A new poll from Pew found 53% of Americans feel the federal government “threatens your personal rights and freedoms.”
Government Increasingly Asking Google for User Data
Government entities are increasingly asking Google for user information to use in crime prosecution, according to the company’s recently-released transparency report.
User-data requests by local, state, and federal government entities increased from 8,888 in 2010 to 12,271 in 2011, a 38 percent jump. The 2011 requests accounted for more than 23,000 user accounts, and Google complied on 93 percent of the requests.
Why Cell Phones Will Never Be Banned In Cars - Rick Newman
The NTSB doesn’t regulate transportation; it only makes recommendations about how to improve safety. By design, the NTSB doesn’t worry about how much reforms or new rules will cost, or how much inconvenience they will cause. That’s up to other agencies—federal, state or local—that have to decide whether recommended safety reforms are practical or not. Sometimes they’re not. By calling for a cell-phone ban, the NTSB is raising awareness of a new problem that most people aren’t aware of, including phone-addicted teenage drivers and their parents.
Judge Blocks FDA Plan for Graphic Cigarette Warnings: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s plans to require graphic warning labels on cigarette packs was derailed temporarily Monday when a federal judge blocked the effort, suggesting it was a violation of the tobacco industry’s First Amendment free-speech rights.
Judge Richard Leon of the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia said it was likely that the tobacco industry would succeed in a lawsuit to overturn the requirement, so he blocked the FDA initiative until the court case is resolved, which could take years, the Associated Press reported.
2012 Medicare Plans Will Lower Some Costs
For most existing beneficiaries in 2012, the monthly Part B premium will increase only $3.50, to $99.90 from $96.40. Some more recent beneficiaries have already been paying either $115.40 or $110.50 a month, so their premiums will actually decline in 2012. In addition, the annual deductible for Part B expenses is being lowered by $22 next year, to $140 from $162.
Higher-earning beneficiaries (above $170,000 for married couples and $85,000 for individuals) pay larger premiums based on their modified adjusted gross incomes. Here, too, however, 2012 will bring lower premiums.
The increase in Part B premiums was preceded by last week’s announcement that Social Security benefits will rise by 3.6 percent in 2012 due to its annual cost of living adjustment (COLA). Low rates of inflation meant there was no COLA in either 2010 or 2011. Under the government’s “hold harmless” rules, that meant Part B premiums could not rise for existing beneficiaries. However, the premiums did increase for new beneficiaries in 2010 and 2011, and also for higher-income beneficiaries. Now, with a COLA increase in 2012, Part B premiums were permitted to rise as well, and most observers had expected larger increases than those announced. Because the premiums are paid out of monthly Social Security payments, the good news about Part B premiums is that seniors will keep most, if not all, of the 2012 COLA.
"End This Game of Debt Ceiling Chicken"
It’s time to pull the national—nay, global—economy out from under the guillotine’s blade. The leadership of both parties should corral a responsible bipartisan majority on a clean, up-or-down vote on the debt ceiling. Let the Tea Party Huns howl in protest, and go shopping for a new president. - Scott Galupo
On average, 20 cents of every dollar of disposable income comes from the government.
Government social benefits accounted for nearly 20 percent—or 20 cents of every dollar—of Americans’ disposable income in March, a figure that’s been growing amid a weak economy, stubbornly high unemployment, and an aging population. As recently as the 1980s, that figure was closer to 12 or 13 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. “That [20 percent] is a pretty big chunk of what people have as their disposable income,” says Chris Christopher, economist at IHS Global Insight.
Government benefits—also called transfer payments—are made to citizens by federal, state, and local governments through programs such as Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, and disability insurance.
Retirement Security: A Thing of the Past?
Echoing other recent polls, the survey says there is strong public opposition to trimming Social Security. “Nearly 8 in 10 Americans (79 percent) indicate that leaders in Washington do not understand how hard it is to prepare for retirement.” Beyond maintaining and even strengthening Social Security benefit levels, people said, they want government to make it easier for employers to offer expanded retirement and pension programs.
Key to Better Health Care May Be a Walk in the Park: Researchers find that investments in parks and recreational services have a dramatic effect on health and fitness
“The physical benefits of park and recreation access are sort of obvious, but we have to look at the reverse,” said Godbey. “If people aren’t going to parks, what would they be doing with that time? Would they be sitting around at home, drinking a few beers, eating cheese puffs, and watching reruns on television?”
Since government officials often cut park and recreation spending first, Mowen said that park and recreational professionals could use the evidence presented in this report to educate officials and residents on the relatively inexpensive health benefits provided by parks.
