Posts filed as “Blogposts”
Unemployment is killing America’s economically vulnerable women early
Americans are living longer than ever but average lifespan of white, female high school drop-outs has plunged dramatically
Is a lack of jobs killing some of America's most economically vulnerable women?
That's one of the provocative conclusions of Jennifer Karas Montez, a researcher at Harvard University, and author with Anna Zajacova, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Wyoming, who set out to explain why the average lifespan of a...Read more.
Penny Pritzker not a hit with the 99% | Helaine Olen
Hyatt heiress worth $1.8bn with checkered past dealings is top pick for secretary of commerce. What was that about change?
Here's why Americans get cynical about politics: they think they are voting for hope and change and, instead, they find themselves confronted by Wednesday morning's congressional hearings starring Hyatt heiress and Chicago businesswoman Penny Pritzker, President Barack Obama's pick to be the next secretary of commerce.
Pritzker has appeared Zelig-like...Read more.
Saving for retirement: the key is to start small
If the powers that be want people to save more, they first need to encourage them to save for smaller splurges
When it comes to convincing people of the need to save money, it might be time to downplay the pressure to set aside retirement savings and the need to fund a 401(k).
What? We know we're in terrible fiscal shape for our retirements, and the younger we are, the worse...Read more.
Occupy hedge funds: when private investment funds and the public collide
In a dangerous move, the SEC is expected to soon allow hedge funds to advertise themselves directly to the general public
I'm sure you've all heard Groucho Marx's famous explanation for why he resigned from a club that solicited his membership: "I don't want to belong to any club that would have me as a member."
It's looking likely that many investors are soon going to have reason to remember Marx's...Read more.
Student loan debt is stealing our future
The current student loan set-up is not good for our long-term financial health, as a generation in debt weakens our economy
Last week, Senator Elizabeth Warren debuted her inaugural legislative effort, a bill intended to stop the cost of federally subsidized student loans from doubling from 3.4% to just under 7% on 1 July. Warren's solution? A one-year temporary fix that would allow students and their parents to borrow money for...Read more.
Room service no more: why luxury is leaving the middle class behind | Helaine Olen
Hilton's pulling of room service in New York is another example of how middle income earners are losing access to life's luxuries
New York City's Hilton Hotels recently announced they would end room service this summer, offering customers instead a high-end food shop in the lobby.
That's right. For $200 a night plus taxes, you'll be expected to brown-bag it.
Think of this as one more demonstration of how services for the middle...Read more.
Room service no more: why luxury is leaving the middle class behind | Helaine Olen
Hilton's pulling of room service in New York is another example of how middle income earners are losing access to life's luxuries
New York City's Hilton Hotels recently announced they would end room service this summer, offering customers instead a high-end food shop in the lobby.
That's right. For $200 a night plus taxes, you'll be expected to brown-bag it.
Think of this as one more demonstration of how services for the middle...Read more.
American retail workers need more than $10 an hour
The more workers are earning low wages, the less likely the economy will reach escape velocity
The retail sector has been a star of recent jobs reports. May's numbers from the Department of Labor say it was responsible for adding 28,000 positions to the overall economy. It's on an upward trend – the monthly retail employment number has averaged 20,000 for the past year.
Considering one in nine Americans work in, for...Read more.
American retail workers need more than $10 an hour
The more workers are earning low wages, the less likely the economy will reach escape velocity
The retail sector has been a star of recent jobs reports. May's numbers from the Department of Labor say it was responsible for adding 28,000 positions to the overall economy. It's on an upward trend – the monthly retail employment number has averaged 20,000 for the past year.
Considering one in nine Americans work in, for...Read more.
Money makeovers: like placing Band-aids on deeper political wounds
Superficial tips and tools gloss over the main point – Americans have a political problem not a money management problem
When I sold the proposal that became Pound Foolish: Exposing the Dark Side of the Personal Finance Industry, the original subtitle was "How the Cult of Personal Finance Turned us Into a Nation of Dreamers." I didn't think of personal finance as a dark side vs a light side. I...Read more.
About Helaine Olen
I am the voice of The Bills, a column about the intersection of money and life, at Slate. At Inc., I contribute to the Spread the Wealth personal finance column. My work on politics, economics, workplace culture and women’s issues has been published in numerous other print and on-line publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Salon, Pacific Standard, and The Los Angeles Times, where I wrote and edited the popular “Money Makeover” feature.
I'm the author of the critically acclaimed book Pound Foolish: Exposing the Dark Side of the Personal Finance Industry, and The Index Card: Why Personal Finance Doesn’t Have to be so Complicated, which I co-wrote with Harold Pollack.
What else? I’m a passionate bibliophile, a fan of 1970s pop music and a lover of rummage sales. I live in New York City.
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