It’s not official, but it’s virtually indisputable. Poverty in America is much more widespread than has been previously acknowledged. According to the Census Bureau, nearly 37 million Americans - 12.6 percent of the population - were living in poverty in 2005. That means that four years into an economic expansion, the percentage of Americans defined as poor was higher than at the bottom of the last recession in late 2001, when it was 11.7 percent. But that’s not the worst of it. Recently, the bureau released 12 alternative measures of poverty, and all but one are higher than the official rate. The alternative that hews most closely to the measurement criteria recommended by the National Academy of Sciences yields a 2005 poverty rate of 14.1 percent. That works out to 41.3 million poor Americans, 4.4 million more than were officially counted. Those higher figures indicate that millions of needy Americans are not getting government services linked to official poverty levels. The census’s official measure basically looks only at whether a family has enough pretax income, plus cash benefits from the government, to pay for bare necessities. The academy’s criteria called for adding in the value of noncash […]
LONDON (AP) — The last time the British pound was worth more than $2, the elder George Bush was waging a losing U.S. presidential campaign against Bill Clinton and the Eurotunnel linking Britain to Europe was still under construction. It took almost 15 years for the pound to again touch $2, the level it breached Tuesday after figures showing an unexpected surge in inflation led economists to conclude that multiple interest-rate increases were likely. The prospect of higher rates can boost a currency by promising bigger returns on certain investments denominated in it. While the currency has been flirting with the $2 level for several months, hitting it marks a key psychological notch in trading that analysts expect to hold. The pound reached a high of $2.0074 before dropping back to $2.0066 in late New York trading, up from $1.9900 late Monday. The last time the currency traded above $2 — on Sept. 16, 1992 — marked the end of Britain’s membership of the European Exchange Rate mechanism, which pegged the pound to the currencies of other EU members. ‘We believe that sterling could well remain above $2 for an extended period,’ said Howard Archer, chief […]
NEW YORK — The number of U.S. households with a net worth of more than $5 million, excluding their primary residence, surged 23 percent to surpass one million for the first time in 2006, according to a survey released on Tuesday. The survey by Chicago-based Spectrem Group found that the number of U.S. households with more than $5 million rose from 930,000 in 2005. In 1996, there were only 250,000 U.S. households in the ‘ultra-rich’ category, Spectrem said. ‘The past few years have been nothing but astounding for wealthy Americans,’ said Catherine McBreen, managing director of Spectrem, a consulting group that researches the affluent and retirement markets. McBreen said the surge in household growth is underpinned by economic growth in recent years, which has fueled both stock market gains and also the market for private companies. She also ascribed gains to rising real estate valuations and favorable tax policies. ‘The wealthiest households are the business owners,’ said McBreen. She also said broader ownership of stocks has helped overall household wealth. The survey found that U.S. households that are merely wealthy, defined as having assets of more than $500,000 excluding primary residence, rose 9 percent to […]
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans appear determined to block legislation letting the government negotiate directly with drug companies for lower drug prices under Medicare, the latest obstacle for a proposal Democrats once trumpeted as a surefire money-saver. Sen. Mitch McConnell, the GOP leader, said Monday that many members of his rank and file believe the new Medicare prescription drug program is ‘working beautifully, with remarkable coverage,’ and doesn’t need fixing. He stopped short of flatly saying Republicans would try to block the bill when Democrats attempt to bring it up for passage later in the week - but just barely. Noting that Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt will meet with GOP senators on Tuesday, he said, ‘There is substantial opposition to proceeding to that measure.’ President Bush opposes the bill, as he did a stronger House-passed measure that requires the government to negotiate for better prices. Supporters would need 60 votes to overcome a Republican filibuster, and so far, appear to be short. Even if the Senate bill passes, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office recently predicted it would have only a ‘negligible effect’ on the government’s cost of buying drugs under Medicare. As […]
LOS ANGELES — Sure, you’ve heard it a thousand times, but three new studies cement mom’s advice to eat your fruits and veggies: It may help ward off a host of cancers. One study of 183,518 men and women suggests that a diet high in flavonol-rich apples, berries, kale, and broccoli may help cut the risk of pancreatic cancer, especially in smokers. Another study of about 500,000 people aged 50 and older shows eating an additional two servings a day of fruit and vegetables — no matter how many servings you now eat — can reduce the risk of developing head and neck cancers. The third study suggests that chemicals in cruciferous vegetables and soy reduce production of two proteins necessary for the spread of breast and ovarian cancers. The studies were presented here at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. Flavonols Lower Pancreatic Cancer Risk Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest of all cancers, killing 95% of victims within five years of diagnosis, says Ute Nothlings, DrPH, a researcher at the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke in Nuthetal, Germany. But her study shows that people who eat […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
