Look for the underlying causes of current events

Current events are the culmination of events that began a long time ago. Conflict, economics, politics, poverty, crime, dysfunction, illness, the exploitation of nature: these are only symptoms.

Do not stop at the surface. In each story mention at least one underlying motive or cause. Each piece should have some kind of resource or link to the deeper side of the story.


Deeper areas include personal character and ethics, basic cultural standards, depth of feeling and thought. etc. Look at the general level of greed, of violence, and the willingness to exploit others and other things for one's benefit.

Publicize economic statistics that recognize well-being, not just growth

Do not focus on GDP, stock exchange numbers, official unemployment figures, or the financial success of the elite. Instead, look at the well-being of the population. Use real statistics on unemployment and inflation, not the official manipulated and sanitized ones.


Take account of quality as well as quantity.
Unemployment and inflation statistics are biased, based on the idea that everything can be measured in economic terms, and failing to present that which doesn't fall within standard measurements.
Reported unemployment figures measure only one segment of the unemployed. Inflation figures exclude important types of purchases. Gross Domestic Product and stock exchange figures measure economic growth only, including harmful industries, and benefits reaching the rich, without taking well-being into account.
 Mainstream media presents the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the stock market as the measure of economic success and well-being. This approach justifies all economic growth, regardless of its value. It includes expenditures on prisons, and the privatization and monetization of all activity. It takes account of only one measure of wealth. Our lives should not be defined so narrowly.
Include livability standards for personal and psychological well-being, such as real wages, purchasing power, cost of health care, free time, and meaningful work.
Unemployment figures should include those who have given up looking for work, who work part-time, or who are simply not working.
Tell the truth about inflation. "If inflation rates were still tracked the same way they were until the 1980s, then the actual number today would be closer to 9.4%."