99ers: Unemployment Revisited
Two years ago, I wrote a column about the growing number of unemployed and some of the things to watch out for if you knew someone who had lost their job. Now two years on, there is a new club out there, a club no one wants to join but they may not really have a choice. 99ers are those people who have been unemployed for more than the state and federal unemployment benefits allow, that is, ninety-nine weeks. After this point, there is nothing else. Nowhere else to turn. They simply slide off the government doles, perhaps producing a slight downward trend in unemployment because they are no longer considered. Unfortunately, initial claims for unemployment have been on the rise again. We seem to be stuck in the one step forward one and a half backward situation. more »
Future Casualties
Combat in Iraq is winding down, but in Afghanistan it will only rise as spring comes on. However, there is a greater threat to service members than either of these theatres. “Of the more than 30,000 suicides in this country each year, fully 20 percent of them are acts by veterans,” noted VA Secretary Eric Shinseki. With Iraq going on for seven years and Afghanistan now almost a decade, there are over two million veterans from these two conflicts alone. The problem is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. more »
Healthy Ideas for a Sick Healthcare System
Last week I mentioned that the healthcare industry isn’t something that would benefit from socialization, but it should be apparent to everybody that even mildly pays attention that something must be done, and done soon. Medicare is in dire straits, and as prices continue to mount, the situation will only become worse, subjecting not only individuals, but states as well to ever increasing budget short falls. As I stated earlier, there are 120 bankruptcies every hour due to medical costs in America. What happens when states themselves start to declare bankruptcy when they can’t meet their burden? more »
A Look at Health Care
Health care in this country is a touchy subject. People want access, but don’t want to pay too much. The threat of socialism is raised and the debate on who should be responsible for providing health care, the individual, business or the government, is nothing but a spinning top of claims and counter-claims. But I think we can agree on a few givens. Americans pay more for their health care than anyone else in the world, yet we do not have the best system. There are currently between 45 and 47 million people without insurance and this number is likely to climb as the unemployment rate continues to rise. I would like to look at a number of issues and make a few suggestions as to what could be done to help out the health care landscape here in America. There are two aspects of health care, the insurance aspect, and the health care services. While these often become intertwined, I will try to speak of them separately. more »