This election cycle kind of has me feeling gloomy... until I let a little Bill Clinton into my life! Tell me about the GOOD things, Bill. Bonus: he gives a shoutout to our friends at Refugees United.

Bill Clinton is a master of rhetoric.

Look at the way he has mastered the Rule of Three:

There are three big challenges with our interdependent world: inequality, instability and unsustainability. The fact that half the world's people live on less than $2 a day and a billion people on less than $1 a day is stark evidence of inequality, which is increasing in many places. We're feeling the effects of instability not only in the global economic slowdown but also in the violence, popular disruptions and political conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere. And the way we produce and use energy is unsustainable, changing our climate in ways that cast a shadow over our children's future.

Inequality. Instability. Unsustainability.

Now, let's FIX IT!!!

Real Progress is happening all around us.

A good reason to be optimistic:

I firmly believe that progress changes consciousness, and when you change people's consciousness, then their awareness of what is possible changes as well -- a virtuous circle. So it's important that the word gets out, that people realize what's working.

Time Magazine could really use a "View as One Page" feature.

For now, read it all in the print version.

I did a double-take when I realized this:

Only 4% of households in Africa have Internet access, but more than 50% have cell phones.

Smartphones truly are changing the world.

Learning about "unbanked" and "underbanked" individuals thanks to this post! :)

Isn't unbanked a subset of underbanked?

Look at NYU's work on the un/under-banked. CFSI is a good domestic partner, as the US unexpectedly has about one quarter of its population in the cash-only economy (as in they don't have bank accounts). Accounts set up that are not linked to a bank or credit card are not protected by Reg E or Reg Z, putting consumers at risk. That is something to consider for those not using accounts.

Not sure how that filters to countries like Haiti, that may not have comparables to Reg E or Reg Z in the first place. I did a project on mobile payments for CFSI on this, and now it is a conversation with Treasury, etc. Something to consider.

Definitely something to consider.