Improving Our Standard of Living : The Science, Politics, and Economics of Global Betterment

By Krug, Wesley

Book Id: WPLBN0100000484
Format Type: PDF eBook:
File Size: 5.09 MB
Reproduction Date: 5/30/2017

Title:	Improving Our Standard of Living : The Science, Politics, and Economics of Global Betterment
Author:	Krug, Wesley
Volume:
Language:	English
Subject:	Non Fiction, Political Science, Politics
Collections:	Authors Community, Politics
Historic Publication Date:	2017
Publisher:	Wesley Krug

Member Page:	Wesley Krug
Citation APA MLA Chicago Krug, B. W. (2017). Improving Our Standard of Living : The Science, Politics, and Economics of Global Betterment. Retrieved from http://self.gutenberg.org/

Description
This book is about how to improve global living standards. Topics include economic growth, income inequality, poverty, corruption, causes of the decline of the middle class, sustainable development, emerging technologies, and more. Below is a list of questions answered throughout: * Which nations have the best living standards? What are they doing right? * Why do rich countries still have so many poor people in them? * What caused the decline of the middle class in some nations like the US and UK, but not in others like Switzerland and the Nordic countries? * Has capitalism failed? Or have we become more socialist? Are those terms meaningless? * Is the government too big? Or not big enough? * Is libertarianism a good or bad idea? * Why are several industries dominated by a handful of corporations? What can we do about it? * Why are prescription medications so expensive? How do we reduce costs? * Do we need more regulations on businesses? Or less? * Should nations be more open to free trade? Or should they be self-sufficient? * Has globalization helped or hurt the average person? * Does economic growth really improve living standards? * How much wealth is enough? * Do we need the stock market? * Do we need money? Or could we allocate resources differently? * What causes inflation? Does it matter? * Is a gold standard superior or inferior to a fiat (paper) monetary system? * Why is our tax system so complicated and full of loopholes? What can we do about it? * Is taxation a form of theft? * Should we raise taxes on the rich? * How much should nations spend on welfare? * How can we reduce unemployment and create decent paying jobs for everyone? * Is a 40-hour work week necessary? * Should we have more government jobs or private sector jobs? * Why is economic growth slowing in developed countries? What should we do about it? * How do we reduce income inequality without hurting the economy? * How do we efficiently provide healthcare to everyone? * How high should the minimum wage be? Should we replace it with something else? * What is a universal basic income? Would it work? * Can we grow the economy without harming the environment? * How do we speed up the transition to renewable energy? * How do we grow food sustainably? * What do we do about dwindling resources? * How do we address overpopulation? * Are central banks helping or hurting the global economy? * Does religion help or hurt national living standards? * Is immigration good or bad? * How do we reduce crime and terrorism? * How high can the debt go? * How do we balance the budget? Do we need to? * How do we end corruption in government? * Is the world getting better or worse? * Are we on the verge of a technological singularity? * Will robots take our jobs? * Will we merge with our technology? * What is the future of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin? * Can we cure aging? Should we? * How do we fix the world and achieve happiness?

Summary
A book about how to improve world living standards.

Excerpt
The way representative democracy works means that campaign contributions, lobbying, and bribery are part of “normal” business strategy.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Standard of Living Definition Chapter 2: Money, Wealth, and Value Chapter 3: Environment and Standard of Living Chapter 4: Measuring Standard of Living Chapter 5: Nordic Model Chapter 6: Swiss Democracy Chapter 7: What Is Capitalism? Chapter 8: Liberalization in Modern Countries Chapter 9: Free Markets or Fossil Fuels? Chapter 10: Markets Could Be Freer Chapter 11: Market Freedom Index Chapter 12: Market Freedom and Standard of Living Chapter 13: Capitalism or Democracy? Chapter 14: Too Many Regulations Are Bad Chapter 15: GDP and Poverty Chapter 16: Property Rights, Stock Markets, Economy of Scale Chapter 17: Is Taxation Theft? Chapter 18: Free Trade Chapter 19: Cooperative Socialism Failed Chapter 20: Employment Chapter 21: Why Developed Economies Are Slowing Chapter 22: Inequality and Standard of Living Chapter 23: Why Inequality Exists Chapter 24: Taxation Chapter 25: Welfare Chapter 26: Wages Chapter 27: Inequality-Based Tax System Chapter 28: Charity Chapter 29: Sustainable Development Chapter 30: Monetary Policy Chapter 31: Democratization Chapter 32: Internet Chapter 33: Religion Chapter 34: Uncorrelated Variables Chapter 35: The System Isn’t Broken—It’s Flawed Chapter 36: Defining Oligarchy and Democracy Chapter 37: Oligarchy in the United States Chapter 38: Democracy Isn’t Tyranny Chapter 39: History of Democratic Reform Chapter 40: Opposition to Democracy Chapter 41: Arguments against Direct Democracy Chapter 42: Sensationalism and Doom and Gloom Chapter 43: Evidence of Progress Chapter 44: Crypto-Libertarianism Chapter 45: Is Futurism Religion? Chapter 46: Where’s My Flying Car? Chapter 47: Failed Predictions Chapter 48: Computers Chapter 49: Shrinking Machines Chapter 50: Virtual Reality Chapter 51: Singularity Chapter 52: Dissemination of Innovation Chapter 53: Technological Unemployment Chapter 54: Life Extension Chapter 55: How to Fix the World Chapter 56: How You Can Help