Heard an interesting radio piece tonight building on this premise: The latest report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture finds 36 million Americans living “food insecure.”
Give it a listen and think about what you can do to improve those statistics. Then do it.
“…blacks who “sound black” earn almost 10 percent less, even after taking into account other factors that could influence earnings. One piece of interesting good news is that blacks who do not “sound black” earn essentially the same as whites.”
Read the rest here in the N.Y. Times’ “Freakonimics” blog.
If you haven’t already, pick up the latest issue of The Atlantic magazine.
Though I grabbed it because of the cover story, three other pieces were actually better reads and gave me more to think about: American Murder Mystery, I Choose My Choice! and Inconspicuous Consumption.
In the last story I found this quote particularly interesting: “In places where blacks in general have more money, individual black people feel less pressure to prove their wealth.”
I live in Washington, D.C. and I work in Washington, D.C. In fact, the main road at the end of my block is the same street that my employer is located on in downtown D.C. So I ride the MetroBus to work. It’s cheap, the ride is about 10 minutes and it’s practically door to door since the bus stops at the end of my street. I save on gas and reduce my carbon footprint.
I could ride the Metro, but I’d either have to walk four blocks North to catch it or 8 blocks South to catch it and, as I said, the bus stops right at the end of my street. More importantly, if the bus breaks down, I can get off and walk the rest of the way to work or home. No harm, no foul. If the Metro breaks, I’m stuck in a tunnel trying to fight off panic from claustrophobia.
Some of my friends are appalled that I would ride the bus to go anywhere. The issue for them is “the great unwashed” that I am traveling with on the bus. Now I’ll admit, there are some mixed nuts on these buses and someone ALWAYS decides to befriend me on my short ride, but I never feel unsafe and I don’t know why that should keep me from riding the bus. It bothers me that some of my friends think they are “too good” to ride the bus or use other public transportation.
Frankly, it keeps me grounded in what’s real. I work for someone and with a flick of a pen and some bad luck, I might count myself among the “great unwashed” someday. Riding the bus reminds me of why I save and invest rather than buy expensive handbags and shoes. From my perspective the people on the bus are just like me — trying to get to work or wherever in the most efficient and economical fashion. We share that goal. We are one.
Ding! Stop requested.
Chorus