With dental costs rising and employers cutting coverage, an increasing number of working Americans cannot afford to see a dentist even for chronic problems.
Dental Double Standards
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Category Archives: Economy
Chicago Steel-Making: Dead but Not Forgotten
The stretch of southeast Chicago along Lake Michigan was built on steel. In its heyday, about 200,000 people were employed here in the steel mills and other industries related to steel production and shipping.
Read (Washington Post)
Successful Burglars Target Wealthy in Arizona Town
An exclusive town that is home to pitcher Randy Johnson, rocker Alice Cooper and former vice president Dan Quayle is also apparently prime real estate for burglars.
Even the cowboy boot now sports ‘Made in China’
Production of even top-of-the-line brands like Tony Lama is shifting to China and Mexico.
Toys ‘R’ Us Ponders a Season to End All Seasons
In the face of dwindling toy sales and intense competition from low-price rivals, Toys ‘R’ Us may be getting out of the game.
Bagging One Job for Another
A few weeks ago, Bob Rich was working as a school speech therapist. Now, instead of asking kids to enunciate vowels and consonants, he’s asking grown-ups: paper, or plastic? NPR’s Ketzel Levine continues a series on people reinventing themselves through their work.
Offshoring Said to Zap Electrical Engineers’ Wages
Electrical engineers have come in for a shock: for the first time in more than three decades of technological innovation, their salaries are dropping.
Originally from Reuters
Black Baby Boomers’ Income Gap Cited
Black Americans born between 1946 and 1964 “are no better off relative to whites than their parents and grandparents” were in terms of income, according to a new Duke University study.
Maryland Nursing Schools Turn Away Applicants
A lack of instructors and adequate classroom space forced Maryland nursing schools to turn away thousands of qualified students last year, officials said.
Originally from WTOP Radio
A Lump Of Coal For America’s Poor
Read (tompaine.com)
In a season of doing good unto others, cutting taxes for millionaires and leaving severely ill seniors in nursing homes without care is an immoral choice.
Housing Prices Rise Faster Than Wages
In the DC area, more homes are selling for $400,000 or more and fewer are selling for under $140,000.
Originally from WTOP Radio
Job Cuts Accelerate
Read (cnn.com)
Depressing Job News from CNN/Money:
- Companies announced 104,530 job cuts in November, up 5.1 percent from a year earlier and 2.6 percent from October.
- The September through November totals mark the first time that announced job cuts have topped 100,000 for three or more straight months since January to April of 2002.
- If December cuts reach 69,310, it will mark the fourth straight year with 1 million cuts announced by U. S. employers
- The economy’s biggest worry is that a “large number of lower-middle class and middle-class Americans struggling to make it paycheck-to-paycheck will be short of discretionary income during the holiday shopping season.” (That’s certainly a major concern in this household this holiday season.)
- We’re about 5-1/2 million (jobs) short of where would be today if this were a typical expansion.
- We’ve fallen far short of prior economic expansions.
Real Wages For Engineers and Computer Scientists Have Not Increased in 20 Years
Read (ieeeusa.org)
The influx of foreign guest workers on H-1B and L-1 visas has increased the supply of high-tech workers in this country, suppressing wages. Research shows that real wages for engineers and computer scientists have not increased in 20 years.
Newest Global Trading Bloc
Ministers Step in to Help Woman Whose Kids Stayed in Storage Unit
The homeless mom rented the shed apparently after she couldn’t find space at homeless shelters.