The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Eating organic food for a week can reduce pesticide levels in the body, study shows

I’m a big proponent of organic foods. My dad, Minor H. Slingsby, died of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He was a farmer. I didn’t know non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma was linked to pesticide exposure when my dad was diagnosed with the disease. None of his doctors in Central Washington state said anything about it. I learned about the connection when listening to a National Public Radio story. It said the children of farmworkers were being diagnosed with high levels of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma because they were in fields sprayed with pesticides with their parents.

I buy most of my food at my local food co-op, with as much as possible of it being organic. I have immune system problems, so organic food is helpful to me.

This recent study adds to the evidence of how organic food benefits people.

A study done at the University of California found that eating organically-grown food for one week can significantly reduce the levels of pesticide in the body. Researchers found the levels of toxins decreased by an average of 60.5 percent after six days of eating organic food.

USDA rule speeding up pork lines and reducing inspectors should be set aside, consumer group and union argue

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s rule lifting the lid on line speeds and reducing the number of government safety inspectors by 40 percent at pork slaughter and processing plants should be set aside, lawyers from Public Citizen and United Food and Commercial Workers said in a lawsuit filed Monday in federal court.

Thousands of commenters told the USDA during the rulemaking process that the rule would endanger the lives and safety of consumers and workers. Comments also offered dozens of peer-reviewed studies and expert analyses showing that the USDA’s changes would put plant workers, who already are in one of the most dangerous jobs in America, at increased risk of injuries.

In its final rule, the USDA didn’t dispute this evidence. Instead, the agency refused to consider the impact of its actions on worker safety, despite having considered it in the past, and said that the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration should consider worker injuries instead.

New information for those selecting a nursing home

By Brian O’Connell, Analyst, insuranceQuotes.com

Guest blogger

Finding the right nursing home for an elderly family member is a serious responsibility, and often a daunting task. But many Americans aren’t aware of the tools that the federal government provides to make the search smoother and more trustworthy.

The U.S. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services rolled out its new Five-Star Quality Rating System in April, with the goal to help families compare local nursing homes and get key questions answered.

The CMS’s website rates nursing homes on a scale of one to five stars, taking into consideration three key areas: health inspections, staffing, and quality measures.

Federal agency charges multi-level marketer with operating a pyramid scheme and imposes a $150 million fine

Multi-level marketer AdvoCare International and its former chief executive officer agreed to pay $150 million and be banned from the multi-level marketing business to resolve Federal Trade Commission charges that the company operated an illegal pyramid scheme. The FTC alleged that AdvoCare tricked consumers into believing they could earn huge income as “distributors” of its health and wellness products. 

Two top promoters also settled charges that they promoted the illegal pyramid scheme and misled consumers about their income potential, agreeing to a multi-level marketing ban and a judgment of $4 million that will be suspended when they surrender assets.

The FTC lawsuit filed in federal court also charges two other top AdvoCare promoters, Danny and Diane McDaniel, with unlawfully promoting a pyramid scheme, making deceptive earnings claims, and providing others with ways to do the same.

How the meat industry pressures federal regulators for less inspection, which compromises the safety of the food supply – Part 3

This is the third article in a three-part series on meat inspection. Part 1 reports on tours I took of two beef facilities, a slaughterhouse and a meat processing plant. Part 2 includes interviews with those who favor and oppose new USDA inspection procedures and proposals that reduce the amount of inspection from federal meat inspectors. The articles were written when I was a consumer food columnist for The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington. The articles were rejected by newspaper editors and never published.

It was a huge surprise this spring when I read articles that the Trump administration was proposing rules for pig slaughter that would speed up production lines, giving less time to spot contamination, and permit pork processing plants to operate with fewer federal inspectors, putting more of the responsibility to ensure food safety on the companies themselves.

These were among proposals made under the Reagan administration in 1984 to cut costs that I wrote about.

Happy Labor Day

It’s estimated that 25 percent of Americans plan to get out of town for the Labor Day weekend, and that 86 percent of them plan to travel by car. If you’re one of these, be sure to drive carefully. Another estimate is that about 400 people will die in traffic accidents during the holiday weekend, and 45,300 will sustain serious injuries.

The top travel destinations are New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Orlando, and Chicago.

I wish I’d be at a cookout like the 40.6 percent of Americans who plan to barbecue over Labor Day.

A lot of people will probably be working on the holiday weekend because the largest category in the workforce is retail with 4,450,000 salespeople and second is food preparation and service workers with 3,680,000. Third is cashiers with 3,640,000 workers.

Facts and figures for Labor Day 2019

Source: WalletHub

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist

Baby boomers dive into summer with topics ranging from sex to hearing aids

It’s summer, with some areas of the country roasting while we in the Seattle area are keeping our cool – mostly.

Here are the topics for this week’s Best of Boomer Blogs:

• How anxiety attacks are sending you a message.
• How traveling is a lot like sex.
• Report on the Brown and Out Fest to celebrate the Latino LGBTQ community in Los Angeles for PRIDE month.
• Advice on switching to a new career in your fifties.
• The experiences of a first-time hearing aid wearer.
• What you as a consumer need to know to get the best deal to pay back your student loan.

Rebecca Forstadt Olkowski of BabyBoomster writes about these articles on the Best of Boomer Blogs 601. Click here to get the links to the articles. And, be sure to let us know your thoughts. Boomer bloggers appreciate conversations with readers.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Personal Finance Writer

Sloppy practices by student loan servicers create obstacles to repayment, consumer group says

U.S. Department of Education data show that nearly a quarter of the more than 43 million federal student loan borrowers are in trouble with their loan payments. These borrowers need high-quality, timely assistance, but, unfortunately, the student loan servicing industry has long been rife with misconduct, said Joanna K. Darcus, attorney for the National Consumer Law Center.

The consequences of servicers’ misconduct are significant and, at times, catastrophic for borrowers’ financial lives, Darcus said. Sloppy practices by servicers created obstacles to repayment, raised the costs of debt, caused distress, and ultimately contributed to driving struggling borrowers to default, according to an April 2017 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report based on student loan borrower complaints.

Specifically, many eligible borrowers aren’t enrolled in income-driven repayment or IDR plans despite clear benefits to the financial health of borrowers and their families. Instead, servicers steer many borrowers into forbearances and deferments, which are profitable for the servicer and costly to the borrower.

Top 100 most frequently asked questions

Recently, when I visited Madrid, my granddaughter called her mom and asked her if the dishes in the dishwasher were clean or dirty. I laughed, but then I thought that the question must be one of the most popular questions ever that is asked over and over and over again.

We began brainstorming and came up with 99 additional questions that must be asked hundreds of times a day in America and throughout the world.

The most frequently asked questions are:

1. How are you?
2. How’s your family?
3. What’s new?
4. Do you know ____________?
5. Is this seat taken?
6. What would you like to drink?
7. Would you like cream or sugar (in your coffee)?
8. Who won the game?
9. Do you remember ________________ (a person from the past)?
10. Who will be there?
11. What do you do (for work)?
12. Are you dating anyone?
13. Where are you from?
14. Can I buy you a drink?
15. What’s your phone number?
16. Would you like to have coffee?
17. What’s your favorite song?
18. What’s your favorite movie?
19. Who’s your favorite star?
20. When’s your birthday?
21. What would you like to do?
22. Do you want to come in for coffee (after a date)?
23. Have you been tested for STDs?
24. Do you have a condom?
25. What are your hobbies?
26. Where did you go to school?
27. Will you marry me?
28. Where would you like to live?
29. Who was that?
30. Where are you going to go to college?
31. What are you going to major in?
32. What do you want to do (for a career)?
33. Have you read _______________ (a book)?
34. Who said __________(quote)?
35. Where are you going?
36. Can you come to the party?
37. Is she (or he) your friend?
38. Do you work here?
39. How much will I be paid for the job?
40. When's the meeting?
41. Where's the meeting?
42. Is the boss in a bad mood?
43. What's he (or she) like to work for?
44. How was work?
45. Will you take out the garbage?
46. Did you take out the garbage?
47. How was school?
48. When are you going to clean up your bedroom?
49. Where have you been?
50. Why were you late?
51. Do you know what time it is?
52. Are you ready?
53. What would you like for dinner?
54. What time is dinner?
55. Is a minute (or two minutes) in the microwave enough?
56. Would you like a sandwich?
57. Is this too old (to eat)?
58. Who’s coming to dinner?
59. When will the repairman be here?
60. Are we out of toilet paper?
61. Where are my _______________ (shorts, dress, shoes or other items)?
62. What’s on TV?
63. Did you let the dog (or cat) out?
64. Did you mow the lawn?
65. Do you remember when we _____________ (took a trip or did an activity)?
66. Is it broken (object or body part)?
67. Are we there yet?
68. How far is it to ______________ (place or town)?
69. Is that a _______________ (brand name)?
70. Where did you get that _____________ (shirt, dress, or shoes)?
71. How much does it cost?
72. Does this make me look fat?
73. Do you like this?
74. Does this look good on me?
75. Did you get a haircut?
76. Will you pick up my suit from the dry cleaners?
77. Can I speak to your supervisor?
78. Where are my keys?
79. Where are my glasses?
80. Where’s my cell phone?
81. Where did I park my car?
82. Is that a parking spot?
83. What’s the weather?
84. Do I need a coat?
85. Do I need an umbrella?
86. Have you voted?
87. Is the plane on time?
88. Can you recommend a restaurant?
89. Do you have any vacancies?
90. Do you mind if I smoke?
91. Have you met the new neighbors?
92. How are the schools (in that neighborhood or city)?
93. What’s that bulldozer doing down the street?
94. What’s the population of _______________ (city, town, or country)?
95. Why are you giving me a ticket, officer?
96. Can I see your new car?
97. Would you call me an Uber?
98. How many likes did I get?
99. Am I oversharing?

That’s my list. Did I miss any?

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Personal Finance Writer