Quickies

The Guardian has an interesting report on citizens in the UK and their expected pensions. Clip:

Fidelity found a big gap between the anticipated retirement income of those on final salary pension schemes, where pension payments are linked to a worker's earnings when they retire, and those on defined contribution schemes, where payouts depended on investment performance.

It said workers with final salary pensions were on course to receive the equivalent of 81% of their earnings on retirement, while those on other schemes were on track to replace just 38% of their final wage.

With more and more companies closing their final salary schemes and introducing defined contribution pensions, the gap between earnings and typical pension payments looks set to grow.

To translate for the U.S. audience, those with (allegedly) guaranteed pension plans like the one IBM used to offer are taking home considerably more in retirement than those who are enrolled in 401k plans. Now, go tell your financial adviser or your politicians that and they'll undoubtedly regale you with the wisdom of the market and the freedom of choice that 401ks offer the unwashed masses. In other words, they'll talk circles around the topic and explain that you are simply wrong. Time to call bullshit on the economic warfare being played out in our economy today with a redistribution of wealth to those who are the wealthiest in our society. The lies we've been told since I was young enough to remember them was that the middle class wealth was being mopped up by welfare queens and inner cities. The truth is that in those years massive amounts of that wealth has been gobbled up with the wealthiest 1% of our country and this has occurred under Republican and Democrat controls. Don't believe me? Look up the tax figures or go read a little David Cay Johnston. Or listen to him.

According to this Yahoo News story, oral and anal sex are increasing among teens. Perhaps not so coincidentally this was the time when we saw the rise in teen virginity pledges and abstinence education which turn out to be ineffective. Hat tip to Sex Is Funny for the Yahoo News story.