Our blog had posted a number of articles on household income and spending in the U.S., and have often analyzed data based on the familiar divisions of race, class, education, geography and social privilege. But as a recent infographic on Planet Money points out, there's another, useful variable to consider: Age. Families headed by middle-aged earners and bring in nearly $20,000 more every year, on average, than households of people in their late 20s or early 30s. But some are … [Read more...]
Injured workers involved in a workers’ compensation claim often receive notice from the Department of Labor and Industries instructing them to schedule and complete an independent medical examination (IME). The reason cited by L&I, as well as many other private insurance companies, is that the IME allows a doctor other than the worker’s primary provider to give their opinion about the worker’s medical condition. Yet in reality, the independent medical examination can often be a … [Read more...]
Most of us today feel too tethered to our smart-phones and computers. We feel obligated to constantly check e-mails, texts, Facebook and other networks, fretting about the remote possibility of a personal or professional emergency that occurred in the last 15 minutes that cannot be ignored. Yet most people also seem to wish they could be less connected to their electronic gadgetry – in short, more “out of touch”. Deep down we know that life would proceed without catastrophe if we … [Read more...]
The hazards of a construction site can be clear, and cues like chain link fences and hard hats are a constant reminder of the dangers of a work accident. Yet while most construction workers are savvy about taking precautions to protect themselves, construction site accidents often occur when dangers lurk in areas that a worker is unaware of. This recently made the news in San Francisco’s Financial District, where a crane that was replacing window-washing equipment at the famous Bank of … [Read more...]
During the recent economic recovery, income increased for the top 1 percent of earners by over 11%. However, these gains did not apply to the other 99 percent of workers, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and studies out of the University of California, Berkeley. Americans with a work injury claim fared even worse than the average “99-percenter.” Berkeley economist Emmanuel Saez looked at numbers that show a mere 1.7% growth in overall income during this period. … [Read more...]
