In August, the Alabama State Employees’ Insurance Board approved a plan that will charge workers an additional $25 to cover their insurance premiums, if they don’t take advantage of free health screenings available to all state employees. The program, to begin in January, will require state workers to receive medical screenings for body mass index and health problems such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and obesity.

Punishment or Opportunity? It is an important step toward better preventive care at a time when health costs are soaring and Americans are in increasing denial about their ever-ballooning weight. State employees are being asked to go to a free health screening, and if necessary, a free doctor’s consultation. If those screenings show that a person is predisposed to illness due to their weight or other conditions, they will be offered help to begin to address their health issues. Only if workers fail to take advantage of the free screening will they be charged the additional $25.

Varying reports place Alabama with the second or third highest rate of obesity in the country. Not the only thing the state is doing to reduce obesity. They will pay for 1/2 of the cost to enroll in Weight Watchers so that employees can learn to change their eating habits and feel better. Now is not the time to resist efforts to make us healthier.

Economic inequality is growing in the world’s richest countries, particularly in the United States, jeopardizing the American Dream of social mobility just as the world tilts toward recession, states a 30-nation report. The gap between rich and poor has widened over the last 20 years in nearly all the countries studied, even as trade and technological advances have spurred rapid growth in their economies.

With job losses and home foreclosures skyrocketing and many of these countries now facing recession, policy makers must act quickly to prevent a surge in populist and protectionist sentiment as was seen following the Great Depression. The United States has the highest inequality and poverty rates in the OECD after Mexico and Turkey, and the gap has increased rapidly since 2000

Rising inequality threatens social mobility — children doing better than their parents, the poor improving their lot through hard work — which is lower in countries like the U.S., Great Britain and Italy, where inequality is high, than countries with less inequality such as Denmark, Sweden and Australia.

In the United States, the richest 10 percent earn an average of $93,000 — the highest level in the OECD. The poorest 10% earn an average of $5,800 — about 20% lower than the OECD average. Some Americans make only $5,800 a year?! Who are these people?

The National Debt Clock near Times Square in New York, shown yesterday, has run out of digits to record the growing figure. Great….

Finance chiefs from the world’s richest nations are set to meet in Washington for a crucial but uncertain meeting at a time of unprecedented fear about the global financial system.The Group of Seven meeting will bring together finance ministers and central bankers on Friday from the United States, Germany, Japan, France, Britain, Italy and Canada for some collective-thinking on the credit crunch and crashing stocks.

They are to be joined by counterparts from emerging markets including Brazil, Russia, India and China for an impromptu gathering of the expanded so-called G20 group. The United States finds itself in a rare position of weakness, facing many allies that have been highly critical of its economic policy and regulatory system blamed for the problems. US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Wednesday the meeting would be a forum “to discuss the steps that each of us are taking to confront this crisis and ways to further enhance our collective efforts.”

“The USA will lose its superpower status in the global financial system. The world financial system is becoming multi-polar,” says Social-Democrat Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck. Is anyone or any economy safe?

The US has again topped a widely-watched index ranking country competitiveness, despite the financial crisis that has left it and other highly ranked nations facing market meltdown and a prolonged economic downturn.

Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden retain their second, third and fourth places respectively in the league table compiled by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum.

Oh boy… Like Bill Clinton, he refuses to just fade away. Vladimir Putin has released yet another display of his own masculinity: a DVD entitled ‘Let’s learn judo with Vladimir Putin’.

‘Let’s Learn Judo with Vladimir Putin’ is the product of collaboration between Putin - a black belt - and former World and Olympic judo champion Yasuhiro Yamashita.

Putin is a one-time judo champion of his home city St. Petersburg - called Leningrad at the time. At least the ex-president is in great shape at 56. Good for him.

Women With Only One Female Boss Have It Bad?

A new study finds that your boss’ gender can affect just how much pain he or she seems to inflict. Researchers at the University of Toronto used data from a 2005 national telephone survey of working adults in the United States and compared the stress levels and physical health problems of men and women working in one of three situations: for a lone male supervisor, a lone female supervisor, or for both a male and female supervisor.

The study found that:
Women who had only one female boss reported more psychological distress (such as trouble sleeping, difficulty focusing on work, depression and anxiety) and physical symptoms (such as headaches, stomach pain or heartburn, neck and back pain and tiredness) than women who worked for one male boss.

Women who reported to a mixed-gender pair of supervisors also reported more of these symptoms than their peers who worked for a single male boss.

Men who worked for a single supervisor, regardless of the supervisor’s gender, had similar levels of distress.
Men who worked for a mixed-gender pair had fewer mental and physical symptoms than those working for a lone male supervisor.

The findings, specifically those of female subordinates with females bosses, contradict theories suggested by previous studies that demographic similarities between a boss and their subordinate would promote harmony in the work place, while demographic differences would create problems.

The researchers speculated that these contradictions may stem from the stereotype that it is more “normal” for men to be leaders and display the typical leadership characteristics.

Something about the nature of the work itself is influencing these health differences. For example, women working with a woman supervisor might tend to be found mostly in the “caring sector or in jobs that tend to be under-resourced, under-funded and under-valued,” such as social work or education, creating stress both for the workers themselves and stress for the boss that might trickle down to her subordinates.

Workers in their 20s and 30s using their retirement funds to pay credit card debt and home mortgages instead of leaving it alone to accumulate. Fidelity Investments released a survey that said large numbers of young workers cash out their 401(k) accounts when they switch jobs, leaving them without an accumulation of cash for retirement.

The typical Gen X or Gen Y will work for seven different employers across their career. If you consider the combination of the withdrawal behavior with that propensity for multiple employers, we are facing a savings challenge and crisis with this generation.”

About 74% of generation Y workers, born between 1976 and 1987, said money worried them most. Half of the workers in the two age groups said saving for retirement is an obligation or a goal but 51% said other financial priorities prevent them from setting aside money. Mortgage payments and managing credit card debt ranked higher in importance than retirement saving.

The key to changing the behavior is to get younger workers to seek advice when they change jobs so they understand they can leave the money with the employer, roll it over to the new employer’s plan or put the money in an IRA.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says Generation X and Generation Y workers will surpass baby boomers as the largest single segment of workers in the United States by 2010 when they will represent 60% of the U.S. work force.

A good percentage of second homeowners fall into the retirement age demographic, and quite a few of them have at one time or another kicked around the idea of selling their primary residence and moving into that beachfront condo or mountain chalet full-time. But there are six reasons why you might consider renting your vacation home instead.

1.  Income from renting is better than foreclosure. According to government data, close to 40%, and perhaps as many as 50%, of the foreclosures in 2007 were of nonowner-occupied homes, which generally means vacation homes. S&P Chief Economist David Wyss expects this trend to continue into 2008 and 2009, pointing out that it’s psychologically easier for people to skip payments on a secondary home.

2.  Circumstances have changed since you made your retirement plans. Maybe grandchildren have arrived on the scene and you can’t bear the thought of moving hundreds of miles away from them. Regardless of specifics, your life bears no resemblance to what you thought it would be when you made your retirement plans.

3.  You’ve suddenly realized there’s no place like home. You’ve decided you like being near your friends, you don’t want to leave your church. Or perhaps you’d like to stay in your hometown most of the year (you kind of like the change of seasons) and spend the bitterest winter months in your beachfront condo. Renting your second home out during the time you are not staying there makes it financially feasible to keep both homes. Traditionally, many retirees would sell the home they lived in for 40 years, downsize to a smaller house or apartment, and split their time between that home and their vacation place in.

4.  You’ve decided to “retire” from retirement. It is not unusual for people to test-drive retirement and find that it’s just not for them. Work can provide many rich rewards—structure, social interaction, mental stimulation, and a sense of purpose—that people keenly miss when they retire. And when they discover that quitting the rat race isn’t quite what they thought it would be, more and more people are opting to return to the workplace. And (let’s be honest), sometimes people simply can’t afford to retire.

5.  Your fixed income hasn’t kept up with your lifestyle. Even when you’re happy to give up the daily grind of your job, losing the paycheck that comes with it can be pretty painful. Factor in inflation, rising taxes, and unexpected new expenses, and you may find that what seemed like a manageable cost of living five years ago doesn’t seem that way anymore. Your second home, even if it’s paid for, may start looking like a liability due to property taxes, homeowner’s association dues, and maintenance costs. 

6.  You’re currently renting your vacation home through a property management company, but you’d like to make more money. Ditching the middleman may be the way to go. Property managers simply charge a hefty fee for their services. In fact, you have to rent 10 more weeks with a management company to end up with the same amount of money you’d make renting by owner.

People who try renting by owner often end up liking it so much that they pour their earnings into another vacation home. a recent survey by the National Association of Realtors found that some 55% of vacation homebuyers said they were likely to purchase another property within two years.

Costs are rising, profits are shrinking and the ability of the big guys to keep prices relatively lower is drawing away customers. Things are so bad that many small enterprises, which account for about 99% of the country’s businesses, say they are hanging by a thread that may soon snap.

In barely a year, the cost of pork has jumped by 50 cents a pound, while beef is up 20 percent; a five-gallon jug of canola oil that used to cost $15 is at $40; a 50-pound bag of flour jumped from $7 to between $20 and $25. And then there are fuel surcharges of between $5 and $9 that have been added to nearly all deliveries during the past six months. As gas and food prices climb, consumers are bypassing small businesses and seeking out bargains in places like Costco Wholesale Corp., which reported a 32% jump in its fiscal third-quarter profit, surpassing Wall Street expectations.

In the meantime, wages haven’t grown and the job market is tepid, at best. On Friday, the Labor Department said the nation’s unemployment rate jumped to 5.5% in May — the biggest monthly rise since 1986.  While no data is available on how many small businesses have gone under in the past six months, federal officials are reporting a decline in the number of loans they guarantee.

Time To Suck It Up And Change You Ways As Companies Begin Firing Middle Management  

With so many companies cutting their rank and file workforces to the bone because of the tough economy, it seemed inevitable that some firms would eventually get to the fatty middle — middle management that is. They get paid more than the rank and file, but they’re not at the top of the corporate food chain. These factors create a precarious situation for middle managers, and things could get worse if the recession drags on.

So, now is a good time for supervisors with one underling, or one thousand, to start making themselves indispensable to those folks in the corner offices. But how do you do that? Author Janet Banks provides her observations of middle management layoffs and why some supervisors were able to survive.

Here’s what she had to say:  “I had to go through seven rounds of cuts at one company and I had to make the final decisions on who stayed and who would go. What I learned is that you can’t control what people are going to do but you can control how you’re going to be perceived. The ability to have a positive attitude is critical as opposed to a person that’s so fearful that they take everyone in the downward spiral with them. You’re in good shape if you can project positive energy, and look at what is most relevant in terms of the work at hand.”

One of the key characteristics of a manager that tended not to get cut was that they remained upbeat and never acted like it was the end of the world. Another big plus is being flexible, she stresses. During a downturn in the business cycle, priorities of a business can change dramatically. That means you have to be ready to shift gears and look beyond the goals you set during up times.

There’s also a lot to be said about humor and making yourself lovable. It’s all about having the right people on your side during the downsizing war. If you only concentrate on protecting your job, you’ll be out of touch with what’s happening around you. People want flexibility and a positive attitude during layoffs. It’s what this crazy world demands.

Personal details of more than a million bank customers have been found on a computer sold on eBay. Highly- sensitive information on American Express, NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland customers was stored on the machine’s hard drive.  It includes names, addresses, mobile phone numbers, bank account numbers, sort codes, credit card numbers, mothers’ maiden names and even signatures. Wonder what the winning bid amount was!

Will China overtake the United States as the world’s biggest economy? It almost certainly will.

China’s economy is now only a fourth the size of the $14 trillion U.S. economy, but given plausible growth rates in both countries, China’s output will exceed America’s in the 2020s, Goldman Sachs forecasts.

By itself, a richer China does not make America poorer. Indeed, because there are so many more Chinese than Americans, average Chinese living standards may lag behind ours indefinitely. By Goldman’s projections, average American incomes will still be twice Chinese incomes in 2050.

The real threat from China lies elsewhere. It is that China will destabilize the world economy. It will distort trade, foster huge financial imbalances and trigger a contentious competition for scarce raw materials. Symptoms of instability have already surfaced, and if they grow worse, everyone—including the Chinese—may suffer.

China strives to lock up supplies of essential raw materials: oil, natural gas, copper. If other countries suffer, so what? Both the United States and China are self-interested. But the United States has seen a prosperous global economy as a means to expanding its power, while China sees the global economy—guaranteed markets for its exports and raw materials—as the means to promoting domestic stability.

China’s economic nationalism may weaken the world economy—but if we retaliate by becoming more nationalistic ourselves, we may do the same. Globalization means interdependence; major nations ignore that at their peril.

Frozen yogurt, trendy during the 1980s and early ’90s, has made a comeback — but this time with an edge. Companies selling the soft stuff are opening stores with hip decor and pulsating music that draw a young crowd. Consumers in the LA area can now choose from chains like Snowberry, Roseberry, Berri Good, Kiwiberri, Yogurtland, Yogurberry and IceBerry.

Pinkberry now operates 59 locations in California and New York, and plans to have 75 open by the end of 2008. Red Mango operates 30 shops in seven states, with plans to open dozens more in the coming year. Leonardo DiCaprio has a Red Mango yogurt machine in his office. Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan have been photographed clutching Pinkberry yogurt cups while ducking the paparazzi.

Some believe the new kind of frozen yogurt, because of its tartness, might have a hard time catching on with Americans who prefer very sweet desserts. Pinkberry, Red Mango and others make their products using active cultures, which increases the healthy attributes of yogurt but also increases its tartness.

Airline Drinks And Snacks Fees

The announcement from US Airways in June that it was going to start charging coach passengers $2 for soft drinks and bottled water — water! — on all its domestic flights, as well as $1 for coffee or tea. some airlines are finding creative ways to up the ante, by adding new nonalcoholic beverages to their offerings, like Monster Energy drinks and Vitaminwater, and charging for them. Meanwhile, all domestic airlines but Continental have replaced free meals in coach on flights in the United States with at least some food sales.

The offerings are slightly better on international flights, on which most foreign carriers continue to offer free alcoholic drinks, meals and snacks. But most United States carriers do not give out alcoholic drinks on trans-Atlantic routes.

Northwest:
Snacks - Pringles, M & M’s, Twizzlers or trail mix are $3; snack boxes with crackers, cheese, cookies, trail mix and either beef sausage, chicken salad or tuna are $5. Fruit and cheese or vegetables with ranch dip, $7.
Meals - $10 for a breakfast sandwich and fruit salad with a breakfast cookie, or for a deli meat sandwich and salad with a chocolate bar.

Spirit:�
Drinks - $2 for water, coffee or tea; $3 for soda or juice; $5 for alcohol.
Snacks - $2 to $4 for Pringles, animal crackers, M & M’s, and other snacks.

Southwest:
Drinks - Free soda, juice, water, coffee and tea; $3 for Lo-Carb Monster Energy; $4 for beer, wine and cocktails.

United:
Snacks: $5 for snack boxes with bagel chips, vegetable cheese spread, granola, diced pears, cinnamon twist pastry, toffee and mints, or other assortments.
Meals: $7 for salads and sandwiches like a smoked turkey chipotle wrap or a Santa Fe chicken salad.

US Airways:
Drinks - Coffee and tea, $1; bottled water, juices, and soda, $2; beer, wine and cocktails, $7.
Meals - From $7 on select flights over three and a half hours, including a turkey croissant and yogurt, chef salad or chicken Caesar sandwich.