Word: highers
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...spends more than it takes in, apart from Social Security? Deplorable, to be sure. But what happens? The Social Security trust fund still acquires $150 billion in government bonds. If, say, there is a $50 billion non-Social Security deficit, government borrowing from the public will be $50 billion higher than if the budget was balanced--but $100 billion less than if there weren't a $150 billion Social Security surplus. The government owes somebody an extra $50 billion, but the situation of the Social Security trust fund is exactly the same in either case...
...though, this big deal is no big deal at all. Antitrust concerns have been raised because an important competitor is being removed. But with Internet and regional Bell companies creeping into the picture, long-distance rates--now about as low as they've ever been--are unlikely to spurt higher. In the long run, the MCI WorldCom-Sprint combination may push us a little faster to telecom nirvana: one-stop shopping for local, long distance and wireless service; Internet access; and cable TV. Imagine all those connections in one jack (plus wireless) and a single bill based on how much...
...expected, particularly if Congress allows malpractice suits against HMOs. Meanwhile, HMOs are planning to raise their premiums an average 11% next year, following this year's 6% increase, according to a Sherlock Co. survey. Although HMOs usually scale back these increases, why such a big initial hike? HMOs cite higher drug costs, for one thing, not to mention lawyers' fees...
Apparently, $19,500 a year ain?t what it used to be. According to the New York Times, the U.S. Census Bureau has decided to reevaluate the parameters of poverty, and is contemplating a threshold $3,000 higher than the previous ceiling of $16,600 for a family of four. The poverty line, a singularly subjective definition of what it means to be poor in America, was established during the Johnson administration. Adjusted regularly for inflation, it serves as a primary indicator of the economy?s health - the fewer people under it, the better - and also establishes which families...
Changing the poverty line also threatens to have an effect on America?s self-image: A family making $18,000 this year could be pushed under the line if a higher threshold is established. This means millions more families suddenly become "poor," and, as a result, the country?s widely accepted affluence and the shrinking of its poor population are called into question. The future of the Census Bureau?s investigation may depend primarily on semantics. "The Census Bureau is asking ?What is poor today??" says TIME senior writer Adam Cohen. "This is a qualitative shift; we live...