive health services, including birth control, at no cost—no co-pay, no increase in premium, no deductible—went into effect.
47 million women benefit from the legislation.
4. Maybe what Corporate America needs is a woman’s touch.
Shares of companies with a market capitalization of more than $10 billion and with women board members outperformed comparable businesses with all-male boards by 26 percent worldwide over a period of six years, according to a report by the Credit Suisse Research Institute, created in 2008 to analyze trends expected to affect global markets.
When I run a billion dollar company, I’m loading up on female board members.
5. The perfect spokesman for the Tea Party, if you ask me. Misinformed, uneducated, and fed his talking points by others.
Fact Of The Day: The man who invented the Heimlich Maneuver, Henry Jay Heimlich, was born in 1920 and is still alive. In other news, he loves the Eddie Izzard bit on the creation of the Heimlich Maneuver.
Quote Of The Day: “Fifty percent of people won’t vote, and fifty percent don’t read newspapers. I hope it’s the same fifty percent.” – Gore Vidal
Video of The Day: Easy Life Hacks
Song Of The Day: “18 Counties” – Moreland & Arbuckle
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Email me links, tips, story ideas: chris@artvoice.com
