Earlier this week, the human race passed the 7-billion mark, and continues to expand. Much of the attention given to that milestone as focused on the many thousands of births that take place each second all around the world, but especially in India and subsaharan Africa. Yet, the other side of the demographic story must […]
#Philanthropy: President’s Jobs Bill & Tax Proposal Not Warmly Welcomed By Charities
As arguments over what to do with and about the US economy and the federal deficit continue to shed more heat than light, President Obama sought to take the fight back to the Republicans with the ‘American Jobs Act’ announced last week. The act contains a mix of tax realignments likely to gain some Republican […]
#Economy: The Loss Of A Functional Middle Class
The oft-discussed possibility of a double-dip recession still looms darkly on the near horizon. Sure, the Stock Market is more often up than down, but those numbers represent only about 40% of the economy. Unfortunately, some 1% of the people in the economy control and profit from the 40% takings from that particular casino. For […]
#Aging: Medicare On The Chopping Block Of Debt ‘Compromise’
As most of us raise a sigh of relief that the debt ceiling was raised and a vague compromise to trim $1.2 trillion of the national debt was reached, we should not assume that all government spending will be trimmed equally. The social safety net weaved by Social Security and Medicare remains the most conspicuous […]
#Aging: Medicare’s Support To Home Health Agencies Likely To Be Cut 3+%
With government cuts (or default) looming, everyone is talking about cuts. The battle is really over how much cutting will be done, and who will bleed most. The two federal programs that are most often discussed as targets for cutting are Social Security and Medicare. And every political stripe agrees that as the growing number […]
#Public Policy: Charities’ Off-Shore/Tax-Free Holdings Brought Under Congressional Scrutiny
All the talk about US domestic politics and economics at the moment focuses on the federal budget and the possible default that will result if the US debt limit is not raised by 2 August. As our readers are surely aware, Republicans keep floating grand proposals of “Cut, Cap, and Balance“, while Democrats deride the […]
#Aging: AARP Flips, Then Flops, On Defending Social Security During Budget Debate
The American Association of Retired People (AARP) was founded in 1958 to further the political, economic, and social needs of Americans 50 and older. The association was established to present “collective purpose, collective voice and the collective power of the 50 and over population to change the market based on their needs.” One of the […]
Philanthropy: After Momentous News, What Are Your Next Steps?
As you surely know: Last night, President Obama announced the killing of Osama Bin Laden. The news is developing as we post, and we are not going to pretend we can add anything to this ‘momentous occasion.’ The much more modest proposal today is to ask “What am I going to do next?” The question […]