Current News & Issues
Protect Your Move
If you’re moving this summer, you’ll want to find a
company that’s reputable. You can ask friends or neighbors
for recommendations, and you can look at ads in the phone
book or online. But you should also read Protect Your Move from the U.S. Department of Transportation. It’s filled
with tips to help you spot “rogue” movers, get an honest
estimate, and insure your property while it’s being moved.
To get a free copy, send your name and address to the Federal Citizen Information Center, Dept. 601P, Pueblo, CO
81009.
Or call toll-free 1 (888) 8 PUEBLO, that’s 1 (888) 878-3256,
and ask for Item 601P.
And visit www.pueblo.gsa.gov to read
or print this and hundreds of other FCIC publications for free.
Overdraft and Bounced Check Fees
Sure, the overdraft protection you decided to purchase for
your bank account is helpful—who wouldn’t want to protect
themselves from returned check fees? But is that protection
really worth the money you’re paying? You could end up
spending far more on the service than you would if you only bounced a few checks a year. Learn how to manage your
account so you don’t use money you don’t have with Protecting Yourself from Overdraft and Bounced-Check Fees from the Federal Reserve Board. This publication costs $1.00.
Order a copy by sending your name, address, and a check or
money order for $1.00 to the Federal Citizen Information Center, Dept. 340P, Pueblo, CO 81009. Or call toll-free 1 (888) 8 PUEBLO,
that’s 1 (888) 878-3256, and ask for Item 340P. Have your credit
card handy.
And visit www.pueblo.gsa.gov to read or print this
and hundreds of other FCIC publications for free.
GSA # 2844
For current information after October 15, 2007 please contact
Rebecca Ewing 202/501-1794
rebecca.ewing@gsa.gov
U.S. General Services Administration
The Federal Citizen Information Center.
Free Internet Safety Education For Youth
i-SAFE Inc. is the worldwide leader in the Internet safety education. Founded in 1998 and endorsed by the U.S. Congress, i-SAFE is a non-profit foundation dedicated to protecting the online experiences of youth everywhere. Kids and teens can learn about Internet Safety through i-SAFE's free i-LEARN Online. The program is composed of six online video modules, which address personal safety, cyber-community issues, cyber-predator identification, cyber-security, intellectual property and community outreach. Included as part of the I-LEARN Online Program is the I-Mentor Training Network. These modules help empower students to take their knowledge of Internet safety in the real world to educate friends, peers, family and community members.
Students are encouraged to hangout, learn about cyber safety and share their online experiences with others on the i-SAFE's X-BLOCK. The interactive webpage has a chat room, contests and the "411" where a 58-page student tool kit can be downloaded. There is also i-DRIVE TV where students can watch video casts made by other students. Students can also receive i-SAFE?s student news the Kewl Times.
Telemarketing Fraud and Internet Scams Increasing
The number of fraud victims increased in 2005, as reported in a 2006 National Consumers League (NCL) Bulletin. Increases have occurred in Internet fraud regarding wire transfers of money and in Internet scams such as Nigerian money offers. The average loss to telemarketing fraud rose from $1,974 in 2004 to $2,892 last year and Internet fraud more then doubled, from an average of $895 in 2004 to $1,917 in 2005. The number of telemarketing scams reported rose by 39 percent, Internet fraud reports by 12 percent. Another Internet scam on the rise is bogus offers of scholarships and grants from the government. For more information, visit Fraud.org or e-mail info@nclnet.org.
Americans Marrying Older, Living Alone More, See Households Shrinking, Census Bureau Reports
The median age of first marriage was 27.1 years for men and 25.8 years for women last year, up from 23.2 and 20.8 years, respectively, 25 years earlier, according to new information on America’s families and households released by the U.S. Census Bureau. According to "Families and Living Arrangements: 2005," the proportion of households consisting of one person living alone increased from 17 percent in 1970 to 26 percent in 2005. In 2005, 10 percent of the nation’s households contained five or more people, down from 21 percent in 1970. During the same time period, average household size declined from 3.14 to 2.57 people. The tabulations also show 67 percent of the nation’s 73.5 million children under 18 lived with two married parents in 2005. About 20.7 million children under 18 lived with one parent; 17.2 million with their mother and 3.5 million with their father.Other highlights:
- The majority of men and women in 2005 had been married by the time they were 30 to 34 years old (72 percent); and among men and women ages 65 and over, 96 percent had been married.
- The United States had an estimated 5.8 million "stay-at-home" parents: 5.6 million moms and 143,000 dads.
- About 8 percent of all children (6.1 million) lived in a household that included a grandparent.
- Among 12.8 million children ages 15 to 17, about 2.4 million were working and, of these, 2.2 million worked part time.
The Marriage Calculator
The Department of Health and Human Services has developed The Marriage Calculator. The Web-based tool can calculate the "cost of marriage" for a specific couple in a specific State - how welfare programs and tax policies might interact to create penalties and/or incentives and how they differ across States and across different income and family structures. The Urban Institute, under contract to ACF, developed this new Web-based tool.
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