[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Mark Paul
Senior Scholar
New America Foundation

Once a land of savers, America is now the home of the thriftless. Americans' personal saving rate, in steady decline over the last quarter of century, finally plunged into negative territory this year. No surprise there. In modern America the struggle between debt and saving is a rigged contest. It's never been easier to borrow - credit cards, subprime home mortgages, home equity loans, payday loans. But when it comes to saving, about half of American workers, including more than 8 million Californians, are denied the opportunity to save the way people save best: on the job, through payroll deduction to a retirement plan. That is a critical problem.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Hanh Kim Quach
Health Care Policy Coordinator
Health Access California

The Associated Press reports that the Canadian Auto Workers have signed a three-year contract with Ford. Chrysler is next.

High health care costs have been a primary source of angst for automakers, who two years ago made headlines by appealing to Washington for some kind of help. Since 2005, though, automakers' health care costs have declined by $2.1 billion. The United Auto Workers agreed to some changes, that resulted in increases costs for retirees and workers.

Salaried workers have seen premiums increase as much as 30%, out-of-pocket maximums increase by 33% to $4,000, and a tripling deductibles from $500 to $1,500.

All this -- and automakers are still moving to Canada.

Why We Don’t Need High Deductible Health Insurance in California

by DFA Staff [courtesy of Blog for America]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is saying the Bush administration was wrong to place limits on "states' ability to extend health coverage to moderate-income children".  The Associated Press via the Boston Globe reports:

The Government Accountability Office advised Senator Jay Rockefeller, Democrat of West Virginia, that the administration's policy changes amounted to a rule that should have been submitted to Congress and the comptroller general before going into effect.

Danny
Communications Director