In his book Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty [my review], Nobel Peace Prize-winner Muhammad Yunus argues that one of the most effective ways to reduce poverty and overpopulation is to boost the economic status of women. When you empower women — especially poor women — their communities are improved in many subtle ways.
The International Museum of Women has just launched their new global online exhibition, Economica: Women and the Global Economy. Economica features slideshows, interviews, podcasts, and more. Here’s a sample of what’s available:

A slideshow highlighting microfinance in South America.

An article about the food crisis in Egypt.

A variety of topics, including business leadership, marriage and money, and family and fertility.

The exhibition includes lists of books and films that explore the role of women in the global economy. (There’s also a discussion forum, though it’s a little barren at the moment.) Finally, if you’d like to contribute to the [...]

This article is GRS staff writer Adam Baker. In addition to his work at Get Rich Slowly, Baker blogs over at Man Vs. Debt, where he maintains a list of every single item his family owns.
It’s no secret that J.D. loves him some Warren Buffett. Honestly, though, who doesn’t? Financial wisdom seems to ooze from his pores. Previously on Get Rich Slowly, J.D. has touched on Buffett’s philosophies, well-known frugality, and charitable efforts.
Buffett was born, raised, and still lives in Omaha, Nebraska. Even as a child, Buffett constantly tinkered with business concepts. He filed his first income tax return at age 13, including a $35 work expense deduction for his bike and watch. These days, at age 79, Buffett is one of America’s most respected business minds and constantly jockeys with Bill Gates and Carlos Slim Helu for the position of richest person in the world.
A couple of weeks ago, CNBC ran [...]

Note: Although I try to keep GRS a politics-free zone, today’s topic is inherently political. I’ve stayed as neutral as possible in the article, but I know that there’ll be some political discussion in the comments. Please keep conversation civil, as always.
Because I was frustrated with my own ignorance about the U.S. federal budget and our tax system, I recently spent twelve hours researching a variety of tax topics. From my research came two articles: last week’s short guide to the federal budget and today’s post, which answers some of my personal questions about taxes.
Note: Though I’ve done my best to be accurate, I’m sure there are errors in this post. As they’re caught, I’ll make corrections.

Last week, we tried to take a few small steps toward understanding the federal budget. We looked at where the U.S. government spends its money. But where does it actually find the cash to spend?
Of the $2.333 Trillion dollars [...]

Note: Although I try to keep GRS a politics-free zone, today’s topic is inherently political. I’ve stayed as neutral as possible in the article, but I know that there’ll be some political discussion in the comments. Please keep conversation civil, as always.
Recently at The Simple Dollar, Trent posed the question, “How much do taxes matter to you?” As might be expected, his readers responded with passionate comments from both sides of the political spectrum. The discussion frustrated me, though. There’s just too much misinformation, and people offer their opinions as if they were facts.
I’m as guilty as anyone else.
Because my own education on this subject is weak, and because I want GRS readers to be informed, I spent twelve hours last week researching a variety of tax topics. From this research, I’ve written two articles: this one about the U.S. budget, and a second part about taxes, which I’ll publish next week.
These posts [...]

Last week, Diane dropped a line asking for information about the spending habits of the average American. She wrote:
I am trying to find sites that will provide average spending habits — such as how much an average person spends on food per week or how much a family spends on entertainment, that sort of thing. I am hoping to see where my habits line up with someone of similar means in the same part of the country.
I’m not sure of how to obtain regional information, but I know where to find national figures for comparison. Last week, a site called Visual Economics posted a chart showing where the average U.S. consumer spends her money. Here’s the chart in question, which has been making the rounds of the internet:
Click to open at full size in a new window.

Because I’m a skeptic by nature, I tracked down the source material used to create this chart. The data [...]

Beginning tonight, public television stations in the United States will broadcast a four-part series from economist and historian Niall Ferguson, The Ascent of Money. This is an expanded version of a documentary that first aired in January.

Here’s a description of The Ascent of Money from the official site:

For millions of people, the recession has generated a thirst for knowledge about how our global economic system really works, especially when so many financial experts seem to be equally baffled. In THE ASCENT OF MONEY, economist, author and historian Ferguson offers insight into these questions by taking viewers step-by-step through the milestones of the financial history that created this system, visiting the locations where key events took place and poring over actual ledgers and documents — such as the first publicly traded share of a company — that would change human history.
Ferguson maintains that the history of money is indeed at the core of [...]