Topic: Social Security

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Five ways to improve Obama's pre-k plan

President Obama’s Preschool for All plan is well intentioned but includes features that are not justified by research and won’t help it pass in Congress. The plan must make the following five adjustments.
5 myths about amnesty for illegal immigrants in Senate bill

Under a bipartisan Senate immigration bill, immigrants who have come to the United States illegally are given a "path to citizenship." On close inspection, each of the following five claims about the requirements for illegal immigrants to earn amnesty are not what they seem.
If not 'sequester,' then what? Five ideas from left and right.

Few in Washington believe that "the sequester,” $85 billion in automatic spending cuts set to hit the federal budget as of March 1, is a good idea. But what's the alternative? Here are five proposals, from the right, the center, and the left, to replace the sequester. Which do you like?
Sequester 101: What happens if $85 billion in cuts hit on March 1

The sequester is a complex concept with a tortuous history. Here are the basics on the automatic spending reductions set to kick in March 1.
Eight steps to getting the right insurance

Comparing insurance policies is tough. However, by following these eight steps, you can simplify the process and find the right insurance policy for you.

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Harry Reid, Sharron Angle debate: How could an hour go on that long?

Senate majority leader Harry Reid is in the fight of his long political life. Republican challenger Angle is one of the most prominent tea party-backed insurgents. But their debate Thursday was ... a letdown.
Social Security freeze: no COLA, but maybe $250

Social Security freeze means recipients won't get a cost-of-living adjustment for the second year in a row. But House Speaker Pelosi is pushing for a $250 payment.
To avoid the double-dip, (1) lower taxes, (2) raise taxes. Huh?

Some economists propose lowering payroll taxes and then raising marginal rate taxes. Here's another perspective.
Medicare fraud: Dozens charged in record scam

Medicare fraud operation, netting $163 million, was run by Armenian gangsters, federal prosecutors allege.
Lincoln, Boozman face off in 2nd Arkansas Senate debate

Incumbent Democratic Senator Blanche Lincoln said Wednesday she's not an automatic vote for the Democratic leadership in Washington, while GOP challenger Rep. John Boozman tried to link her to the President and his policies.
The Monitor's View: French strikes over pension reform hold lesson for the US and other countries

French strikes in 1995 caused Paris to back off of pension reform. Now the French government is trying again, and it is again being met by massive strikes. Delay, however, only makes pension reform more costly.
Social Security freeze worries some seniors

Social Security recipients will go a second year without any increase in benefits. This year was the first without an increase since automatic adjustments for inflation started in 1975.
Federal revenues up: Where did the money come from?

FY2010 saw a 3 percent rise in revenue over the previous year, despite the ongoing recession, thanks to increased corporate taxes and higher Fed earnings.
Nobel Prize in Economics awarded for unemployment research

The Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to three economists who examined how unemployment can remain high while jobs stand vacant.
A credible plan to cut the budget deficit

The plan, which includes a spending cap and carbon tax, would cut the budget deficit to less than 1 percent of GDP by 2020.
Book review: 'Investing from Scratch: A Handbook for the Young Investor'

Are you within your first 15 years out of college, spending less than you earn, and financially stable enough to invest beyond your 401(k)? Then this book is for you.
Social Security? Don't count on it.

If you're under 40 and expecting Social Security to fund your retirement – don't. Here's why.
Sharron Angle: Will nod from Nevada's largest newspaper tip senate race?

Sharron Angle won the endorsement Monday of the Las Vegas Review-Journal in her tight race against Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Will Meg Whitman's illegal maid hurt her with California Latinos?

Latinos are 19 percent of California voters. The flap over Nicky Diaz Santillan, GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman's former housekeeper, could make a difference in how they vote.
Opinion: Paul Ryan: Can the GOP leader make fiscal responsibility sexy for the iPod generation?

The growing burdens of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Seurity are threatening my generation’s future. But Republican Rep. Paul Ryan’s bold plan for entitlement reform leads the way out. Young people just need to follow. As Ryan told me, “It’s their future.”
Would Meg Whitman take a lie-detector test about housekeeper? 'Absolutely.'

In a frantic day of back-and-forth allegations about whether California Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman knowingly employed an illegal immigrant, Whitman insisted she did everything right. The housekeeper's lawyer says Whitman is lying.
Meg Whitman and the perils of employing illegal help: six memorable cases

Meg Whitman, California GOP gubernatorial candidate, is alleged to have employed a housekeeper from 2000 to 2009 even though she knew the woman was in the US illegally. It's a political bombshell for Ms. Whitman. The politics of household employment and immigration have proved tricky before. Here are six prominent cases, plus the allegations against Whitman.
Meg Whitman knew housekeeper might be illegal immigrant, according to lawyer

Meg Whitman told reporters that she fired her housekeeper last year when the woman informed Whitman she was in the country illegally. Now, Meg Whitman's former housekeeper has hired high-profile attorney Gloria Allred.
Republican 'tough love' economics: Social Darwinism for the 21st century

Like Herbert Hoover's treasury secretary, House Minority Leader John Boehner thinks tough-love spending cuts will end the recession. It didn't work in 1929 and it won't work today. What it will do is hurt the poorest even more.
Republican 'Pledge': slightly smaller government and much bigger deficits

The Republican 'Pledge to America' offers vague promises and zero fiscal responsibility.
Fight over GOP 'Pledge to America' sets scene for November election

In their radio addresses Saturday, President Obama and Rep. Kevin McCarthy focused on the Republican 'Pledge to America.' It sets the scene for the next month’s campaign rhetoric.
How will Republicans deal with growing gay rights issues?

On same-sex marriage and "don't ask, don't tell," Republicans and other conservatives increasingly are at odds with public opinion. Will the tea party movement help gay rights?
GOP Pledge: Life, liberty, and steak! But where are the young Americans?

The photos in the House Republicans' new Pledge to America booklet show what conservatives love about America – and reveal a huge hole in their agenda.
Republicans unveil Pledge to America, but where was Paul Ryan?

Rep. Paul Ryan has emerged as the Republicans' rising star on fiscal issues. His absence from the Pledge to America unveiling added to a sense of disappointment among some conservatives.
Obama tax plan: Who gets hit?

We've all heard that 'nobody making less than $250,000' gets a tax increase. But just how is President Obama defining that?