The Daily Galaxy: Great Discoveries Channel

Paul Krugman: The Alice-in-Wonderland Economic Landscape

This Isn't Your Grandmother's Recession

Can the U.S. Economy Be Fixed? Experts Say “Trickle Down” Theory has Only Made Poor Poorer & Rich Richer

Income inequality has increased at an alarming rate in the last 30 years. High gas prices and rising food costs are only exacerbating an already growing problem. The “trickle down” economics that have for years been the justification for giving huge tax cuts to the super-rich met with just one little problem; the money never did trickle down. Oops.

Like no other time in history, the rich in the US are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer. Americans love bootstraps stories of how every American can be rich if he or she just tries hard enough. But the truth is that Americans are trying harder than ever. They are working longer hours, and are more productive than ever before, but are still getting poorer. Somehow the “American Dream” isn’t telling the whole story.

"The Rise of the Rest" -The Post-American World

The growth of countries like China, India, Brazil, Russia, and many others—is the great story of our time, and one that will reshape the world. The tallest buildings, biggest dams, largest-selling movies, and most advanced cell phones are all being built outside the United States.

Fareed Zakaria -"The Post-American World."

In Sunday's New York Times, Thomas Friedman writes that "It baffles me that President Bush would rather go to Saudi Arabia twice in four months and beg the Saudi king for an oil price break than ask the American people to drive 55 miles an hour, buy more fuel-efficient cars or accept a carbon tax or gasoline tax that might actually help free us from what he called our 'addiction to oil'.”

Will "Dirt Energy" Power the Future of Africa? A 'Galaxy' Exclusive

Ironically, dirt might be the new clean. What started as a simple student design to light up a display at the London , “dirt energy” will soon be powering 10 households in Tanzania. If the pilot program succeeds, dirt energy tech will be distributed across the country. A team from Harvard led by Hugo Van Vuuren was among the winners of the recent World Bank’s Lighting Africa 2008 Development Competition. They are developing a series of dirt-based fuel cells that are capable of lighting high efficiency LED lamps. Their goal is simple: Light up Africa. But eventually this “dirty” technology could help clean up the whole world.

The "Green Bubble" -Coming Your Way Soon (We Hope!)

"That the Internet and housing hyperinflations transpired within a period of ten years, each creating trillions of dollars in fake wealth, is, I believe, only the beginning. There will and must be many more such booms, for without them the economy of the United States can no longer function. The bubble cycle has replaced the business cycle."

Eric Janszen -"The Next Bubble -Priming the Markets for Tomorrow's Big Crash"

                                                                                                                                                                             

Paul Krugman: The Alice-in-Wonderland Economic Landscape

This Isn't Your Grandmother's Recession

Can the U.S. Economy Be Fixed? Experts Say “Trickle Down” Theory has Only Made Poor Poorer & Rich Richer

Income inequality has increased at an alarming rate in the last 30 years. High gas prices and rising food costs are only exacerbating an already growing problem. The “trickle down” economics that have for years been the justification for giving huge tax cuts to the super-rich met with just one little problem; the money never did trickle down. Oops.

Like no other time in history, the rich in the US are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer. Americans love bootstraps stories of how every American can be rich if he or she just tries hard enough. But the truth is that Americans are trying harder than ever. They are working longer hours, and are more productive than ever before, but are still getting poorer. Somehow the “American Dream” isn’t telling the whole story.

"The Rise of the Rest" -The Post-American World

The growth of countries like China, India, Brazil, Russia, and many others—is the great story of our time, and one that will reshape the world. The tallest buildings, biggest dams, largest-selling movies, and most advanced cell phones are all being built outside the United States.

Fareed Zakaria -"The Post-American World."

In Sunday's New York Times, Thomas Friedman writes that "It baffles me that President Bush would rather go to Saudi Arabia twice in four months and beg the Saudi king for an oil price break than ask the American people to drive 55 miles an hour, buy more fuel-efficient cars or accept a carbon tax or gasoline tax that might actually help free us from what he called our 'addiction to oil'.”

Will "Dirt Energy" Power the Future of Africa? A 'Galaxy' Exclusive

Ironically, dirt might be the new clean. What started as a simple student design to light up a display at the London , “dirt energy” will soon be powering 10 households in Tanzania. If the pilot program succeeds, dirt energy tech will be distributed across the country. A team from Harvard led by Hugo Van Vuuren was among the winners of the recent World Bank’s Lighting Africa 2008 Development Competition. They are developing a series of dirt-based fuel cells that are capable of lighting high efficiency LED lamps. Their goal is simple: Light up Africa. But eventually this “dirty” technology could help clean up the whole world.

The "Green Bubble" -Coming Your Way Soon (We Hope!)

"That the Internet and housing hyperinflations transpired within a period of ten years, each creating trillions of dollars in fake wealth, is, I believe, only the beginning. There will and must be many more such booms, for without them the economy of the United States can no longer function. The bubble cycle has replaced the business cycle."

Eric Janszen -"The Next Bubble -Priming the Markets for Tomorrow's Big Crash"