Archive for the ‘Death + the Economy’ Category
Grim Risks of Reaping Death’s Rewards
Leslie Scism and Larry Light, Wall Street Journal (February 6, 2010)
Slemrod Sees US Tax/Death Experiment
Marc Abrahams, Improbable Research (January 13, 2010)
Here’s a death and dirty money twofer for this lovely Saturday. Enjoy!
The Wall Street Journal reports on “life settlements” — investors buy elderly people’s insurance policies with the [...]
- By: Meg Holle
- In: Death + the Economy| Death + the Law
- Tags: insurance, investment, research, taxes
Minneapolis Indigent Burials Increasing
30, Dec 2009Indigent burials, and cost to public, on rise
Kevin Duchschere, Star Tribune (December 27, 2009)
This is a story which persists in the news. County morgues all across America continue to deal with unclaimed dead bodies. I have been writing about these cases on Death Ref’s Death + the Economy section.
Minneapolis is the featured city this time [...]
- By: John
- In: Death + the Economy
- Tags: unclaimed bodies
Some Unclaimed Dead Bodies Buried in Detroit
6, Dec 2009Detroit finds dignity in death
Poppy Harlow, CNNMoney.com (November 16, 2009)
This article is a few weeks old so it isn’t breaking news. That said, I just noticed the video and watched it. The images of all the unclaimed bodies stacked up in the morgue freezer is a tragedy. I’ve been covering the unclaimed body situation in [...]
- By: John
- In: Death + the Economy| Death Ethics
- Tags: unclaimed bodies, video
We Need to Die
3, Nov 2009Nice Opinion piece in today’s NY Times laying out some fundamental philosophical underpinnings of life and death. It is titled “Happy Ending” and is written by Todd May, a professor of philosophy at Clemson University. May is the author of 10 books including “The Philosophy of Foucault” and “Death”.
This is the last in a series [...]
- By: Kim
- In: Death + Popular Culture| Death + the Economy
- Tags: op ed
Wal-Mart: Save Money. Live Better. Die Cheap(ly).
29, Oct 2009Wal-Mart Starts Selling Caskets, Urns Online
Emily Fredrix, Associated Press (October 28, 2009)
It’s all over the death-dar: following Costco’s lead, Wal-Mart now offers caskets and urns for sale online, with priority Fed-Ex freight shipment anywhere in the continental U.S.
With prices that undercut funeral home options combined with its juggernaut consumer base — not to mention “and [...]
- By: Meg Holle
- In: Death + Humor| Death + the Economy| Funeral Industry
- Tags: coffins, urns, video