'Creative Capitalism' Takes on Philanthropy
At the World Economic Forum in January, a co-founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, outlined "creative capitalism," a new business practice that aligns profit making with social justice. Now authors Michael Kinsley and Conor Clarke are inviting some of the world's leading economic lights to debate the viability of philanthropic business at "Creative Capitalism: A Conversation." The Web log posts and essays will be collected into a book to be published this fall.
On the site, a professor of economics at Harvard University and occasional New York Sun columnist, Edward Glaeser, has emerged as the chief proponent of creative capitalism, writing that "the independence and resources of creative capitalists" can redress the failures of the public sector in areas such as health care and education in the developing world. An economist at the University of Chicago, Richard Posner, argues against the concept, pointing out that the overriding need for profits necessarily limits any altruistic work a corporation might perform.
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Bloggers at "How I Spent My Stimulus" are allowing Americans who have received government-issued stimulus checks to tell the world how they've spent them. Posts so far range from the whimsical to the tragic.
"I sent my dog on puppy training so he would be a better companion to me and my wife," a contract manager from Buffalo writes. A woman from North Carolina tells how she "put it in savings to stave off going broke for one extra month." A retail manager from Portland, Ore., Chris Pez, is spiteful: "I spent my stimulus check stimulating the economy ... of ITALY."
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The real estate market must be dismal if even distressed property investors are pessimistic. From the IMN Distressed Residential Real Estate Investing Conference in Las Vegas, Tom Lindmark wrote about market prospects for the Metropolitan Real Estate Blog. His notes are not encouraging.
Values for certain foreclosed properties are deteriorating so quickly that appraisals are good for no more than one month and deals reached as little as three months ago need to be restructured, Mr. Lindmark writes. Industry insiders cannot foresee when prices will bottom out. He concludes: "It is no time to be buying."
