Info in Bits & Pieces

HEADLINE:
Biggest Wage Hikes in 16 Years Expected Next Year
As companies react to a tight labor market and inflation, many employees are expected a substantial wage increase, according to a report by Willis Tower Watson, a workplace consultant. The expectation is that the supply of workers will remain restricted in the long run. Hiring has become more complex. Over the next ten years, the number of people of working age (between 15 and 65) will decline in various countries, according to World Bank projections. In the U.S., the population in the working age group may decrease by 3.2% between 2026 and 2036.
~~~ by Naveen Athrappully, Nov. 18, 2022, The Epoch Times

Disney Announces Hiring Freeze, Layoffs, Travel Expense Cuts
The entertainment giant, Walt Disney Co., decided to cut back on expenses as concerns of a cooling economy rise. Their senior staff got the notification of the changes following a disappointing quarterly report which sent Disney stocks tumbling to a 21-year low.

Inflation and Retirement

• According to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, Americans lost $4.1 trillion in their 401(k) accounts and an additional $2 trillion in their (IRAs) individual retirement accounts in the first half of this year.
• A recent survey by Allianz found more than half of Americans reduced or stopped their contributions to their retirement savings [401(k) and IRA]. 43% dipped into their savings, while 72% of baby boomers are concerned that growing living costs will affect their retirement plans.
• Many older Americans plan to return to the workforce or abandon any plans to retire. Data gathered by Bayard Advertising shows 64% of adults between 55 and 64 years of age returned to the workforce this past spring. Nearly 1/3 of seniors think they will work through the age of 70 or never retire, as a study by BlackRock discovered.
• Inflation added more than $5,000 a year to the typical family’s budget, according to an estimate from Bloomberg economists.
• 40% of Americans have no savings in their retirement, according to Clara Del Villar at FreedomWorks Foundation.

By the Numbers:

• 8.7 PERCENT
  The Index of Consumer Sentiment came in at 54.7 in November, down 8.7 percent from 59.9 in October, according to the University of Michigan.
• 50 PERCENT
  Veterans have a 50% higher suicide rate than the general population.
• $450,000
  Customs Officers at New York’s Kennedy International Airport seized $450,000 worth of cocaine from a traveler who was smuggling the drugs in the wheels of her wheelchair, federal authorities announced.
• $300 MILLION
  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that Canada will be giving $300 million in new foreign aid to countries in Southeast Asia, with nearly half of the funding going toward feminist-focused development.
• $6 MILLION
  Joe Biden has announced a multimillion-dollar fund to boost women’s participation in climate change issues. The “Climate Change Gender Fund” initiative, as revealed at the U.N. COP27 climate conference in Egypt, will start with this $6 million seed funding.
• 170 TONS
  The U.S. Navy has seized 170 tons of hazardous materials known for making explosives and rocket fuel from a vessel bound for Yemen.

QUOTE:
”I never worry about action, but only inaction.”
~~~ Winston Churchill

QUOTE:
”If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.”
~~~ Booker T. Washington

QUOTE:
“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.”
~~~ Benjamin Franklin

Backseat or Passenger Drivers
J. Vernon McGee shared this partial poem as a facetious verse to make a point about backseat drivers. Enjoy.
“’Twas at a crowded crossing; crowds hastened to the spot;
Whence came a cry of anguish and one loud pistol shot.
Inside an automobile, there lay a woman dead.
Beside it stood the driver who, with emotion, said,
(Chorus)
I am the lady’s husband. Long years have we been wed.
I loved her very dearly and shot her through the head.
I perhaps should not have killed her; it is not right to slay,
But with those backseat drivers, it is the only way.”

A example to not be so argumentative all the time with someone you live with and love.