Category: Economic Development

The Pandemic Created a Perfect Storm for Washington’s Most Rural Counties

The Coronavirus crisis has sharpened existing disparities along lines of race, class, industry, geography, and so much more. At the onset of the pandemic, much was made of the widespread trend of people – especially the most wealthy and mobile Americans – looking to “flee” cities in favor of less dense and consequently more rural …

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Should a Living Wage be a Basic Human Right?

Today marks the 8th anniversary since the last federal increase in the minimum wage. Since then and since the publication of my original blog post on this issue, several states passed legislation to increase their minimum pay, joining the 29 states and 41 localities with a higher minimum wage than the national rate of $7.25 …

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Increasing the Minimum Wage: An Answer to Growing Income Inequality in the U.S.

Hillary Clinton opened the first presidential debate by addressing one of the prominent issues in this election, income inequality. She proposed: “First we have to build an economy that works for everyone…That starts with raising the national minimum wage.” However, when it comes to increasing the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, there …

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Why Redistribution is a Quality Investment

Income inequality. It’s a dirty term, but someone has to use it. Unless you’ve been actively hiding from any conversation, headline, or news report involving wealth and income inequality, you probably already know that the income gap between the mega-rich and the “regular folk” has grown exponentially since the 1970s. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Tell you …

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How Women Help Move an Economy?

Coco Chanel once said in The Gospel According to Coco Chanel: Life Lessons from the World’s Most Elegant Woman –“A girl should be two things: who and what she wants.” Many women today have taken that advice quite seriously. In today’s times the world is witness to an extremely upgraded version of the feminine brigade …

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Housing First Model for Homelessness?

Is it time to start thinking differently about homelessness?  There’s a broad spectrum of approaches and opinions surrounding homelessness in the US and its assumed you are somewhere on that continuum.  The Veteran’s Administration and Barack Obama have declared to end veteran homelessness by 2015, although results and progress remain to be seen.  What if …

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International Migration and Economic Development

Today I want to focus on an issue that is very dear to me: international migration.  I am currently residing in a foreign country, finishing up school and looking for work, and so naturally I have quite a vested interest in international immigration regulations and restrictions.  I don’t want to focus on my own story, …

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How Technology Can Help Girls

“The birth and rise of new media is, however, changing the story for many girls in Africa who have been given an opportunity to compete with their male counterparts. “- MAUREEN AGENA, I’m sure it would come to no surprise to any of you if I told you that technology was one of the quickest …

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Responsible Tourism in Madagascar

I’m sure most of you have heard of the island of Madagascar, particularly since the release of the Madagascar animated films, and know that the country is home to numerous animal species that cannot be found anywhere else on earth.  10,000 of the islands 12,000 plant species, for example, are endemic, as are half of the …

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Home – Poverty and Gentrification

This past weekend I travelled to New York to visit my sister, who recently moved to Brooklyn. Anyone would love her neighborhood, fit in in her neighborhood. It’s diverse. From islanders to east asians, there are plenty styles and cultures to observe from afar or experience close up. The hipster coffee shop around the corner …

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