September 2010

A story appearing in the Murdoch owned Wall Street Journal today saying that fast food giant McDonalds is planning on dropping it’s health care coverage for employees because of requirements tied to the new health care bill:

While many restaurants don't offer health coverage, McDonald's provides mini-med plans for workers at 10,500 U.S. locations, most of them franchised. A single worker can pay $14 a week for a plan that caps annual benefits at $2,000, or about $32 a week to get coverage up to $10,000 a year.

Last week, a senior McDonald's official informed the Department of Health and Human Services that the restaurant chain's insurer won't meet a 2011 requirement to spend at least 80% to 85% of its premium revenue on medical care.

But now McDonalds is denying this report:

McDonald's denies reports it's considering dropping health care coverage for some employees in response to a provision of the health care overhaul.

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing a memo from McDonald's to federal officials, that McDonald's has warned regulators it could drop its plan for some 30,000 workers unless the government waives a new requirement in the health care overhaul.

The company says in a statement Thursday it has been speaking with federal agencies to understand the law.

Meg Whitman is out there denying that she hired an illegal immigrant for a maid, but the maid’s lawyer is set to release proof today:

Gloria Allred, a Los Angeles attorney who represents Whitman's former maid, Nicky Diaz Santillan, said she would release evidence Thursday showing Whitman was aware of the maid's illegal status as far back as 2003, a claim Whitman denies.

Throughout her employment "Nicky was undocumented and ... Whitman was aware of her status," Allred said Wednesday.

Specifically, Whitman disputes that she received a 2003 letter from the Social Security Administration that said the Social Security number provided by the housekeeper did not match the name on file.

It seems like this election cycle has been the worst so far when it comes to candidates lying. On the other hand, Republicans love a hypocrite, so this could give Whitman even more support.

It has been a growing problem in this nation for decades and it continues to increase every year – income disparity:

The income gap between the richest and poorest Americans grew last year to its widest amount on record as young adults and children in particular struggled to stay afloat in the recession.

The top-earning 20 percent of Americans - those making more than $100,000 each year - received 49.4 percent of all income generated in the U.S., compared with the 3.4 percent earned by those below the poverty line, according to newly released census figures. That ratio of 14.5-to-1 was an increase from 13.6 in 2008 and nearly double a low of 7.69 in 1968.

A different measure, the international Gini index, found U.S. income inequality at its highest level since the Census Bureau began tracking household income in 1967. The U.S. also has the greatest disparity among Western industrialized nations.

The census also shows that those making over $180,000 a year (the top 5%) saw an increase in income last year, while those making less than $50,000 saw their income decline. Like wise lower-skilled adults from 18 to 34 saw the largest increase in poverty levels last year.

While going through my feeds in Google Reader this morning, one headline really, REALLY stuck out at me:

The “But Tour”? Oh I’m sure that the right will quickly paint this as more proof of the so-called “Liberal media” and their attempts to smear the good people of the right. CNN did actually correct the typo in the article, which now reads, “Tea Party Express reveals details of national bus tour”, but in readers like Google Reader, the headlines are cached and so they remain. None the less, I really needed a good laugh like this today.