Honoring Veterans Means Funding Suicide Prevention

Many Americans may not know that it was Dwight D. Eisenhower who in 1954 issued the official proclamation celebrating the service of all veterans by designating Nov. 11, formerly known as Armistice Day, in honor of our vets. Eisenhower, of course, was supreme commander of Allied Forces in Europe during World War II and commander in chief as the 34th president of the United States. In Ike’s words, “on that day let us solemnly remember the sacrifices of all those who fought so valiantly, on the seas, in the air, and on foreign shores, to preserve our heritage of freedom, and let us reconsecrate ourselves to the task of promoting an enduring peace so that their efforts shall not have been in vain.” This Veterans Day, millions of Americans thank a veteran for serving our nation, but during the hour-long service at the local elementary school or church cemetery, a veteran or active-duty member of the armed forces will take his own life: The harsh reality is that the average suicide rate today among all those who are serving or have served is more than 20 per day — 17 are veterans. [excerpt

The Harold G. Evans Chair of Eisenhower Leadership Studies and the Eisenhower Institute Undergraduate Fellowship

The Evans Chair is an important link between the academic program and the Eisenhower Institute (EI), and one of the most important roles of the Evans chair is directing the EI Undergraduate Fellows (EIUF) program. This program provides a small group of Gettysburg College seniors the chance to develop their leadership skills and to immerse themselves in the world of public policy. Today’s talk is designed to get faculty members from across the divisions to consider applying for the Evans Chair and to ask all members of the College community to encourage all students, particularly those who have felt excluded, to get involved in EI programming at all levels

Employer-Sponsored Pensions: A Primer

The shifting pension landscape raises questions about the financial security of future retirees. About one-half of private-sector workers are not covered by employer-sponsored pension plans on their current job. Many private-sector employers have replaced traditional pensions with 401(k)-type plans, which protect benefits for workers who change jobs frequently but expose participants to investment risks. This primer describes pensions, workers with coverage, and related policy issues

Welfare Effects of Increased Train Noise: A Comparison of the Costs and Benefits of Train Whistle Use at Highway-Railway Crossings

Beginning in April 2005, a new Federal Railroad Administration rule will require trains to sound their whistles while approaching and entering public highway-rail crossings. This wider use of train horns is expected to increase train whistle noise nationwide. In order to assess the likely impact of this policy change, this study investigates the tradeoff between housing values and railroad safety due to the use of train whistles in Wisconsin. The study is limited to consideration of benefits in terms of human lives saved and to costs in terms of falling housing prices. Findings show that even using the highest estimates of the benefits and considering a wide range of caveats, the costs imposed by the increased train noise are likely to be greater than benefits by an order of magnitude. Furthermore, the costs will be borne by homeowners, while the benefits accrue to commuters. This suggests that policy-makers are more likely to apply for an exception to the new rule where commuters come largely from outside the political jurisdiction

RETIREMENT AND SOCIAL SECURITY: A TIME SERIES APPROACH About the Center for Retirement Research

Abstract Traditional analyses of retirement decisions focus on the age, from birth, of the individual making choices about how much to work, consume, and save for old age. However, remaining life expectancy is arguably a better way of examining these issues. As mortality rates decline, people at a given age now have more remaining years of life expectancy than they did in the past. If participation rates at older ages remain constant (or decline), then average time spent in retirement will increase. Additionally, because health status and mortality are correlated, adults with more expected years of life are generally in better health (and better able to work) than those with fewer years of remaining life. This paper examines labor force participation rates of older workers considering both chronological age and remaining life expectancy. Results show that participation by remaining life expectancy declines for men through the early 1990s, leveling off in the next decade. However, participation by age have been rising for men in their sixties since the mid-1990s. Whether we specify the empirical model by age or by remaining life expectancy, ages 62 and 65 both have strong negative effects on participation, confirming a major role in retirement decisions for Social Security. Finally, we find that controlling for other factors -education, marital status, and business cycle effectsmagnifies the decline in participation attributable to cohort effects for men born between 1900 and 1960, but reduces the importance of cohort effects for women born in these years

Retirement and Social Security: A Time Series Approach

Traditional analyses of retirement decisions focus on the age, from birth, of the individual making choices about how much to work, consume, and save for old age. However, remaining life expectancy is arguably a better way of examining these issues. As mortality rates decline, people at a given age now have more remaining years of life expectancy than they did in the past. If participation rates at older ages remain constant (or decline), then average time spent in retirement will increase. Additionally, because health status and mortality are correlated, adults with more expected years of life are generally in better health (and better able to work) than those with fewer years of remaining life.