Medicare's top officials said in 2006 that they had reduced the number of fraudulent and improper claims paid by the agency, keeping billions of dollars out of the hands of people trying to game the system. ...more

August 21, 2008

"Crunch: Why Do I Feel So Squeezed? (And Other Unsolved Economic Mysteries)," by Jared Bernstein; Berrett-Koehler, 225 pages ($26.95) ...more

July 20, 2008

Never underestimate the power of the nasty, overheard remark. ...more

July 13, 2008

Never underestimate the power of the nasty, overheard remark. ...more

July 13, 2008

Two decades ago, Jesse Jackson twice strode the national stage as a presidential contender from Chicago. He won a few primaries and was a force to be reckoned with. ...more

July 12, 2008

She hooked me with the word "debt." "The word alone causes people's blood pressure to rise. It's a hard-sounding word, phonetically in sync with its impact on people's lives," writes Tamara Draut in the foreword to the compelling "Up to Our Eyeballs: How Shady Lenders and Failed Economic Policies Are Drowning Americans in Debt." ...more

May 11, 2008

Taking up Raul Castro's invitation to speak their minds without fear of reprisal, more Cubans have begun publicly complaining and challenging government policies on everything from limits on Internet access to travel restrictions. ...more

February 7, 2008