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50th anniversaries shame today’s government: Our view
This month saw the anniversary of President Lyndon Johnson’s “war on poverty.” In the summer, Americans will pause to recall passage of the Civil Rights Act. Next year, the Voting Rights Act and the founding of Medicare and Medicaid will…
Research on ‘Eldersourcing’ sparks dialogue on retirement
For five years, cultural anthropologist Caitrin Lynch immersed herself in the working environment of Vita Needle Company in Needham, Mass., a family-owned business that makes a practice of hiring older workers, so many in fact that the median age of…
RETIREMENT PLANNING: Know your numbers
Do you know exactly how much money you will need in retirement? Do you know exactly how much you spent last month? Do you know exactly how much you will spend every month once you are retired? Do you know…
Medicare can’t afford not to cut costly private payments
Health insurance companies have started a campaign to protect the government payments they get for operating private Medicare plans. Anybody who wants to see the United States rein in its bloated and inefficient health care system, and keep the Affordable…
Home Birth Offers Many Risks With Little Benefit:
Home birth is gaining in popularity in the U.S., but new research found that the risk may not be worth the benefit. A report published this week in the Journal of Medical Ethics focused primarily on how being delivered at home can impact children…
The One-Legged Retirement Stool
Financial planners often refer to a three-legged stool of retirement: Social Security, private pensions and savings. “While it’s a nice metaphor…it turns out that it only applies to about a quarter of the population,” Massachusetts Institute of Technology economist James Poterba told…
In New Hampshire, beginning of a long debate over marijuana legalization
Rep. Steve Vaillancourt thinks it is time to legalize marijuana. But even he was surprised by this month’s House vote in favor of his bill. “I’ve said all along that I was surprised that it passed,” said the Manchester Republican. The bill…
Paul Ryan Has No Interest in House Speaker
Representative Paul Ryan has been playing coy about his political ambitions, but on Thursday he ruled out one option pretty definitively, declaring that he does not want to be speaker of the House. “When Janna and I joined [Mitt Romney’s…
5 Retirement Moves Boomers Should Make in 2014
Financial security in retirement doesn’t just happen. It takes years of hard work, savings dedication, planning and discipline. After all, Social Security benefits alone will not support you entirely in your golden years. Wall Street’s strong performance last year might have…
SSA Experts: Don’t Believe Negative Hype About Americans’ Retirement Finances
Conventional wisdom has it that most Americans are financially ill-prepared for retirement. But that’s not true, say Sylvester Schieber, former chairman of the Social Security Advisory Board, and Andrew Biggs, former principal deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration. “The story pushed…