Earlier this month, I wrote about the history of the subminimum wage and a current lawsuit seeking to overturn it as part of the ongoing economic struggle for equality. In the sobering spirit of Lent, this follow-up piece turns from…
In this Lenten season, consider the plight of subminimum wage workers
Black History Month has just drawn to a close on the American civic calendar, and Lent is set to begin on the Christian liturgical calendar. Most years, these two observances partially overlap. Easter has to fall after April 15 for…
GDP never was intended to show economic health, so why do Americans obsess over it?
Just before Christmas, Visual Capitalist released one of its signature infographics capturing the $94 trillion world economy in a single frame. It’s a stunning image, insofar as Voronoi diagrams can be stunning, in no small part because the numbers are…
As ACA enrollment deadline approaches, American access to health care has improved but still lags behind
With a new year dawning, most of us have our minds attuned to new chapters and fresh starts. However, January brings endings as well as beginnings, and one such ending is especially important if you or someone you know needs…
The U.S. wealth gap presents both a political challenge and a spiritual problem
In November 2012, a YouTube user known as “politizane” created a viral video about wealth inequality in America that animates research conducted by Dan Ariely and Michael L. Norton using a series of graphs produced by Mother Jones magazine. Ariely…
Closed minds are behind the open border myth, and immigrants are not the source of COVID either
Last month, I was puzzled by a friend’s post that popped up in my Facebook feed. “Guess the pandemic is over now since we have open borders. No?” Having just returned to the United States after five years living in…
Facebook is the new voice of temptation whispering to the church in the digital wilderness
In my various stints as a pastor, I have at times joked with friends and colleagues that one way to raise more money for the church would be to sell ad space in the bulletin or offer title sponsorship of…