“Are there assumptions – correct or incorrect – in Jewish communal life that ‘the community’ is supposed to be the principal fiduciary in the financial needs of Jewish households?”
I’ve been thinking about the implied economy in educational institutions, especially as it is understood in the financial aid/tuition assistance process. Ostensibly, when a person or family requests financial aid or a tuition reduction, they are primarily driven by their own financial needs. At the same time, there always has to be an implicit trade-off […] continued…
“Our ideas about egalitarianism make even the beneficiaries of inequality uncomfortable with it”
Our ideas about egalitarianism make even the beneficiaries of inequality uncomfortable with it. And it is hard to know what they, as individuals, can do to change things. In response to these tensions, silence allows for a kind of “see no evil, hear no evil” stance. By not mentioning money, my interviewees follow a seemingly […] continued…
“Main Street requires shoppers who don’t really care about low prices. The dream of Main Street may be populist, but the reality is elitist”
It’s worth noting that the idealized Main Street is not a myth in some parts of America today. It exists, but only as a luxury consumer experience. Main Streets of small, independent boutiques and nonfranchised restaurants can be found in affluent college towns, in gentrified neighborhoods in Brooklyn and San Francisco, in tony suburbs — […] continued…
“Contrary to our popular assumptions about the intent and effect of both the New Deal and the G.I. Bill, they were not intended to, nor did they, provide all poor Americans with equal economic opportunity”
Up through at least the middle of the twentieth century, the government of the United States and various American institutions pursued economic policies that benefited whites and largely excluded African Americans. It was the Jews’ good fortune that, by this point in history, they were positioned in a way to be able to benefit from […] continued…
“The present moment…is the most productive in the nation’s history”
Manufacturing retains its powerful hold on the American imagination for good reason. In the years after World War II, factory work created a broadly shared prosperity that helped make the American middle class. People without college degrees could buy a home, raise a family, buy a station wagon, take some nice vacations. It makes perfect […] continued…
“Four key forces have been shaping the rise and fall of nations since the 2008 financial crisis, and none of them bode well for China”
Four key forces have been shaping the rise and fall of nations since the 2008 financial crisis, and none of them bode well for China. Debts have risen dangerously fast in the emerging world, especially in China. Trade growth has collapsed everywhere, a sharp blow to leading exporters, again led by China. Many countries are […] continued…
“Courtship has always been dictated by changes in the market”
The generation of Americans that came of age around the time of the 2008 financial crisis has been told constantly that we must be “flexible” and “adaptable.” Is it so surprising that we have turned into sexual freelancers? Many of us treat relationships like unpaid internships: We cannot expect them to lead to anything long-term, […] continued…
“The sputtering global economy is one shock away from slipping into recession”
The sputtering global economy is one shock away from slipping into recession. In the postwar period, every previous global recession started with a downturn in the United States, but the next one is likely to begin with a shock in China. Through heavy stimulus, China was the largest contributor to global growth this decade, but […] continued…
“No one tells funders the truth. They need their money. They’re intimidated.”
JJ: What are the biggest mistakes Jewish philanthropists make? AS: They don’t fund enough capacity building. They are very afraid of overhead, and that’s extremely problematic because we’re starving Jewish nonprofits of the capacity they need to operate. And it’s an obsession we have, by the way, only when it comes to nonprofits: When I […] continued…
“…if we don’t tackle the quest for meaning in the Jewish world, at some point all of our programs are going to run out of steam”
I think reflection and ideas in the Jewish world today are devalued. We’re extremely focused on programs and on rapid fixes to social problems, and we’re good at it. We come up with really creative programs. But we’re not so good at dealing with the underlying causes of the problems we’re trying to solve. And […] continued…
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