How Wealth Reduces Compassion

Who is more likely to lie, cheat, and steal—the poor person or the rich one? It’s tempting to think that the wealthier you are, the more likely you are to act fairly. After all, if you already have enough for yourself, it’s easier to think about what others may need. But research suggests the opposite […]

Income for top 1 percent skyrockets by 275 percent!

The Occupy Wall Street movement has made inequality a key focus of its protests, and has used the slogan, “We are the 99 percent.” We already know that the gap between rich and poor has been widening lately. But some new numbers from the Congressional Budget Office put the issue into stark relief. As the […]

Wealth and the ideology of self interest

Psychologist and social scientist Dacher Keltner says the life experience of the rich makes them less empathetic, less altruistic, and generally more selfish. In fact, he says, the philosophical battle over economics, taxes, debt ceilings and defaults that are now roiling the stock market is partly rooted in an upper class “ideology of self-interest.” Keltner […]

The Nature of the Arab Economies

Most of the Arab economies where the revolts are taking place are based on ‘rents’ from oil, gas, minerals and tourism, which provide most of the export earnings and state revenues (Financial Times, Feb. 22, 2011, p. 14). These economic sectors are, in effect, export enclaves employing a tiny fraction of the labor force and […]

Saudi Arabia greed and corruption “beyond the bounds of reason”

When Saudi King Abdullah arrived home in Saudi Arabia last week, he came bearing gifts: handouts worth $37 billion, apparently intended to placate Saudis of modest means and insulate the world’s biggest oil exporter from the wave of protest sweeping the Arab world. But some of the biggest handouts over the past two decades have […]

The economic crisis creates major demand for change

Years of government and media propaganda in America has given the people in America a false vision of what democracy should look like. At this particular point in U.S. history, most of the people in this country are not sharing in the wealth of our immensely rich nation. Eighty percent of our population jointly shares […]

The Tragic State of the United States: “It’s like we are living in a Third World country”

The following is an edited excerpt from the Amped Status report, “The Critical Unraveling of U.S. Society.” 1. The gap between the top 1 percent and the remaining 99 percent of the U.S. population has grown to a record high. 2. The three big banks that took taxpayer money and benefited the most from the […]