Social Security

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Social Security Debit Cards in the Works

Eliminating checks will save government money, lessen security worries

(Newser) - A new Social Security debit card, intended to replace paper checks for the millions of seniors who don’t have bank accounts, will be available by this spring, the Treasury Department said today. It's the latest phase in a shift from fraud-prone paper payments to safer, cheaper electronic ones, the...

Marriage and State Should Get a Divorce
Marriage and State Should Get a Divorce
OPINION
Nov 26, 2007 8:44 PM CST

Marriage and State Should Get a Divorce

Laws out of sync with modern love, writes marriage historian

(Newser) - Modern love has snubbed its nose at the state, writes Stephanie Coontz in an op ed piece in the New York Times, with 40% of US children now from unmarried parents. So it's time for the law to follow suit, and get out of the marrying business. Marriage licenses—a...

Clinton Strikes Back at Rivals
Clinton Strikes Back at Rivals
Nov 15, 2007 8:41 PM CST

Clinton Strikes Back at Rivals

Senator accuses Obama, Edwards of distorting her record

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton accused her main Democratic rivals of twisting her words and slinging mud during a testy debate in Las Vegas tonight. "When somebody starts throwing mud, at least we can hope it's accurate and not right out of the Republican playbook," she said at one point. Barack...

Gen Xers Aren't Saving for Retirement

Too many still living paycheck to paycheck, one expert warns

(Newser) - Aging Gen Xers are too saddled with costs and debt to save for retirement, MSNBC reports. In fact, 62% of Gen Xers—those born roughly from 1965 to 1980—said they still live paycheck to paycheck, according to a Charles Schwab survey. And they’re headed for trouble: The fund...

Social Security's 2.3% Hike Most Stingy Since '04

Increases don't keep up with rising medical costs, critics say

(Newser) - Social Security benefits will rise 2.3% in 2008—or an average of $24 monthly—netting the 54 million recipients their smallest increase in four years. The cost of living adjustment, now $1,079 per month for the average retiree, is based on the third-quarter change in consumer prices, the...

First Boomer Applies for Social Security

Ex-teacher, approaching 62nd birthday, files online

(Newser) - The baby boom elephant moved a little further along the demographic boa constrictor today when the first boomer applied for Social Security benefits. Kathleen Casey-Kirschling, born at 12:00:01 a.m. on January 1, 1946, is a retired teacher and, a balanced-budget activist tells Bloomberg, "the first drop...

Judge Blocks Crackdown on Immigrant Workers

Nixes plan to track Social Security numbers

(Newser) - In a major blow to the Bush Administration, a federal judge has blocked a controversial program to find illegal immigrants in the workplace by tracking discrepancies in their Social Security data. A US district judge ruled the crackdown by the Department of Homeland Security would "subject employers to greater...

Clinton Promises Centrist Presidency
Clinton Promises Centrist Presidency
Oct 10, 2007 10:12 AM CDT

Clinton Promises Centrist Presidency

Says past partisan battles better equip her for uniting role

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton fought back today against opponents who call her a polarizing force, telling the Washington Post she's uniquely equipped to forge a centrist coalition. “You can't just wake up and say, ‘Let's all just hold hands.’” But, “You've got to demonstrate that you're not...

Solid Fred Joins Heated Debate
Solid Fred Joins Heated Debate
Oct 10, 2007 5:27 AM CDT

Solid Fred Joins Heated Debate

Giuliani, Romney have sharp exchanges

(Newser) - In the first debate of his nascent quest for the White House, Fred Thompson stuck to a traditional Republican agenda as the gloves of rivals Mitt Romney and Rudolph Giuliani came off in some of the sharpest clashes so far. The LA Times reports that Thompson, a former senator, appeared...

Obama Shifts Strategy, Takes Aim at Iowa

Falling behind Clinton in polls, Illinois senator steps up campaign

(Newser) - Barack Obama will skip Senate voting this week to get in some quality time with voters in Iowa on a trip his camp is calling the "Judgement and Experience Tour." This surge in campaigning is likely to be the first of several as the Illinois senator tries to...

Social Security Fund Faces $13.6 Trillion Shortfall

Only taxes or slashed benefits can save program

(Newser) - Slashing benefits or hiking taxes—or both—is the only way to make the Social Security system solvent, reports a Treasury Department briefing paper. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson warned that faster economic growth alone won't solve the money problems of  Social Security, which faces a $13.6 trillion shortfall in...

Bush Vows to Hunt Down Illegals
Bush Vows to Hunt Down Illegals
Aug 14, 2007 8:42 PM CDT

Bush Vows to Hunt Down Illegals

Upped enforcement promises crisis for some

(Newser) - Bush is vowing to enforce old immigration laws after all, now that comprehensive reform has croaked on the Senate floor. He promises to crack down on workers who don't have valid Social Security numbers in particular, but bosses parry that there can be good reasons for numerical snafus with the...

GAO Warns of Decline & Fall .... of America

US problems are the same that destroyed Roman Empire, chief declares

(Newser) - America's dire state resembles that of the Rome just before its fall, the head of the General Accountability Office has warned in a grim new report. "Declining moral values and political civility at home, an over-confident and over-extended military, and fiscal irresponsibility," could lead to disaster here at...

Feds Get Tough on Employers of Illegals

Raids, deportations expected as Washington tightens rules

(Newser) - Immigration officials are set to step up raids on employers across America suspected of hiring illegal immigrants, the New York Times reports.  The tough enforcement action will back up new rules to be announced this week requiring bosses to fire workers who use false Social Security numbers, which are...

Bush 0 for 4 on 2nd-Term Goals
Bush 0 for 4 on 2nd-Term Goals
Jun 29, 2007 10:00 AM CDT

Bush 0 for 4 on 2nd-Term Goals

With the death of the latest immigration bill, the president may have lost his last chance at a domestic legacy

(Newser) - The immigration bill that died in the Senate yesterday was President Bush's last hope to salvage any one of his four domestic policy goals for the second term, the Washington Post reports. The goals laid out after 2004 reelection included Social Security and tax overhauls,  a curb upon "...

Dutch Do Pensions Right
Dutch Do Pensions Right
Jun 15, 2007 2:00 PM CDT

Dutch Do Pensions Right

The US should read up on Social Security in the Netherlands, reports Time

(Newser) - Governments around the world are stuck between tightfisted Anglo-American pension plans that pay only a fraction of one's past salary, and extravagant European-style social security that ends up welshing on the payments. But the Dutch have struck a balance that's working, reports Time, as sufficient amounts of money are saved...

Pension Flub Could Doom Japanese PM
Pension Flub Could Doom Japanese PM
Jun 14, 2007 1:31 PM CDT

Pension Flub Could Doom Japanese PM

Government loses track of 64M checks, enraging voters

(Newser) - A pension scandal rocking Japan threatens to bring down the ruling party, and it could take PM Shinzo Abe with it. Sixty-four million pension payments—in a country of 130 million—have gone missing, and that's riling Japan's growing gray-haired population. The pensioners may pay Abe back with a vote...

Swift Boater Gets Recess Appointment

Bush slips three controversial conservatives past Senate

(Newser) - President Bush doled out three major recess appointments yesterday to  conservatives Democrats found distasteful. Ambassador to Belgium went to Sam Fox, a top-tier donor to Republican causes including Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the 527 that sank John Kerry’s shot at the White House.

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