[Hat tip Doug May]
The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) study by Dean Baker and David Rosnick, “The Impact of the Housing Crash on Family Wealth.” shows that over the last two decades (from 1989 to the projected 2009) median wealth for people age 35 - 54 was flat or declining assuming another 10% […]
From a Bill Foster campaign email:
“Dear Friends,
There is an important vote in the House of Representatives tomorrow. The reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program was vetoed by President Bush and a large, bipartisan majority of Congress is trying to override that veto.
From the beginning, this campaign has been about changing the way Washington […]
You can’t make stuff like this up. From the Q&A section of the Medicare Drug Plan (aka “Part D”):
“Question
What if the prescription I take is not covered by my Medicare drug plan? Will Medicaid still pay for it?
Answer
If Medicare covers a prescription drug, Medicaid will not pay for it. However, Medicare drug plans don’t […]
According to the Naperville Sun, Lucent employs about 5,200 employees in Naperville and Lisle. Those jobs are now under threat with the planned Lucent-Alcatel merger that will ax 8,800 employees. According to the Taipei Times, Lucent’s worldwide work force was cut from 120,000 in 2000 to 30,200 now - and that’s before the […]
For many this may be a ‘no-brainer’ but I think it good to start things off by assuming little. What’s the case for supporting a Democratic Congressional Candidate that wasn’t your choice in the primary?
First, the basics. Any of the three Democratic candidates, Tammy Duckworth in the 6th, Joe Shannon in the 13th […]
With Downers Grove North High School, where his two children graduated, in the background and his family standing behind him, this afternoon Bill Reedy declared his candidacy for Illinois’ 13th Congressional District. Emphasizing the importance of education as an issue in the campaign, today is the fourth anniversary of President George W. Bush signing […]
From USA Today:
“When Social Security was launched 70 years ago Sunday, it was meant to be a supplement for retirees, not a full pension. But today, 10.6 million people, or 22% of the 48 million who will receive Social Security benefits this year, live on that check alone, the Social Security Administration says.”
New York Times columnist Floyd Norris is one of my favorite business writers because of his insight and ability to describe business complexities - and why they matter. While not his absolute best, yesterday’s article “Greenspan Era Taught People to Gamble” nonetheless is well worth reading. Greenspan took his fascination with Ayn Rand […]
Paul Krugman wrote today “America Wants Security” - I’ve already discussed this before and agree. It’s nice to have some empirical backing from Krugman - and his piece is a great reminder that I have two more “domestic security” pieces to add to retirement security mentioned above, healthcare and employment. They’ll be coming […]
It’s immoral.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Eugene Wedoff ruled yesterday that United Airlines can terminate its four major pension plans with $6.6 billion in liabilities, sending them to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), the federal agency that insures defined-benefit (fixed payments for life) pensions. PBGC will pay only some of United Airlines’ pension […]
