Food stamps keep about five million people out of poverty.
There are some big problems with the way poverty is measured in this country. A Census report came out this week based on the “supplemental poverty measure” — a newer, unofficial method that figures in the value of many government benefits, the cost of living in different cities, and health-care costs.
Continue reading… “50 million Americans living in poverty in the U.S.”
Some employers’ perks include free tickets to theme parks.
Workplaces are providing a unique range of benefits for employees in 2012. From the quirky to the somber, they are offering benefits such as, Pet insurance, at-your-desk meditation services, jewelry discounts and funeral planning
Continue reading… “Businesses turn to quirky perks for employees in 2012”
About 35 percent of time is spent doing unpaid but nonetheless important work, like child-care and housework.
At a time of record-level long-term unemployment the question everyone asks, even the jobless themselves, is what do the unemployed do all day?
Continue reading… “For the unemployed, more sleep and tv but also more unpaid work”
The total impact of the extended unemployment benefits on the economy is huge, because so many Americans are currently taking advantage of them.
The economic recovery could be headed for a major hit that will leave it even weaker as extended unemployment benefits are set to expire in 2012.
The poor economy lingers and the jobless rate remaining high.
States will start a nationwide crackdown for people fraudulently drawing unemployment payments. $17 billion in were dswindle last year alone from those who were never eligible and workers who keep getting checks after they return to work, say federal officials.
Continue reading… “Nationwide crackdown unemployment insurance fraud”
British welfare benefits allow London’s poor to live in areas such as affluent St. John’s Wood.
St. John’s Wood is the place the London A-listers choose to live. It is a neighborhood of the wealthy with its leafy avenues lined with the mansions of Paul McCartney, Ewan McGregor and Kate Moss. And yet, they share the most unlikely neighbors — the Kastrati family.
Some lifeguards’ salaries, benefits and overtime pay topped $200,000.
When Aurora Toussaint takes her disabled son to the sun-kissed beaches of Newport Beach, California she knows that the lifeguards who watch from their towers will be there in seconds should anything go wrong.
Continue reading… “Anger Swells Over Lifeguards’ High Pay in California Beach City”
States have laws stipulating that the government becomes the owner of abandoned property after a period of time.
Billions of dollars in unclaimed life insurance benefits are at the center of a legal wrestling match as cash-strapped state governments step up their efforts to make sure insurance companies properly account for the funds.
Wave of pension shortfalls threatens to wash over many local governments in the near future.
The nation’s largest municipal pension plans are carrying a total unfunded liability of $574 billion, which comes on top of as much as $3 trillion in unfunded pension promises made by the states, according to a report released Tuesday.
Continue reading… “Growing Wave of Pension Shortfalls Threatens Local Governments”
One in three workers over age 58 does a physically demanding job.
At the Cooper Tire plant in Findlay, Ohio, Jack Hartley, who is 58, works a 12-hour shift assembling tires: pulling piles of rubber and lining over a drum, cutting the material with a hot knife, lifting the half-finished tire, which weighs 10 to 20 pounds, and throwing it onto a rack.
Health care costs rise for large employers
Health care costs for large employers will rise more than 6% this year, a study says, and more companies are thinking about revamping their benefits.
Continue reading… “Health Care Costs for Big Employers Will Rise 6.5% in 2010”
Premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance rose to an average of $13,375 annually for family coverage this year, with employees on average paying $3,515 and employers paying $9,860, according to a new survey.
Continue reading… “Average Family Health Premiums Rose To $13,375 Annually”
