http://liveunitedblog.org Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:15:22 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I just finished reading the winter issue of Contexts, one of my favorite magazines. Contexts has much to recommend it. One of the more interesting articles in this issue was on hunger, wherein I learned that for the first time in human history, the world is home to more than one ... http://liveunitedblog.org/2010/03/hunger-in-contexts-recommended-reading/ The Minnesota Department of Health just published new data about uninsured Minnesotans. No surprise here: The number is growing. In 2009, nearly 1 in 10 Minnesotans (9.1%) was without health insurance. That translates into about 480,000 people—nearly half a million. Half a million people. In Minnesota. Without health insurance. That’s up from ... http://liveunitedblog.org/2010/02/new-data-about-the-uninsured-in-minnesota/ Since the start of the year, for some unknown reason or whim I’ve been doing a lot of reading by association. In January it was Queen of Dreams, followed by The City of Dreaming Books, followed by The Little Book. I was going to follow up with The Little Women ... http://liveunitedblog.org/2010/02/our-community-literally/ We’ve just posted the January edition of State of the Economy. This is a monthly publication that pulls together key economic developments both locally and nationally. It also includes the most recent data available about referrals made by United Way 2-1-1. A few highlights from our most recent issue: Both local and ... http://liveunitedblog.org/2010/01/the-state-of-the-economy/ Is inequality worse for us than poverty? That’s what Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett argue, sometimes convincingly, in their book, The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger. Wilkinson and Pickett examine income inequality across 23 countries. (Income inequality is measured in many ways, but one typical measure is to ... http://liveunitedblog.org/2010/01/the-high-cost-of-inequality/ [caption id="attachment_620" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Photo by mitikusa"][/caption] I finished my 2009 books-read list over the weekend—always a fun project. Here are 9 of my favorites from the year: Sabbath, by Wayne Muller. My favorite book of the year, hands down. This is a book I give reverence to, a book that I ... http://liveunitedblog.org/2010/01/greed-gardening-and-gut-symmetries-9-books-from-2009/ [caption id="attachment_612" align="alignleft" width="135" caption="Quarterly Economic Pulse December 2009"][/caption] The most recent Quarterly Economic Pulse has just been published—local data about the economy and what that means and how it affects the nonprofit sector. The Pulse is a joint venture of Greater Twin Cities United Way and Twin Cities Compass, and ... http://liveunitedblog.org/2009/12/hot-off-the-press-2/ I’ve been reading Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work, by Matthew B. Crawford for the last couple of weeks, and I can’t remember the last time I felt so ambivalent about a book. (Okay, I checked and it was 2005—Cool Memories by Jean Baudrillard, which ... http://liveunitedblog.org/2009/12/is-college-making-us-dumb/ Sarah Caruso, the new president and CEO of Greater Twin Cities United Way, officially took the helm on November 30.  She was kind enough to meet with me to answer a few questions while she's still getting her sea legs. Why did you choose this job (CEO of Greater Twin Cities United ... http://liveunitedblog.org/2009/12/a-warm-welcome-to-sarah-caruso/ The New York Times had a great article about food stamps a few days ago. I knew food stamp use was increasing. I may have even heard that it was at record highs. But I don’t think I realized that 1 in 4 children in the United States are now ... http://liveunitedblog.org/2009/12/one-hungry-nation/