Media

New York, NY — On Black Friday, a massive amount of highly polluting, future consumer electronic waste is about to be unleashed, according to a new report by the national policy center Demos. The Consumer Electronics Association says 74 percent of Americans buying gifts this holiday season will likely purchase consumer electronics, spending an average of $230 each on hot ticket items such as tablets, notebooks, e-readers, and smart phones. About 11 million flat screen televisions will be sold in the final quarter of 2010 alone.

DEMOS FELLOWS PROGRAM

Let’s talk about deficits for a moment. Not that $1.3 trillion federal shortfall that’s in the news these days (A CBS News poll shows that only a handful of Americans think that’s an urgent problem.) No, I’m talking about the gap between how much money people have presently put away for retirement and how much they would need to save to maintain their standard of living when they finally stop working. That deficit comes to a whopping $6.6 trillion, according to a new report by Demos, a New York think-thank.

A Retirement Funding Boost. Let’s overhaul the fabled 401(k), the retirement plan that was never meant to be a mainstay of long-term savings. Some 40% of Americans don’t even have access to them at work, with minorities, young people and low-income workers showing the lowest participation rates, according to Demos, a New York-based policy center. Why not make a tax-free contribution to all Americans in a no-fee, universal savings account?

"401(k)s fail millions of retirees," decries a new report from Demos.org. Its argument: America's retirement plans don't provide security because of their high fees. Not to mention that their "benefits vary with the size of employer and employee contributions and the volatile swings of the stock market," according to a press release from the organization.

Among full-time workers, just 38% of Latinos, 54% of workers aged 25 to 43 and 38% of those in the lowest income bracket have access to a workplace savings plan, according to a report titled “The Failure of the 401(k),” published Wednesday by Demos, a nonpartisan public-policy and research organization that focuses on lower-income Americans.

401(k)s Fail Millions of Retirees: Hidden Fees Swallow 20% of Balance, Yield Low Growth, Susceptible to Market Volatility—According to New Report

It’s broad allegations of voter fraud like these that are “going to have an impact on voters’ experience at the polls,” said Tova Wang, elections reform expert and Senior Democracy Fellow at Demos, a liberal public policy research and advocacy organization. “We’ve already seen a lot of incidents where allegations are getting tossed about and voter fraud is called an epidemic.

New York Times columnist Bob Herbert has earned the Levees.org 'Seal of Approval' for his portrayal of the flooding of New Orleans in a recent column about crumbling American infrastructure.

New York Times columnist Bob Herbert has earned the Levees.org 'Seal of Approval' for his portrayal of the flooding of New Orleans in a recent column about crumbling American infrastructure.