Regular readers of this blog will know that I go through a speedlink every Wednesday, sharing posts I find from around the Internet that I feel are worth reading. Everyone is always welcome to submit their own blog posts to me each Tuesday (Twitter is best). Let’s get over Hump Day with some good reading.
Ray Ebersole starts us off by revisiting the Monty Hall problem. Let’s make a deal. Say there are three doors — two with goats and one with a car — and you’re told to pick a door. The host then opens one of the remaining two doors to reveal a goat. Should you switch to the other door or stick with your first choice? The Wikipedia page offers a great explanation of why switching is in your favor.
Tyler Ingram is the one who took the photo at the top of this post and it’s from the Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival 2011 in Whistler. There’s plenty of alpine events, as well as the outdoor concert series and other fun festivities, including a fashion show. I went in 2008 and had lots of fun.
Damien Riley comments on The One Percent, an eye-opening documentary on the distribution of wealth in the United States. Did you know that just one percent of the population has 40% of the money? This goes well beyond the conventional wisdom of the 80/20 rule, but does this mean that the top 1% of Americans should feel guilty for controlling that much of the country’s wealth?
Rebecca Bollwitt, better known as Miss 604, tells us that the Granville Pedestrian Mall is coming back this summer. The car-free stretch of Downtown Vancouver is a great idea. It’ll be interesting to see what displays, exhibits, and other activities will be filling that space between June and September.
Last and certainly not least, Cicy Chan tells us that she is Canadian (and so is Derry the Dog). More importantly, she reminds us of the upcoming federal election and why it is so important that we all cast our votes. If you have not yet decided on who gets your ballot, educate yourself on the issues, learn about the candidates, and make an educated choice.
Those 1% shouldn’t feel guilty, but the laws should be written so that they have to pay taxes. GE paid no taxes this year because they have great tax lawyers that know how to use deductions to their advantage. They can also afford to have those lawyers onboard all year long to see that the cash flow is used in a manner that they can use those deductions each year.
I read an article that showed how we as regular people could use those deductions, but we would need to know tax law and pay a great accountant to help us. I don’t believe it is reasonable to think that we would be able to do that on the salaries we make.