Social Security News 6-27-12

CNN (NAT)

Hidden fees are eating up your 401(k)s

06-27-12

Robert Hiltonsmith

The crash showed one serious downside to 401(k)s: their complete exposure to the wild swings of the market. But what you may not realize is that even when the stock market is zooming ahead, hidden fees take an unacceptably high share of your investment return.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/27/opinion/hiltonsmith-retirement-savings/index.html

 

 

CNN (NAT)

Aging boomers need health care law

06-27-12

Ai-Jen Poo

Ai-jen Poo says even the aging members of the Supreme Court will need a health system that meets their needs and those of the home care workers that support them

http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/27/opinion/ai-jen-poo-health-workers/index.html?hpt=op_t1

 

The Christian Science Monitor (NAT)

Congressional senior moment? Flip-flopping on Bowles-Simpson

06-26-12

Howard Gleckman

Suddenly, the tough budget reform proposed by Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles is getting a second look. Oh, politicians don’t love the real plan, but they are positively enamored of their own self-edited, stripped-down versions.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Tax-VOX/2012/0626/Congressional-senior-moment-Flip-flopping-on-Bowles-Simpson

 

Forbes (NAT)

The Skinny On Social Security And Medicare

6-27-12

Ashlea Ebeling

Here’s an example of the line of questioning:  Is it okay for upper income workers to get higher Social Security benefits because they contribute more to the system? Or should wealthy seniors get less—maybe nothing—so we can make the program stronger for everyone else?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ashleaebeling/2012/06/26/the-skinny-on-social-security-and-medicare/

 

Bloomberg (NAT)

Payroll Tax Cut Heads for Lapse as Lawmakers Doubt Policy

06-27-12

Richard Rubin

Four months after reaching a bipartisan agreement to extend a payroll tax cut through 2012, U.S. lawmakers and President Barack Obama are showing little fervor for continuing the break, which puts about $1,000 a year in an average worker’s pocket.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-27/payroll-tax-cut-heads-for-lapse-as-lawmakers-doubt-policy.html

 

Wall Street Journal (NAT)

Sperling: ‘Grand’ Deal on Deficit Possible After Election

06-26-12

Damian Paletta

Mr. Sperling said such a deal should be similar to the 2010 proposal from the White House’s fiscal commission, led by Republican Alan Simpson and Democrat Erskine Bowles. That proposal would have reduced the deficit by roughly $4 trillion over 10 years by raising tax revenue and reducing future spending on Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/06/26/sperling-‘grand’-deal-on-deficit-possible-after-election/

 

The Washington Post (NAT)

If Obamacare goes away, what then?

06-27-12

Jennifer Rubin

Striking down Obamacare should put the Simpson-Bowles debt reduction plan back in the mix. A major stumbling block for Republicans was the debt commission’s refusal to touch Obamacare. With that gone, will either side support all or part of the commission’s recommendations? No Obamacare, Republican-style entitlement reform, a top marginal tax rate below 25 percent but an overall increase in revenue? Hmmm. . .

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/post/if-obamacare-goes-away-what-then/2012/06/26/gJQAoCAK4V_blog.html

 

CBS News (NAT)

Started Social Security too early? 5 possible fixes

06-27-12

Steve Vernon

Until December 2010, you could invoke a "do over" by paying back any benefits you'd received at any time and then move forward as if you had never started your benefits. But the Social Security Administration changed that rule, and now it limits the pay-back option to within 12 months of starting benefits.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505146_162-57459789/started-social-security-too-early-5-possible-fixes/

 

Bloomberg (NAT)

How Wall Street Lobbyists Created the ‘Socialist’ Smear

06-26-12

Charles Geisst

Before the 1936 election, at one of its famous dinners in Washington, Al Smith was the speaker. In an impassioned address, he equated the New Deal with communism, roaring that “There can be only one capital, Washington or Moscow. There can be only clear, pure fresh air of free America, or the foul breath of communistic Russia.”

Landon lost the election by 11 million votes and the American Liberty League quickly faded from view. But it had set an enduring political precedent, especially for times of economic hardship: Reformers were communists or socialists, while Wall Street and business represented the real America.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-26/how-wall-street-lobbyists-created-the-socialist-smear.html

 

San Francisco Gate (CA)

What Will The Maximum Retirement Age Be?

06-26-12

Chris Neiger

By 2022 this age will reach 67, but some experts are expecting a much more dramatic increase in the retirement age than most have anticipated previously.

http://www.sfgate.com/business/investopedia/article/What-Will-The-Maximum-Retirement-Age-Be-3665426.php

 

Politics

 

The Washington Post (NAT)

Are we headed toward another court-packing crisis?

06-26-12

Ezra Klien

Are we headed toward another court-packing crisis?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/06/26/are-we-headed-toward-another-court-packing-crisis/

 

The Hill (DC)

Dems go on offense ahead of High Court healthcare ruling

06-27-12

Mike Lillis

The Supreme Court healthcare decision will reveal if justices are politically motivated, Democrats said. The Supreme Court ruling on President Obama's healthcare reform law will be a clear indication if the nation's highest court is partisan or impartial, House Democrats said Wednesday.

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/235065-healthcare-ruling-is-litmus-test-supreme-court-neutrality-democrats-say

 

CNN (NAT)

Boehner: Contempt vote on Holder will proceed

06-27-12

Deirdre Walsh. Terry Frieden. and Tom Cohen

The House will proceed with a vote Thursday on holding Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress, Speaker John Boehner says.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/27/politics/holder-contempt/index.html

 

Reuters (NAT)

Democratic campaign chair tells candidates to avoid convention

06-27-12

Staff

Reuters.com brings you the latest news from around the world, covering breaking news in business, politics, entertainment, technology, and more in video and pictures.

http://www.reuters.com/assets/print?aid=USBRE85Q00H20120627

 

National Journal (NAT)

Rangel, Hatch Show Incumbency Still a Trump Card

06-27-12

Shane Goldmacher

It turns out the old bulls still have some fight left.     Within minutes late Tuesday night, Sen.  Orrin Hatch , R-Utah, and Rep.   Charles Range l, D-N.Y., were both declared winners as they advanced past  the stiffest electoral challenges of careers that have spanned a  combined nearly 80 years.

http://www.nationaljournal.com//politics/rangel-hatch-show-incumbency-still-a-trump-card-20120626

 

The New Republic (NAT)

Temple Of Silence

06-23-12

Jack Goldsmith

“Those who know don’t talk,” she said. “And those who talk don’t know.”

In the national security bureaucracy, the opposite rule has prevailed: Those who know talk quite a lot.

http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/magazine/104219/jack-goldsmith-SCOTUS-Leaks-CIA

 

Reuters (NAT)

Exclusive: Venezuela wants OPEC price band restored

06-27-12

Marianna Parraga

Venezuela on Wednesday proposed that OPEC set an oil price band of $80 to $120 a barrel, Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez told Reuters, bidding to restore a policy the cartel tried 12 years ago in a failed attempt to control prices in a tight range by adjusting supply.

http://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-venezuela-wants-opec-price-band-restored-133410745--finance.html