Decreasing Labor Force & Increasing Disability Benefit Payments: Correlation?

“Jobs are down!”; “Benefit claims are up!” Alarmists can be heard shrieking and freaking- claiming this is sure evidence that lazy people are fleeing the workforce in order to sit on their butts collecting benefits! – But are they really?

A number of pundits have claimed a direct correlation between the recent upward trend in American’s Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) enrollment and the downturn in the number of people participating in the labor force. For example, according to the Wall Street Journal, the Chief US economist for J.P. Morgan, Michael Feroli, estimated that a quarter of all the people leaving the labor force are enrolling in SSDI. (The Wall Street Journal, 4/10/2013), Adding to the speculation, Fox & Friends commentators claimed the poor numbers shown in a recent jobs report were due to workers choosing to sit on the couch collecting benefits instead of going out to find a job and participating in the labor force. (http://mediamatters.org/research/2013/06/07/fox-rehashes-myth-that-unemployment-and-disabil/194385.)

The Wage Gap - Only 13% of Food Workers Earn a Living Wage

Using the 5 most populous states (Illinois – 12,875,255; Florida – 19,317,568; New York – 19,570,261; Texas – 26,059,203; and California – 38,041,430) and comparing the living wage (as calculated by  MIT's Living Wage Calculator) to the minimum wage as reported by Minimum-Wage.org, it's easy to see the wage gap – only 13% of food workers earn a living wage.

Killing Them Softly: Assisted Suicide

Is Assisted Suicide the Most Humane Way to End Unwanted Life?

Even though suicide is against the law in most of the United States, there are a few places – Oregon, Vermont and Washington – where that law has been turned on its head, providing for physician-assisted suicide (AS) for those victims of terminal and highly painful diseases.

One state, Montana, currently allows AS via a court ruling – what some would consider a legal precedent known as the Baxter decision. The physician responsible for this precedent-setting decision is Dr. Eric Kress, a family practitioner for 26 years. The incident itself, which ended the life of a terminally ill but mentally alert adult via prescription, has passed into history.

Unfair Labor Practices: Starbucks Lawsuit

             

Starbucks, one of the world’s most successful and largest coffee chains, is a customer favorite from the West to East Coast.  A corporation that started out in Seattle as a single retail store in 1971 expanded by great leaps and bounds in 40 plus years looks like a true success story for many business minded individuals.  The multi-million dollar corporation, with over 17,000 stores located internationally, offers numerous work opportunities for budding baristas and coffee aficionados, alike.  Many might think that Starbucks, keeping their small beginnings in mind, may make their employees their number one priority.  However, many Starbucks employees feel the brunt of a money hungry corporation rather than the “employee comes first” approach.  Employees, eager to fight for the respect they deserve are filing lawsuits against Starbucks to receive the workers’ compensation they are owed and rightly deserve; without baristas, Starbucks would not be what they are today.

Temperature In Relation To Coal Mining Accidents

Coal Mining History

Coal mining used to be a dirty, dangerous, soul-destroying job. It has since morphed into a dirty and dangerous but rather well-paid job whose toll on the environment has increased even as its toll on the health and well-being of miners has decreased.  

The American coal-mining industry began in the latter half of the 18th century, in Pennsylvania, which was even as late as 1995 the fourth largest coal-producing state in the United States. Miners were typically immigrants, though commonly from countries which also had mining operations, like Wales or Germany. Men who did not know how the mines worked were not welcome because their lack of experience usually ended up killing others in addition to themselves. The only certainty in a coal miner’s life was the ubiquitous presence of coal dust and “gob”; that is, high-potency methane gas. Both, though mitigated by various modern ventilation and filtering methods, remain a constant.

U.S. Lacks Alternative Power Compared to UK

As the climate continues to warm, and normally cool or even cold places like Alaska break records during what is only the first month of summer, U.S. policy makers turn – belatedly – to the idea of alternative power.

It’s far too late to prevent some of the devastating effects of global warming, also known as climate change. In fact, it’s very likely that the planet will not only reach the unimaginable 2-degree increase in temperature predicted by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), but exceed it. This, at least, is the message from James Hansen, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and a highly reputable (if singularly disturbing) scientist in his own right.

5 Deadliest Workplace Disasters

No. 1, the Most Recent

In the wake of the 2013 clothing factory collapse in Bangladesh, at Rana Plaza, people in the developed world are beginning to turn their eyes and minds to the real cost of the clothing they buy.

And not a moment too soon. The more than 1,100 who died on April 24, and the thousands more who survived, are a haunting lesson in Third World economics. It was only when the larger world outside Bangladesh learned that garment workers were forced back into the building in spite of warnings surrounding the huge crack that had developed, that the incident developed moral overtones.

Is Your Sunscreen Dangerous?

What Is a Sunscreen

Just in time for a really hot summer comes this report from the Environmental Working Group, or EWG, about how sunscreen choices impact your life and, perhaps more importantly, the life of your perpetual motion machine, otherwise known as your offspring.

Will Stricter Gun Laws Decrease Violence and Death

With so many shootings in the news lately, it’s no surprise that Mother Jones is calling 2013 “…the worst year of mass shootings in modern US history.”

Mother Jones is one of the oldest, social-justice oriented, independent nonprofits in the United States according to Sourcewatch, the publication for the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD).

The Center, an online nonprofit investigative reporting consorteum which includes ALECexposed.org and PR Watch, is not blameless, but still stands head and shoulders above such entities as the Heritage Foundation, the Heartland Institute and the Competitive Enterprise Institute, who appear aligned in their libertarian and/or rightist stance. 

Review of Best Socially Conscious Business Apps

After carefully reviewing and testing hundreds of apps suggested by The Business Insider, PC Mag, and Information Week, the apps below are the ones which offer the most to the socially conscious business person. Check out the reviews of these useful apps for the modern socialpreneur, most of which can be used by people with only a basic understanding of mobile technology.

Apps for Reducing Waste

iRecycle, iOS, Android

This app lets you locate local recycling locations for various types of materials. iRecycle offers over 1.5 million ways to recycle over 350 types of materials. Businesses which produce any type of waste will discover how to immediately reduce their carbon footprint by keeping their trash out of landfills.

Help Us Reach One More Special Olympics Athlete!

Finding one’s place in the world can be a difficult task. In many cases, individuals experience challenges when it comes to identifying their strengths and socializing with people who demonstrate similar values. The process of discovering where one “fits in” can be especially formidable for those who suffer from a mental disability. Fortunately, specific groups designed to target individuals who suffer from these types of conditions—such as the Special Olympics—can be crucial when it comes to discovering a sense of self-esteem. Before committing to Special Olympics, potential participants and their parents should have a basic understanding of the organization itself, as well as a comprehension of how to enroll in Special Olympics and participation options.

Is Organic Food Really Better?

In the late 2000s, products with the label ‘organic’ started showing up more and more in commercial supermarkets, and farmers markets all of a sudden became popular again. You can almost assuredly credit the organic movement to public awareness through media stories and popular documentaries which blew the cover on toxic and non-organic food.

A Brief List of 2012 Food & Grocery Recalls

Have you ever walked into a grocery store on Monday and purchased a brand new food product (at least to you) that you think might be really nice to try. After cooking it up you thought it was pretty good, even if you possible got sick (but with all the random things we ingest it is always hard to figure out what exactly got us sick). So you decide to go back to the store the following Monday and pick up the same product. But lo and behold…. It is no longer being carried.  You decide to do some investigating (aka… type  the product name in Google) and all of a sudden you see a news report saying that the product has been recalled due to Salmonella poisoning!

Toxic Exposure from Plastic Bottle Manufacturers- BPA

Many consumers are raising an eyebrow over products containing a component known as BPA. Agencies such as the FDA, CDC, and many other government and private companies are learning more and more about this chemical, and the findings are not good. Learn what you need to know about toxic BPA exposure as a consumer.

Cerebral Palsy: Your Rights and Social Responsibility

 

Having a baby is one of the happiest moments in a parent’s life. From the moment you learn that you are pregnant, emotions of excitement and anticipation accompany you until the delightful moment that your little one enters the world.  Mothers work hard to ensure that they eat properly, get enough rest and take care of themselves while pregnant to ensure the health of their baby.  Couples interview doctors and choose a qualified care provider that can make assure their child is cared for during pregnancy and delivery.  Parents put their trust in hospitals and medical professionals every day asking of them one simple thing – do a good job and deliver my child safely.  Unfortunately accidents during delivery happen, and when they do children are at risk for cerebral palsy.