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NEWS ABOUT: benefits

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NJ Passes Sweeping Worker Benefit Overhaul

Bill's passage marks big win for Christie, defeat for unions

(Newser) - Amid Wisconsin-style drama, New Jersey's Democrat-controlled legislature passed a plan to force public workers to pay more for benefits. The measure, bitterly opposed by the state's powerful unions, has already passed the state senate and Chris Christie is expected to sign it into law as soon as Friday,... More »

Just What Is a ‘Good Job’?

This essential question needs to be answered, but it's complex

(Newser) - We toss around the phrase all the time, but how do we define what makes a “good job” good? It’s a key question—and a complex one—as we look to the future of our economy, writes Michael Lind in Salon . Among the factors:
  • Unions: We often call
... More »

Social Security to Be Drained by 2037

System will be permanently in the red unless Congress acts

(AP) - Sick and getting sicker, Social Security will run at a deficit this year and keep on running in the red until its trust funds are drained by about 2037, according to bleaker-than-previous estimates from congressional budget experts. The massive retirement program has been suffering from the effects of the struggling... More »

Anger Mounts as Millions Lose Jobless Benefits

2M to lose benefits by Christmas as parties hit impasse

(Newser) - As Democrats and Republicans wrangled over tax cuts for the richest Americans, time ran out for millions of people who have been unemployed for up to 99 weeks. Congress has failed to agree on how to extend benefits for the long-term unemployed and some 2 million people who have been... More »

Transgendered Widow Battles for Benefits

Angry parents say son was upset he was 'tricked'

(Newser) - Nikki Araguz lost her firefighter husband, Thomas, in the line of duty two weeks ago, and now she could lose his benefits—because she was born male. The Texas widow faces a lawsuit from her husband's parents, who charge that her transgender status makes her ineligible to receive benefits, and... More »

Social Security to Take In Less Than It Pays Out in 2010

Payouts exceeding revenue 6 years ahead of predictions

(Newser) - The recession has battered Social Security, too: The program will pay out more in benefits than it receives in payroll taxes this year, says the Congressional Budget Office. The system hadn't been expected to reach its "tipping point" until 2016. The change will have no effect on benefits, but... More »

Unemployment Programs Going Bust in 40 States

States face raising taxes or slashing benefits

(Newser) - The combination of high unemployment and bad planning means that the jobless compensation programs of all but 10 states are on course to go broke by 2011. Some 25 states are already borrowing federal money to issue benefit checks. State lawmakers are coming under intense pressure to either shrink payments... More »

'Everything But Marriage' Law for Gays Passes in Wash.

Referendum 71 expands benefits for same-sex couples

(Newser) - A measure expanding benefits for same-sex couples, dubbed the “everything but marriage” law, has passed in Washington state, the first time such an equality measure has been approved at the state level by voters. Referendum 71 currently has about 52% of the votes, and a margin of 60,000,... More »

Health-Care Reform Holds 'Bonanza' for Insurers

(Newser) - Regardless of how health-care reform eventually shakes out, one industry will likely reap a windfall: health insurance companies, reports the Los Angeles Times. All the leading overhaul proposals would require all citizens to have health insurance, which would guarantee tens of millions of new customers. "It's a bonanza,"... More »

Strapped States Fall Behind on Unemployment Checks

(Newser) - Years of tax and budget cuts have left the nation's unemployment system badly weakened just as it's most needed, the New York Times reports. At least a million applications are still stuck in the system and many applicants have to wait months for their first check. Sixteen states have... More »

Get a Checkup or Lose Your Insurance

One company tries forcing employees to get preventative care

(Newser) - How far can a firm go to improve the health of its employees? AmeriGas Propane's insurance costs were rising, its work force was aging, and its employees weren't getting preventative care. The company began voluntary programs to encourage healthy behavior that didn't work. So AmeriGas gave its workers a simple... More »

New GI Bill Pays Out Big in Some States, Zilch in Others

(Newser) - The new GI bill going into effect Aug. 1 is the biggest expansion of the program since World War II, but the benefits are far from uniform, the AP reports. The new system determines the money a vet gets for college on a state-by-state basis. Full tuition is guaranteed at... More »

Obama Offers Gays Too Little, Too Late

Toothless federal-benefits gesture falls flat in LGBT community

(Newser) - President Obama’s memorandum giving gay federal workers some of the benefits straight ones enjoy has gone over like a lead balloon in the gay community, Politico reports. Advocates say it’s a weak gesture because the Defense of Marriage Act—which the administration recently defended—prevents it from including... More »

Biden: 'Real Doubts' About Iran Poll Results

Elsewhere, officials spar over pending health care proposals

(Newser) - Vice President Joe Biden this morning expressed “some real doubt” that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad legitimately won re-election in Iran, Politico reports. “There’s an awful lot of questions about how this election was run,” he told Meet the Press. On health care, Biden reiterated President Obama’s reluctance... More »

Globe Union to Vote on Pay Cut

Rejection could spark legal battle

(Newser) - The Boston Globe’s biggest union votes today on whether to accept a $10 million cut to their wages and benefits, including an 8.4% pay cut, or to mount a legal fight with parent the New York Times Co., the Boston Herald reports. If the contract is rejected, the... More »

Got Talent Dancer, 73, Collects Disability

Shows little sign of ailment in routine

(Newser) - A 73-year-old breakdancing grandfather may have more skills than just the moves he's flashing on Britain's Got Talent, reports the Daily Mail. Fred Bowers also collects more than $100 a week in disability for a bum leg not evident on the British reality show. “I’ve no idea how... More »

'Gay Tax' Hurts Couples Tying the Knot

Federal inequality lands same-sex couples in the poor house

(Newser) - First comes love, then comes marriage, then the taxman, who penalizes same-sex couples with the “gay tax,” Nancy Goldstein writes on NPR. The media’s morality play about gay marriage has overshadowed the economic costs of inequality, argues Goldstein, who calculates her annual tax at $1,820 for... More »

US Aid Rules Perplex Needy in Downturn

(Newser) - Hobbled by the recession, millions of Americans are struggling to navigate benefit programs that dispense aid in often arbitrary and frustrating ways, the New York Times reports. In many cases, it's all about geography. Need food stamps? It's better to live in Missouri than California. Unemployment? The lucky live in... More »

New Owner's Cost Cuts Change Flavor at Budweiser

Jobs, perks, executive suites disappear

(Newser) - Things haven't tasted the same since InBev's takeover—and makeover—of Anheuser-Busch, the Wall Street Journal reports. Cost-cutting has become paramount at a firm once known for its cushy treatment of employees. Jobs have been sliced, executive suites knocked down, and benefits like free baseball tickets made rare. Anheuser-Busch Inbev... More »

Firms Shave Costs Without Layoffs

Some workers willingly take wage cuts to save their jobs

(Newser) - Some companies are finding creative ways to cut labor, and keep it, too. Brandeis University, for example, convinced 30% of its instructors to forgo 1% of their pay. "It can save a few jobs," reasons an English prof who's hardly alone. Many workers have accepted reduced hours, unpaid... More »

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