State and federal taxation of alcoholic beverages has long been a charged issue among voters. Claims of overly paternalistic policy on one side are met with arguments that alcohol taxes are a deterrent to antisocial behavior.
Retirement planning decisions are growing increasingly complex in America, and older workers are facing critical financial choices in the latter years of their professional lives. Making optimal choices, however, requires an increasing level of financial literacy and knowledge.
In the United States, the majority of retirement savings are invested in equity — shares in publicly traded companies. Traditionally, high average returns have offset the inherent risks of investments in stocks, but that equation changed following the recent financial crisis. In the past three years, the value of equity has declined, growth has been sluggish and many forecasters have continued to predict low returns from stocks in the coming decade.
Levels of life satisfaction impact an individual’s physical and mental health, with unhappy individuals tending to be less energetic, creative, and depressed, and more likely to call into work sick and to require counseling. For decades, social science research suggested that parents in the United States were unhappier than their child-free peers. This “parental happiness gap” manifested itself in parents of all ages, experience levels, marital status and incomes.
Education has long been considered “the great equalizer ” in the United States, a way for an ambitious and talented individual to secure a good job (as characterized by good wages, benefits, and job security) regardless of the socioeconomic status of his or her parents. But the extent to which belief this holds true has been tested — and contested — by social science research for decades.
The eye-opening 2011 Census Bureau report on income, poverty and health in the United States spotlights a number of troubling trends in America, including the decline of median income figures.
In the United States, 85.6% of those 65 or older receive most of their income from Social Security. Certain groups of individuals, however, are significantly less likely to collect benefits. This poses a significant challenge for policymakers and others concerned with the well-being of the country’s aging population.
In September 2011 the Census Bureau issued a report on household income, health insurance coverage and poverty levels in the United States. It showed the extent to which the Great Recession, despite having officially ended in 2009, continued to adversely impact Americans’ standards of living.
In 2009 the United State reported the lowest number of births in five years, after a steep and steady decline from the reported 2007 rates. What lies between these two data points? Recession. Graphing birth rates in the United States alongside per capita income tells a compelling story of two closely linked statistics.
College tuition costs, which have been steadily rising over the past few decades, may put higher education out of reach for many aspiring students. To provide more financial resources for these students, Congress has raised the ceiling on the amount qualified undergraduates could borrow from the federal Stafford Loan program.
