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Saving for retirement: Social Security Administration Fact Sheet, 2005.

Saving household disposable income comparison: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Economic Outlook No. 77 database, Table 23.

Disability insurance: Social Security Administration Social Security Administration Fact Sheet, 2005.

Disability insurance beneficiaries: Social Security Administration ‘The 2005 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance Trust Funds, Table IV.B2’.

Pension coverage of workforce: ‘ Department of Labor statistics, 2004’.

Decline in pension plan participant coverage: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, Pension Insurance Data Book 2004, Tables S-30 and S-32.

Pension plan underfunding: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Pension Insurance Data Book 2004, Tables S-46 and M-13

Amount of pension underfunding: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, Press release, June 7, 2005

Underfunding at “financially weak” companies: Testimony of Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, Executive Director Bradley D. Belt before the U.S. Senate, June 15, 2005

PBGC exposure: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 2004 Annual Report

Financial position of PBGC: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, Pension Insurance Data Book 2004, Table S-1

Number of PBGC-insured plans: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

Pan Am, Eastern, and TWA plan transference to the PBGC: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 2001 Data Book, Table S-12

Going out of business (TWA): ‘ U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission’.

Going out of business (Pan Am): ‘U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission’.

Going out of business (Eastern): ‘Eastern Airlines website’.

Blackberry/3 weeks: United Airlines

United defaults on pension: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

PBGC insurance limits: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

United reductions: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, Press Release, April 22, 2005.

Off-balance-sheet liabilities: ‘The Magic of Pension Accounting, Part III,’ by David Zion and Bill Carache, Credit Suisse First Boston, February 7, 2005.

GM pension status: ‘The Magic of Pension Accounting, Part III,’ by David Zion and Bill Carache, Credit Suisse First Boston, February 7, 2005.

GM health care spending: General Motors ‘2004 Annual Report’.

GM steel spending: Tom Hill, Communications Department, General Motors.

Costco casket: Costco retail ‘Costco.com’.

Immigrant contributions to Social Security: Steve Camarota, Director of Research, Center for Immigration Studies.

Social Security income for elderly: ‘ Social Security Administration Fact Sheet, 2005’.

Social Security Contributors versus Beneficiaries: Social Security Administration ‘ 2005 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance Trust Funds, Table IV.B2’.

Elderly Americans: Social Security Administration 2005 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance Trust Funds, Table V.A2′.

Conflicts of interest in pension management: The Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, SEC ‘ Staff Report Concerning Examinations of Select Pension Consultants, May 16, 2005’.

Pension losses due to conflicts of interest: Edward Siedle, President, Benchmark Financial Services, Inc.

Campaign contributions influence pension investments: Securities and Exchange Commission ‘Proposed Rule: Political Contributions by Certain Investment Advisers, SEC, 7/19/99’.

Reform efforts postponed: Securities and Exchange Commission ‘letters in opposition to proposed rule S7/19/99’.

San Diego’s nickname: Broder, John M. ‘Sunny San Diego Finds Itself Being Viewed as a Kind of Enron-by-the-Sea,’ New York Times, Sept. 7, 2004

San Diego’s pension woes: Stephen Robinson, Prosecuting Attorney, San Diego District Attorney’s Office; Declaration in Support of Arrest Warrant filed in San Diego Superior Court; Ron Villa, Financial Management Director for the City Manager’s Office.

Nursing home annual cost: Metlife ‘2004 Market Survey of Nursing Home and Home Care Costs’

Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, Medicaid and Long-Term Care, March 2005 ‘ Nursing home expenses paid out-of-pocket’.

Caring for the elderly: HSBC, Age Wave, and Harris Interactive. 2004. ‘ The future of retirement in a world of rising life expectancies: Attitudes toward ageing and retirement: a study across 10 countries and territories.’.

Concern about being a burden: HSBC, Age Wave, and Harris Interactive. 2004. ‘ The future of retirement in a world of rising life expectancies: Attitudes toward ageing and retirement ñ a study across 10 countries and territories.’.

Senior citizens and Indian casinos: Bill Thompson, Professor of Public Administration, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Pension underfunding: Jeffrey Speicher, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, Public Affairs Office.

Workforce participation: ‘ Department of Labor statistics, 2004’.

Contributions to personal accounts: HSBC, Age Wave, and Harris Interactive. 2004. ‘ The future of retirement in a world of rising life expectancies: Attitudes toward ageing and retirement ñ a study across 10 countries and territories.’.

Historical data for life expectancy: Department of Health and Human Services ‘ Health, United States, 2004.Table 27’.

Social Security’s life expectancy projections: Social Security Administration ‘ The 2005 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance Trust Funds, Table V.A3’.

Census Bureau’s life expectancy projections: US Census Bureau. ‘ Projected Life Expectancy at birth by Race and Hispanic Origin, 1999 to 2100. January 13, 2000’.

WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

payment methods

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