Archive for December, 2003

New health savings accounts — government issues guidance, sparking interest and discussion

Wednesday, December 31st, 2003

When the new Medicare bill was first passed, very little was said about its health savings account provision, which essentially had nothing to do with the senior prescription drug coverage, but was an add-on to the bill for political reasons. Now I am seeing some interesting and useful information on these provisions:

Here’s the IRS [...]

George Lenard on General |

Weird college campus affirmative-action story

Tuesday, December 30th, 2003

Findlaw (AP — Melanthia Mitchell) reports: “College Bake Sales Spark Conflict.”

Campus bake sales by conservatives who oppose affirmative-action are cooking up discord - and complaints about restrictions on free speech.

Organizers charge white students $1 for a cookie, while blacks and other minorities pay 25 to 95 cents. Doughnuts are available for 50 cents to [...]

George Lenard on General |

Mixed outlook on pension funding

Tuesday, December 30th, 2003

Compare this from Reuters — “Pension Gap Widens Despite Rising Stocks” with this from the Boston Globe — “As stock market rallies, pension deficits at major US corporations begin to ease.”

Apparently market returns have helped reduce underfunding of some major corporate pension funds but, as even more optimistic Boston Globe piece admits, “Companies aren’t [...]

George Lenard on General |

Reasonable dress code — 3 earrings per lobe max?

Tuesday, December 30th, 2003

Findlaw (AP)reports: “Fla. Workers Allowed 3 Earrings Per Lobe.”

Adding that seventh earring before going to work for the county could get you into piercing trouble.

Administrators have decided that three earrings per earlobe is the maximum amount of “facial jewelry” employees will be allowed to wear in Orange County offices, and that all other facial [...]

George Lenard on General |

Help-wanted ads show positive employment trend

Tuesday, December 30th, 2003

CNN/Money (Reuters) reports: “Help-wanted ads show modest gain in November”

Help-wanted ads in U.S. newspapers rose in November, suggesting the nation’s employment situation is improving modestly but steadily, a report showed Monday.

The Conference Board said its employment barometer climbed to 39 in November from 37 in October. A year earlier, the index stood at [...]

George Lenard on General |