Yucky Framing of the Day: When Your Workers Suffer, You Don't Make as Much Money

The Australian publication The Age recently ran an article that says that investing in mental health for staff pays off, not because it means human beings will suffer less, but because you can gain a tidy return on your investment.

Employers urgently need to treat the mental health of their staff as seriously as their physical health and safety, according to Australia's first campaign on mental health in the workplace.

With an estimated one in five Australian workers experiencing mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety, the cost to businesses is at least $10.9 billion a year, says mental health group beyondblue.

But if Australian businesses are willing to invest in effective mental health strategies they stand to gain an average return of $2.30 for every $1 spent, according to a report beyondblue commissioned from PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/investing-in-mental-health-pays-off-study-shows-20140519-38k7p.html#ixzz32G7orvBB

Another Sign that Economic Recovery Isn't Reaching Everyone

Chase is rolling out new ATMs that dispense $1 and $5 bills.

The option to get exact change will be a plus for customers -- including those with low account balances who want to take out less than $20 or who need $25 but don't want to take out $40, for example, said Greg McBride, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com.

"Particularly in difficult financial times when peoples' account balances have been lower, not having to withdraw more money than you really need is helpful," said McBride.

Yucky Framing of the Day: Don't Force a Generation of Into Debt or they Won't Buy Stuff From Us

From Truthout today comes another example of  moral arguement reduced to a market place equation.  Why is it a bad idea to saddle the next generation with debt before they even get started in life? Because, if you do that, they can't buy as much stuff and "we," presumably, will not make as much money.

Americans with piles of student loan debt have less money to spend on anything from consumer products to homes.

And as The Washington Post points out, first-time home buyers, usually college graduates, are, or at least used to be, "the bedrock of the housing market."

But, since millions of college graduates are drowning in debt, they can't afford to buy a home, which is killing America's housing recovery.

Meanwhile, according to a report from the One Wisconsin Institute, the devastating effects of student loan debt also translate into more than $6 billion in lost car sales each year.

And, the chief economist for General Motors has even said that student loan debt is one of, if not THE major reason why millennials aren't buying cars.

Quote of the Day: Paying Do Gooders

So in the for-profit sector, the more value you produce, the more money you can make. But we don't like nonprofits to use money to incentivize people to produce more in social service. We have a visceral reaction to the idea that anyone would make very much money helping other people. Interesting that we don't have a visceral reaction to the notion that people would make a lot of money not helping other people. You know, you want to make 50 million dollars selling violent video games to kids, go for it. We'll put you on the cover of Wired magazine. But you want to make half a million dollars trying to cure kids of malaria, and you're considered a parasite yourself.-Dan Pallotta, TED Talk