California’s Secure Choice program is neither secure nor a choice

California's "Secure Choice" program sounds harmless enough: A voluntary program - at least for now - that would enroll private sector employees who currently don't have a retirement plan into a state-run retirement savings account. When the initial program was announced in 2012 with authorizing legislation, taxpayers were skeptical.

Warren and consumer groups mount defense as Trump eyes changes to financial regulations

President Trump on Friday took the first step toward unwinding Wall Street reforms put in place during the depths of the financial crisis, sparking outrage from consumer groups across the country. After a meeting with business executives, including the head of JP Morgan Chase & Co.

Trump Signs Executive Actions Targeting Wall Street and Banking Reforms

President Donald Trump signed two executive actions Friday related to financial regulations that take aim at Wall Street and banking regulations. One of the actions is an executive order directing the secretary of the Treasury to consult regulatory agencies and report to Trump about what can be done to eliminate the "overreaching" aspects of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, a federal law signed by President Barack Obama in 2010, and a frequent target of Republicans on Capitol Hill during the Obama administration.

For most Americans, Dow 20,000 carries little benefit

While Wall Street celebrates yet another stock market record - surpassing 20,000 on the Dow Jones industrial average - many Americans have little reason to cheer. Despite the spread of 401 retirement plans, the wealthiest 10 percent of households own roughly 80 percent of stock market wealth.

Tillerson Leaving Exxon With $180 Million Retirement Package

Rex Tillerson will get a $180 million retirement package from Exxon Mobil Corp. if he is confirmed as President-elect Donald Trump's secretary of state. Tillerson will give up more than 2 million Exxon shares he would have received over the next 10 years.

Surprise! Republicans Could Be on the Verge of Dismantling Medicare

House Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republican leaders have big plans to save Medicare that would involve a major overhaul to the program, including privatization. Even though most Republicans are on board, Ryan and others in favor of his plans are likely to face significant opposition to such a sweeping overhaul.

Setting the Record Straight on Sessions & School Funding

On November 21, 2016, Thomas J. Sugrue published an op-ed titled, "Jeff Sessions' Other Civil Rights Problem," in the New York Times that I believe unfairly criticized Senator Sessions regarding the so-called "equity funding" case. Before my retirement, I served as an associate justice on the Alabama Supreme Court that decided four appellate matters arising from that case.

What Happened to Social Security in 2016?

Americans rely on Social Security for their financial security in retirement, and after a year of many changes to Social Security in 2015 , 2016 saw some of those changes reach final implementation, while some newer ones came to the forefront. This year has also set the stage for what is likely to become a more contentious debate in the years to come.

Help a Reader Out

Longtime reader and commenter Newdealfarmgrrrlll, who now mostly lurks, but stalks me on facebook has had a rough go of it, and I thought many of you might want to help out: I've been drowning in medical bills the last six years, and after yet another layoff two years ago and subsequent early retirement, I've depleted my savings and get constantly derailed by minor emergencies. Over a third of my monthly income goes to various debits paying down outstanding medical bills and insurance premiums.

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President-elect Donald J. Trump's campaign pledge to dismantle the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act might have struck a chord among voters, but the politics of repealing or replacing it won't be simple. The stakes are high as the CalPERS board debates whether to significantly decrease the nation's largest public pension fund's assumed rate of return, a move that could hamstring the budgets of contributing municipalities as well as prompt other public funds across the country to follow suit.

Here Are The Three Reasons Why Medicare Is Doomed

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump meets with Speaker of the House Paul Ryan on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., November 10, 2016. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts Whatever happened to "if it ain't broke, don't fix it?" Despite support for Medicare - the nation's health-care safety net for its senior population - many tea-leaf readers are predicting that the Yes, he is just the Speaker of the House and Donald Trump is the President-elect.