Cupcakes. Skinny jeans. Reality shows. All are trends that have exploded in popularity within the United States in the last decade. Another recent trend? “Saving Africa”. Earlier in the week, I wrote about the common myths and misconceptions having to do with the continent of Africa, many of which stem from the mainstream American media. …
Category: Good People Not So Good Idea
May 17
The Pitfalls of Voluntourism
When I started writing for the Not Enough Good Blog exactly a year ago a quick Google search of the term “voluntourism” (a combination of volunteering and tourism) returned very few hits, but now voluntourism is becoming something of a buzzword. In fact, it’s so popular now that last month Groupon offered a voluntourism trip …
May 16
Economic Argument on Prison Population: A Quick Fix?
Jails, prisons, and criminals used to be taboo topics associated with the worst of the worst of the population, but now with the sheer volume of people sent prison, mass incarceration is an issue that people can no longer ignore. It has finally become a topic of conversation nationwide and a problem that politicians and …
May 15
Linking the War on Drugs and Mass Incarceration
America’s effort to end drug trafficking and drug use with its War on Drugs has had a profound impact on the nation and our neighbors for the last 40 years. It has strained our relationship with many Latin American countries and put undue stress on their local populations, while hurting our people unnecessarily at the …
Apr 12
The Economics of Happiness
Whenever I tell people that I’m an economics minor, I tend to get the same reaction: ew, why? There are a lot of misconceptions about economics out there; I’ve been told by various people that the subject is boring, that it’s too hard, that there’s too much math involved, that the professors are too dry, …
Mar 12
Will Bras End Sex Trafficking?
I recently read an article on the CNN Project Freedom website about a woman from Denver, Colorado who is trying to end modern day slavery, otherwise known as sex trafficking. Kimba Langas was a stay at home mom who, like most of us, began accumulating unwanted clothing, boxed in her garage, which she packed away …
Feb 16
UN Resolution on Syria: What’s the Point?
I’ve written a lot about Syria these last several months, and if you’ve read any of my posts you know that I am not very optimistic about the situation. Al-Assad has repeatedly promised the Arab League that he will end the violence in his country, and yet every day there is another story in the …
Jan 18
Climate Change Resolutions
It’s the New Year, and we all know what that means; making resolutions we have no intention of fulfilling. We set our goal; maybe it’s even the same one from last year. The first day goes by and we think about it, consider it, and plan on how we’ll start on it tomorrow. Tomorrow comes, …
Dec 13
Conquering the Global Digital Divide
I stumbled upon an image this weekend showing the digital divide of the world. It graphically shows what parts of the globe have access to digital technology, measured through IP address locations. Showing the layers between high and low-density areas in relation to internet access is powerful. I once heard someone say that Africa is …
Oct 20
Culture and Economic Development
Last week I wrote a post about some of the aspects of development besides economic growth that policy makers should take into account when dealing with the developing world, and today I would like to continue in a similar vein. This time, however, I am going to discuss a different variable: culture. Over the summer …