In The Upside of Inequality, a runner-up for WORLD’s 2016 Book of the Year in the Understanding America category, Edward Conard attacks the notion that the richest 1 percent of Americans are causing slower or no wage growth among the rest. He shows how innovators or entertainers who achieve economywide success will multiply their money in comparison with teachers or bus drivers who can’t serve more people than they used to.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai canceled a town hall meeting on gender discrimination an hour before it was scheduled to begin Thursday afternoon. In an email to staff, Pichai said he canceled the meeting because the names and specific questions of Google employees had been leaked online, making the employees fearful for their safety and concerned they would be targeted for speaking out at the gathering.

Health insurer Anthem announced today it will pull out of the Ohio market next year amid growing uncertainty about the future of government healthcare regulations. The decision leaves about 10,500 residents in at least 18 counties with no option for purchasing private health insurance, according to state officials. Aetna and Humana, two other major health insurance providers, also recently announced plans to pull out of some markets in 2018.

Over at Sojourners, the Rev. Keith Anderson has written an article evaluating America’s emerging “gig economy” on the basis of Old Testament prophecy. He cites a moral dilemma he faced when trying to decide whether or not to take a traditional taxi to a destination or use Uber. Anderson suggests that the economic and technological progress we see today may be immoral but he fails to make a convincing case, and worse, he misuses the Bible in the process.

Economics was never a favorite subject in college, so I took no courses. But I do know a few things about human nature. If you tax income at too high a rate, corporations will look elsewhere for relief.

Take Ireland.

About 1.4 million people signed a pledge to boycott Target stores over the company’s transgender bathroom and fitting room policy. Target’s same-store sales during the same quarter were down for the first time in two years. Is there a connection?

Gil Stricklin says the idea struck him as he was preparing to end a 27-year military career, with 22 years in the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps, ending as a colonel. If military chaplains could have the impact they so consistently demonstrated among needy service personnel, why not deploy similarly called men and women to meet comparable needs among folks in civilian life?