A student of mine recently did his weekly listening report on this article here:
Developing countries seek more mining revenues

Many 3rd world countries are actually rich in natural resources, but the people in those countries remain poor because the natural resources are all managed by private companies, and so the wealth continues to stay concentrated in just a few powerful, well connected hands.
Around 3.5 billion people live in developing countries that are rich in natural resources. But most don't get the benefits from their nation's mining booms, as conflict and corruption often see the returns go to the powerful rather than the poor.

Although the point of this article was about corruption in the 3rd world, it made me think actually....The United States obviously doesn't have the same problem with extreme poverty, but all the profit from our natural resources also goes into private hands.  (Am I wrong on this?)

 I know this is the way things have always been done, but when you step back and think about it, isn't it a little crazy that only a handful of people get all the financial benefit from the natural resources that are in the country that belongs to all of us jointly?


Here's a crazy proposition: what if all the natural resources--coal, natural gas, oil, lumber, et cetera, was all nationalized, so that every citizen got the benefit of the development of these resources?

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On a completely different note entirely, from Salon.com
5 things you need to know about government spying

After a flood of new revelations on government snooping, here's what you need to know