According to the New Yorker, Lloyd Blankfein, Gary Cohn, and other leaders at Goldman Sachs have benefitted from a financial crisis that they helped create. Questions: 1. How have the men in the email fared? 2. By how many months did the story about Goldman Sachs in the New York Times precede mortgage disaster? 3…. Read more »
Posts Categorized: Ethical Dilemma
From the “Oh My Gosh!” File
Science fiction? No, it is the latest in worker productivity. In 2016, Amazon filed a patent for a device described as a “system and method for transporting personnel within an active workplace”. It looks like a cage large enough to fit a worker and mounted on top of an automated trolley device with a robotic… Read more »
Coding Camps – Good, Bad, or Great IDEA?
Since kids don’t learn much coding in school, the new thing is to send them to summer camps to learn it so that they are not unprepared to tackle computer science in college or in a career. Questions: 1. What is iD Tech? 2. Do you agree with the article that these camps will perpetuate… Read more »
Teaching: A Noble Profession for the Poor
According to the Guardian, American teachers are getting paid less – even though they are better qualified than ever! Questions: 1. What are the states that saw even sharper declines in salaries than the average? 2. What kind of structural change is happening within the teacher workforce? 3. How much less do teachers make than… Read more »
Breaking News: Money Buys Happiness!
Despite what your parents told you, new research suggests that more money really does lead to a more satisfying life! Questions: 1. What did the study base this information on? 2. How long did the effects of money last, according to the study? 3. How did the surveys measure subjective well-being? 4. What did the… Read more »
Vehicular Homelessness
As housing costs soar in major cities, more Americans are living behind the wheel. Although the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development doesn’t collect national data on vehicle residency, unsheltered homelessness—a category that includes people sleeping in vehicles—is on the rise. Questions: 1. Are all of these individuals poor? What are some of the… Read more »
Stock Buybacks are Eating our Lunch!
According to The Atlantic, a new report finds that big companies could have given their workers thousands of dollars’ worth of raises with the money they spent on their own shares. Questions: 1. Where is money pulled away from when companies use it to buy back stock? 2. Which industries were part of the study?… Read more »
Worse Than We Imagined!
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the typical student borrower will take out $6,600 in a single year, averaging $22,000 in debt by graduation. Questions: 1. Of borrowers who started repaying in 2012, how many had defaulted by 3 years later? 2. By year 5, how many students default? 3. Collectively, how much… Read more »
Research shows rich people are more likely to lie, cheat, and steal
Questions: 1. What did you think was the most interesting thing that Keltner and Piff found out as part of their experiments? 2. Why should we care about the ethics of wealthy people? 3. According to the article, what does power lead to? 4. In your opinion, what was the most remarkable point made in… Read more »
Wage Stagnation and Fast-Food Workers: No-Poach Clauses
According to the New York Times, attorneys general in 10 states are moving to investigate whether a clause in fast-food franchise agreements is preventing workers from switching jobs and, therefore, locking them into low-paying positions and, some economists say, contributing to widespread wage stagnation in the United States. Questions: 1. Briefly explain how these clauses… Read more »