[mseebach]

You don't come off as someone who is even remotely interested in being convinced of anything. Celebrating your downvotes and declaring "the truth hurts" does not invite debate.

I'm away from my computer, but if I recall correctly, there's a world bank report from a few years ago (read the report, not the coverage of it). And for a more lightweight intro to the area, Hans Rosling is an excellent communicator, and he has a couple of TED talks and YouTube videos, as well as the GapMinder website. (Or, had, he sadly died recently).

[ada1981]

My point in the downvotes is that sometimes our contrarian opinions garner support and sometimes they don’t.

Folks shouldn’t be discouraged about posting things that get downvoted. On balance my posts and comments are well received, but I’d be worried if they all were - it might mean I’m afraid to express my ideas.