Thinking out loud

Seems obvious, of course money is a motivator. But, it is not the clear, perfect relationship that some business organizations may think. Below is a video based on a lecture from Dan Pink. It covers the facts around money not being a sole motivator, especially for intellectual work. I think that it is compelling and informative. I would add that that money is not the only motivator for humans. People are still wanting to get rewarded – just not all in monetary rewards. This video also ties in with research on happiness – which notes that happiness rises dramatically along with wealth in order to meet basic human needs of food, safety, etc. and after a certain amount – human happiness rises much more slowly along with each additional dollar obtained. These are some good things to keep in mind when motivating people to move your next big idea forward.

The United States will probably not face the same kind of crisis as Greece, for all sorts of reasons. But the basic problem is the same. Both countries have a bigger government than they’re paying for.

via Economic Scene – In Greece, a Reflection of U.S. Debt Problems – NYTimes.com.

But, according to the Congressional Budget Office, annual debt payments — currently about $200 billion — are set to skyrocket. CBO estimates that interest payments on the federal debt will total $916 billion by the year 2020.”Interest rates are going to rise and at the same time, were going to have a substantial increase in the size of the debt,” says Roberton Williams, a senior fellow with the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. “Well be paying five times as much in dollar terms by 2020 than we did last year.”

How Big A Number?How much is $916 billion? Its more than we currently spend on Social Security. And it will represent 18 percent of federal spending in 2020 — nearly as large a share as defense spending.

Having to pay close to $1 trillion a year just on debt will necessarily crowd out other parts of the federal budget. Roads, parks, education — pick any priority you like, theyll all come under pressure.”In 20 years, if you look at combined debt service, Social Security and health care, those are going to cost us more than the current tax system is capable of raising,” says David Wyss, chief economist for Standard & Poors.

via The Federal Debt: How To Lose A Trillion Dollars : NPR.

Click to see the big picture.

GOOD.is | Transparency Contest.

Confusion over the names of two similar-sounding African countries may have helped boosted oil prices to near $80 a barrel this week as traders rushed to buy oil after reports of a military coup.

A Reuters reporter received a flustered phone call from a hedge fund partner who had heard animated discussion in the market about an incident in Nigeria, only to realise that traders had muddled up Africa’s biggest oil producer with its neighbour Niger.

“Markets took off at around the same time a Reuters story came out about gunfire erupting in the Niger capital in an apparent coup bid, mistaken by many as being Nigeria,” said Tom Bentz, analyst at BNP Paribas Commodities.

via Buy on the Nigeria rumour, sell on the Niger fact | Analysis & Opinion | Reuters.

Income is becoming more distributed around the world. A comparison on 1970 to 2006 shows vast improvements in income distribution. According to this report – the income distribution trend is great. (Note, this income not wealth, which may be a different matter – but income is a start.)

Parametric estimations of the world distribution of income | vox – Research-based policy analysis and commentary from leading economists.

I would guess this would be caused by more countries becoming more free. In a free country, I would think that we would see a bell curve in income distribution. This is because intelligence is distributed “normally”- and I would expect other characteristics like interests, passion, and work ethic to be characteristics that are probably normally distributed as well. And, in a society that is free – income would probably more closely match these characteristics than in a more centrally planned economy.

74% of apps listed in the app store are paid. Average listed price of an app (including free): 3.63 x .74 = 2.70 (with rounding)

via UPDATED: The Apple App Store Economy – GigaOM.

Best Bodies, Global GDP Edition | The Upswing | Fast Company.

The bizarre world of centralized planning.

The Ghost City of Ordos – Ordos – Gizmodo.

Employment Chart: Goods Producing vs. Government Jobs — Seeking Alpha.