Where in the World is Con Ed?
Taking two weeks to restore power is unconscionable. It’s also part of a troublesome trend of more and longer outages that point up major flaws in our national power grid. How long before we bury the power lines?
Articles from Contributor
Why Retirees Can’t Absorb a Tax Hike
With the election upon us and the fiscal cliff looming, tax rates are on a lot of minds–especially retirees and those saving for retirement. A new survey shows how higher rates would curb retirement saving.
Retirees Embrace Junk Bonds at Just the Wrong Moment
Yield-starved retirees are taking a flyer on junk bonds, just as credit quality in that market takes a turn for the worse. Look out below.
By One Measure, At Least, We’re All Better Off Than We Were 4 Years Ago
Retirement account balances are up in every state since the last presidential election, a new study shows. If only those balances were up as much as the market.
Highly Educated Have Biggest Debt Problems
The federal government is suing Bank of America for a $1 billion over the bank’s pre-crisis mortgage practice known as “the hustle.” But it wasn’t just naive home buyers who fed the financial crisis. Renters and the well educated had too much debt too, and a new study concludes that college graduates are most prone to debt mismanagement.
How Saving for Retirement Might Backfire
Saving for retirement is now the top financial goal of the vast majority of people who hold a job, according to a recent T. Rowe Price survey. That’s great news. We have a savings crisis in America and we’re finally taking it …
4 Ways You Pay Too Much–and What to Do About It
By seizing on promotions and not paying attention to new products and changing markets, consumers end up in the wrong loans all the time. They spend an estimated $541 a month more than necessary on their debt repayment. Here’s …
Can We Handle the Truth? Public Pensions Are Short on Cash
We are in trying times for sure when the good news about public pensions is that an independent study confirms a huge funding shortfall–and it’s greeted with applause because at least pension managers haven’t been hiding it.
6 Ways Adding a Trusted Child to Your Bank Account Backfires
Outliving your child is a gut-wrenching experience. It’s even worse when you’ve put their name on your financial accounts and owe tax on what you “inherit.” Here are 6 reasons to leave your accounts in your own name and get a …
Nantucket Project: Small Island, Big Ideas for Fixing Our Economic Future
Prominent thinkers at this year’s Nantucket Project worried about flagging innovation and corruption in government. But they’re also developing technology that lets kids teach themselves to read and entrepreneurs to move …
Why College May Be Totally Free Within 10 Years
Higher education is in transition and with a coming proliferation in online courses could be totally free for many within a decade. The status quo won’t yield easily. But this is looking like a real answer to runaway student debt.
Retirement Saving: Working Longer May Be False Hope
Life is full of trade-offs, and boomers have made their share. One big one coming home to roost now: A generation that avoided saving in the face of a crumbling pension system has resolved to work longer instead. But things may not be that simple.