World Public Library

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

Wesley Krug

Abstract

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 min

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