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Brian Lynch is a retired social worker who worked in the areas of adult mental health and child protection for many years. His work brought him into direct contact with all the major social issues of the day and many of our basic social institutions such as law enforcement, schools, hospitals, welfare agencies and private social service providers on both a local and state levels. This was a privileged vantage point for him to observe every level of human ecology, from the lives of individuals to the operations of government institutions. He was struck by the impact of state and federal policies on the lives of ordinary people, for better or worse. Political conflict and the clash of ideologies has real, observable and sometimes devastating consequences. He now writes and blogs on topics that relate to his social observations.
OpEd News Member for 977 week(s) and 2 day(s)
82 Articles, 7 Quick Links, 227 Comments, 1 Diaries, 0 Polls
Are children's books reinforcing materialism? SHARE
Research into acclaimed titles for very young children finds messages encouraging 'consumer involvement' and 'attachment to objects'. Should we buy into the thesis?
This article raises other questions that aren't being asked. For example, are we passing along inappropriate values to our children by not being more discriminating about which books we purchase for young children?
Rich Are Getting and Staying Richer New Study Shows SHARE
Their unhappy conclusion: almost all of the rise in inequality is life-long.
"This is even more reason to worry about inequality. It's not just year to year ups and downs that have gotten worse. It's actually the rich are getting richer and staying richer. The poor, poorer and staying poorer,"
Giant Corporations That Have Basically Stopped Paying Taxes SHARE
The facts are indisputable. For over 20 years, from 1987 to 2008, corporations paid an average of 22.5% in federal taxes. Since the recession, this has dropped to 10% -- even though their profits have doubled in less than ten years.
Higher Wages Will End Recession SHARE
German economist confirms that higher wages would end the current recession. Dr. Heiner Flassbeck believes targeting low inflation will deepen the crisis. Governments must pass laws and intervene to facilitate a general rise in wages. Wage increases should coincide with rising productivity and not merely adjusted for inflation. His suggestion is for governments to encourage and facilitate labor unions.
Higher Wages Will End Recession SHARE
Professor Heiner Flassbeck, a German economist, says that governmenst must pass laws to facilitate a general rise in wages. Wages, he argues, must be pegged to productivity to maintain a healthy economy. Austerity measures drive down wages which is good for individual business but bad for the overall business economy. How can government promote higher real wages? By promoting and facilitating union organizing.
BPA Exposure May Increase Asthma in Children SHARE
A Columbia University research team reported that children with higher levels of BPA at ages 3, 5 and 7 had increased odds of developing the respiratory disease when they were between 5 and 12. The children studied had roughly the same concentrations of BPA as the average for U.S. kids. One out of every 10 U.S. children has been diagnosed with asthma, and the rate is even higher for black children -- one out of every six, according to 2011 data from the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention. BPA is used to make polycarbonate plastics and is found in some canned foods and beverages, paper receipts and dental sealants.
Boiler Room "... crooked heart of the credit crisis" SHARE
The business press is missing the crooked heart of the credit crisis. Dean Starkman writes, "It seems to me that well into Year II of the Panic, the business press is in the process of making the same mistake it made in the run-up to the debacle: focusing on esoteric Wall Street concerns and ignoring the simplest, most basic, but most important one-the breathtaking corruption that overran the U.S. lending industry..."
