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Everybody needs good budgets ...Egan rides through the turbulence of his last budget; surfing the waves Ego Inc.

Time to ponder on The Perspective of Wealth & Freedom by Amartya Sen

Invisible Hands & Markets: Poverty and income gaps
I've been alerted to this story by Miranda Devine saying that the tragic house fire in Sydney a couple of days happened because the family couldn't afford blankets. It's often been asserted that poverty is an out-of-date concept, but there is still plenty of absolute deprivation in modern societies.
Devine's article focuses on the need for more charitable effort on the part of those of us who are doing well, and this is an important point. Most of us could give more than we do without suffering too much as a result. We should all think about it and try to make more of an effort. But it's equally important to look at the economic structures and government policies that have led to growing (or, depending on how you measure it) unimproved poverty rates over a long period of reasonably good economic growth.
· Quiggin on Poverty [link first seen at John Quiggin]
· · See Also What is the secret of Ikea's success?
· · · See Also Jim Holt on the idea that happiness can harm a person's character[link first seen at The Perspective of Freedom ]
· · · · See Also Surge in claims for workplace stress (( Altruism in evil ))
· · · · · See Also A look at the New Geeks, people who are technically trained but also work in other disciplines
· · · · · · See Also Long and close look at Air America's financial troubles