NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A new study released Wednesday estimates that 20% of Americans suffered a significant economic loss last year - the highest level in the past 25 years.
The new Economic Security Index looks at the interaction of three key variables that have a direct bearing on a person's economic security: income loss, medical expenses and debt.
The index, which tracks data since 1985, shows that economic insecurity has risen across all groups, not just among low-income families and those without much education.
The index was constructed by Yale political scientist Jacob Hacker and a team of researchers, and the project was funded by the Rockefeller Foundation.
The ESI defines people as economically insecure when their situation meets two criteria. First, within a year's time they have lost 25% or more of their available gross income. Available gross income is the money they have left over after paying for medical costs and debt.Second, they don't have enough in an emergency fund or other liquid reserves to make up the difference.
Hacker noted that it can typically take between six to eight years to restore one's available income to its previous level. Meanwhile, a survey cited by Hacker found that 48% of Americans said last year they only had enough resources to carry them for two months before experiencing any economic hardship.
According to the index,which is based primarily on Census Bureau data,12.2% of Americans were economically insecure in 1985. By 2009, Hacker and his team estimate that 20.4% of Americans could be classified that way. The actual number of people affected increased by more than half, from 28 million in 1985 to roughly 46 million by 2007, the last year for which hard numbers were available.
"There's been a ratcheting up over time," Hacker said.
'Virtually all' groups affected
A large loss in income can occur for any of several reasons. The loss of a job is the most obvious. But even if one remains employed, income can vary because of a change in hours or wages, or because of a spike in medical expenses or debt payments.
While there have been intermittent years when the ESI fell for any given demographic group, economic insecurity has been on the rise for "virtually all" groups, according to the researchers.
But not all groups have equal levels of risk. The groups showing the highest levels of economic insecurity include African-Americans, the poorest households, Americans between the ages of 18 and 34, single-parent households and Americans without high school educations.
Since it has just been launched, the Economic Security Index has yet to be publicly critiqued by other economists and political scientists unaffiliated with the project.
In the past, some economists, such as Stephen Rose of the moderate-progressive think tank The Third Way, have conducted research that counters the broadly negative view about how the middle class has fared economically over the years.
This week it came to light that BP had photoshopped—poorly—an official image of their crisis command center. Apparently, that wasn't an isolated incident. Let's take a closer look at this view from a helicopter, shall we? UPDATED:
The photo, sent in by a tipster and entitled "View of the MC 252 site from the cockpit of a PHI S-92 helicopter 26 June 2010," shows up here, a section of BP's website that hopes to explain their response effort through pictures. This one, sadly, is fabricated.
The first thing you might notice out of place is the looming air traffic control tower in the upper left hand side of the photo: Then, direct your attention to where the water abruptly changes shades of blue in a frenzy of pixelation, blurring, and a disappearing vessel: Zeroing in on the pilot on the left, evidence of a pretty sloppy cutting job: And last, while the helicopter clearly appears to be situated at some height above the boats ahead, the readouts on the dash appear to indicate that that door and ramp are open and the parking brake engaged, not to mention that the pilot appears to be holding a pre-flight checklist: And so on. As one reader pointed out, the tower may in fact be an oil rig adjacent to a helipad (which would also explain why the pilots are in prep mode), but the photo's still clearly been doctored. Badly.
Obviously there are bigger fish to fry when it comes to BP. But every time they fabricate an image like this, it undermines whatever little credibility they have left, along with all of the actual documentation of the massive undertaking this has been and will continue to be. It speaks to a company still more concerned with image than reality, in charge of repairing something so terribly broken that we can't afford to treat it with anything but total candor.
Iran is to use any currency in its oil transactions as the country wants to move away from receiving payments in dollars and euros, Iranian vice president says.
"We are free to choose any currency to sell our crude oil and this issue depends on Iran's interests," Mohammad Reza Rahimi said during a ceremony releasing a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Mehr news agency reported.
"The important issue is to exclude euros and dollars,” he added.
In 2009, Venezuela's president said that countries including Venezuela, Russia and Iran had proposed that the US dollar should be replaced as the currency used for oil trade.
"We've been talking about this in OPEC. Venezuela agrees and there are other countries, such as Iran and Russia, that also agree with this idea," Chavez told reporters in the central Bolivian region of Cochabamba.
Iran's Trade Promotion Organization in 2009 announced a project to completely exclude the US dollar from the country's foreign revenues and reserves.
Tehran is determined to find a substitute for the US dollar for the remaining oil revenues.
The constant declining value of the dollar and euro and persisting economic crisis in the US and EU has forced many countries to drop the currencies in favor those more stable.
Iran produced an estimated 3.74 million barrels of oil a day in June, Bloomberg data show.
WASHINGTON -- Nearly $65 million in federal highway funds -- some of it set aside by Congress 19 years ago -- remains unspent in Western New York, an analysis of federal data shows.
The sum includes $17 million for the Peace Bridge, nearly $9 million for improvements at the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, about $6 million for Buffalo's waterfront and a similar amount for the return of cars to Main Street in downtown Buffalo.
The Sunlight Foundation, a good-
government group that conducted the study, labels the unspent federal funds "disappearmarks" -- projects that make headlines when announced but result in no shovel ever touching the ground.
Some lawmakers are beginning to think they should put those funds to better use.
"These old earmarks are a waste of taxpayer money, and cutting them just makes sense," said Rep. Betsy Markey, D-Colo., who introduced a bill last week that would rescind any such highway earmarks approved before 2005. That would cost Western New York $14.3 million.
Rep. Brian Higgins, the Buffalo Democrat who was responsible for landing the vast majority of the federal funding that remains unspent, stressed that Buffalo needs the money.
Higgins cited slow-moving bureaucracies at every level of government as the main reason for the delays in spending the money and said the public "should encourage that it gets spent for the intended purpose."
Buffalo by no means is alone in losing out on benefits from federal highway funding set aside years ago. The Sunlight Foundation's report found that nationwide, $6.5 billion in funding allotted in the 2005 highway bill still has not been turned into bricks or mortar or asphalt.
"Lawmakers get lots of press and recognition for bringing home this money, but what this study shows is that the projects don't necessarily get built," said Gabriela Schneider, communications director for the Sunlight Foundation.
Such projects, of course, include the new Peace Bridge.
Federal and state environmental issues delayed the new span for years, and only now is the Peace Bridge Authority set to pick a final design. That plan will have to win approval from the Federal Highway Administration, which raised questions about earlier designs.
One other big local earmark -- for the medical campus -- appears to be much closer to being spent.
Higgins' office said that surveyors have been on the site recently and that construction is expected to begin soon on the project, which involves making Ellicott Street two-way and installing sidewalks and street furniture on the campus.
Much more frustration has met the proposal to return cars to Main Street on the downtown pedestrian mall. Higgins said he has talked with federal officials to try to determine how a new downtown configuration could comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, but the issue has yet to be resolved.
He also stressed that the delay, like many of the others in the projects funded five years ago, is not unusual.
"Environmental laws, state and federal, are extreme in their detail," Higgins said. "It results in a lot of oversight, a lot of review and a lot of delay."
Sometimes, though, the delay can be inexplicable -- even to members of Congress. In fact, Higgins just this month wrote to the Federal Highway Administration, seeking an explanation of what can be done with $11.3 million in funding for Buffalo set aside in 1991.
About $6.2 million of those funds originally was allocated to build an outer harbor bridge on Buffalo's waterfront, but Congress later reprogrammed it to build a parking facility in the area. The rest was set aside to build an oft-discussed, never-completed highway called the Southtowns Connector.
Such long-in-the-tooth projects are at greatest risk of disappearing as Congress looks for ways to deal with the public's growing concern about the ballooning federal debt.
Markey's bills would rescind those earmarks and others Congress set aside in its 1998 highway bill, while leaving the 2005 earmarks -- including all of Higgins' -- intact.
While Markey's move to rescind $713.2 million in old earmarks is unlikely to pass in the limited amount of time Congress will spend in the capital for the rest of this year, she already has won the support of the key congressional player on transportation issues.
"At a time of rising federal budget deficits and economic hardship, it makes no sense to keep these unspent funds on the books," said Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn, chairman of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Higgins, a former member of Oberstar's committee, disagreed.
"I know earmarks are controversial" -- often considered wasteful indulgences that have on occasion led to scandal, Higgins acknowledged. "But for Buffalo, this money is desperately needed to reverse an economic decline that's been going on for 50 years."
The family of a newspaper seller who died after being struck by a policeman during the G20 protests reacted furiously yesterday after learning that the officer will not face any criminal charges.
The decision came despite prosecutors admitting there was evidence that Ian Tomlinson, 47, had been assaulted by riot squad officer PC Simon Harwood.
The main obstacle to a prosecution appeared to be a post mortem conducted by pathologist Dr Freddy Patel, who concluded that Mr Harwood died of natural causes, although two other pathologists decided that his death was the result of internal bleeding from 'blunt force trauma to the abdomen' as well as cirrhosis of the liver.
Innocent: Mr Tomlinson on his way home before his encounter with police, left, and as he walks slowly in front of a cordon, a police dog bites him on the leg but he appears not to notice
Attack: He is hit with a baton and pushed 'very strongly' in the back. With his hands in his pocket he cannot break his fall (left). A passer-by then comes to his aid as he sits dazed on the pavement while PC Simon Harwood, (circled) stays in the background
Yet last night it emerged that Dr Patel's career is in jeopardy. He could be struck off within months as the General Medical Council examines claims that he bungled four autopsies.
He has been suspended from the Home Office register of forensic pathologists and barred from examining others who have died suspiciously.
It also emerged that PC Harwood had left the Met while facing misconduct proceedings several years ago before being allowed to rejoin.
Mr Tomlinson's relatives - unhappy with how police initially handled his death and the length of time taken by the Crown Prosecution Service to reach a decision on charges - accused the authorities of staging a 'big cover-up' over the death.
Video footage clearly showed 43-year-old PC Harwood striking Mr Tomlinson with his baton and pushing him to the ground on April 1 last year.
But Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer said a manslaughter charge could not be brought because of 'irreconcilable' differences between the pathologists over what had caused his death, meaning there was ' no realistic prospect' of a conviction.
Mr Starmer said the differences in opinion meant it could not be proved beyond reasonable doubt that the force used by the officer caused the death, with Dr Patel's report likely to undermine a prosecution.
No charges: Ian Tomlinson died after being caught in the G20 protests
Mr Starmer said this also ruled out one kind of assault charge because it could not now be proved that the strike or push harmed Mr Tomlinson.
He added that the officer could not even be charged with common assault, which does not require proof of injury, because there is a six-month time limit on bringing such a case, while this inquiry has already dragged on for 15 months.
Mr Tomlinson's son Paul King could not contain his anger at Mr Starmer's decision not to charge married father-of-two PC Harwood.
He said: 'It's outrageous. We feel like it was not a full investigation from the beginning. It's a big cover-up.
'He [Mr Starmer] has just admitted on TV that a copper assaulted our dad. But he hasn't done anything. He's the man in charge - why hasn't he charged him?
'They knew that if they dragged this out long enough, they would avoid charges. They knew just what they were doing.
'They've pulled us through a hedge backwards - now we have to go on living our lives.'
Mr King fought back tears as he added: 'Words can't describe how we feel, we feel very let down, very disappointed.'
The Tomlinson family's solicitor, Jules Carey, labelled the decision ' disgraceful' and said an inquiry must examine if it is due to a 'lack of will or incompetence'.
Senior colleagues of PC Harwood had been bracing themselves for a manslaughter prosecution.
One said: 'I welcome the decision not to charge him, but I have to say I am absolutely flabbergasted.'
Stunned: Mr Tomlinson's family leaving CPS headquarters today
The Independent Police Complaints Commission said it will pass its file to the Met, which will consider whether PC Harwood, who has been suspended on full pay for the last 15 months, should be disciplined.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson said he regretted Mr Tomlinson's death and offered his sympathy to his family.
He said he was 'concerned' by the video footage but that it was not appropriate for him to comment on the outcome of the IPCC inquiry or the CPS decision.
An inquest will now examine the circumstances of Mr Tomlinson's death and the case could be reconsidered by prosecutors if an unlawful death verdict is returned.
The decision not to charge PC Harwood was announced on the fifth anniversary of the death of the innocent Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes, who was shot dead by firearms officers who mistook him for a terrorist. No officers faced criminal charges over the error.
Relatives of Mr de Menezes hit out at 'another Scotland Yard whitewash' during a protest for Mr Tomlinson at the Metropolitan Police ' s headquarters.
PC Harwood was in hiding after leaving his Surrey home with his family early yesterday.
He is the second Metropolitan Police officer to be cleared of assault allegations concerning the G20 protests.
In March, Sergeant Delroy 'Tony' Smellie, who was accused of attacking a G20 protester with a metal baton, was cleared after the alleged victim failed to turn up to court.
A district judge found his actions were lawful when he struck Nicola Fisher with his baton during a vigil to mark the death of Mr Tomlinson outside the Bank of England on April 2 last year.
VIOLENT ATTACK THAT NO-ONE WILL ANSWER FOR
Shocking video footage of the G20 protests clearly shows Ian Tomlinson being struck with a baton and then shoved to the ground by a police officer.
But the pictures could not answer the question of whether this force was enough to kill the newspaper seller.
The only certainty in the whole matter is that tensions were very high on the streets of London on April 1, 2009.
'It's outrageous. We feel like it was not a full investigation from the beginning. It's a big cover-up. They knew that if they dragged this out long enough, they would avoid charges. They knew just what they were doing. They've pulled us through a hedge backwards'
Ian Tomlinson's son, Paul King
In the days leading up to G20 summit of world leaders, police warned that activists were planning protests in an 'unprecedented' way.
Organisers of a series of protests under the G20 Meltdown banner had hoped that tens of thousands would take to the streets but in the end there were an estimated 4,000 demonstrators in the City.
A small number of anarchists clashed with police and ransacked a bank.
It was against this backdrop that Mr Tomlinson - who had nothing to do with the protests - died after collapsing near the Bank of England.
At first, nothing sinister appeared to have happened, But the next day, complaints about police treatment of protesters started to emerge.
On April 4, City of London Police said a post mortem carried out by Dr Patel had established that Mr Tomlinson had suffered a heart attack.
But two days later the Independent Police Complaints Commission took over the investigation into Mr Tomlinson's death after new evidence showed his encounters with police shortly before his death.
CCTV showed police officers refusing to let him through a cordon-opposite the Bank of England, prompting him to walk around the corner into Royal Exchange Passage.
A day later, on April 7, video footage handed to the Guardian newspaper showed Mr Tomlinson being pushed to the ground by a police officer.
Footage then emerged on Channel 4 which appeared to show an officer hitting Mr Tomlinson left-handed with a baton, then shoving him to the ground.
More than two weeks after his death, on April 17, a second post mortem by respected pathologist Dr Nat Carey concluded that Mr Tomlinson died of abdominal haemorrhage, not a heart attack.
A third post mortem, carried out at the request of the Met's Directorate of Professional Standards, agreed with Dr Carey's opinion.
Amid claims of a cover-up, the Crown Prosecution Service yesterday released a detailed explanation of the circumstances surrounding Mr Tomlinson's death.
In it, PC Harwood was referred to as 'PC A'.
Shove: The moment Mr Tomlinson was pushed to the ground
It said Mr Tomlinson had been in the general area for much of the day and appeared to have been trying to get back to his home but, because of the police cordons, was finding it difficult.
It added: 'At about 7.15pm, a senior police office gave an order for officers to form a cordon and move people from the junction with Cornhill out onto Threadneedle Street.
There were approximately 20 police officers in the cordon and they included six City of London police dog handlers.
PC A was part of this cordon as it made its way down Royal Exchange to Threadneedle Street.
'One witness described Mr Tomlinson as looking "disoriented" as he was in Royal Exchange.
'As the police line approached him, he had his hands in his pockets and walked slowly in front of the officers.
'A police dog handler put his hand out to move Mr Tomlinson away and a police dog bit him on the side of his leg. Mr Tomlinson did not appear to react to this dog bite, but continued slowly moving at an angle across the police line.
'PC A, who was behind the dog handler, moved forward and using his baton struck Mr Tomlinson on the left thigh. Almost immediately he pushed Mr Tomlinson very strongly in the back.
'This push caused Mr Tomlinson to fall heavily to the floor and, because he had his hands in his pockets, he was unable to break his fall.'
Bystanders helped Mr Tomlinson to his feet. He then left Royal Exchange and walked a short distance into Threadneedle Street. He appeared to bump into a building and slowly collapsed, the CPS said.
Members of the public tried to help him, but he 'deteriorated rapidly'. Police and paramedics tried to resuscitate him, but he died.
THE PC WHO LEFT UNDER A CLOUD
PC Simon Harwood, the officer who was accused of killing Ian Tomlinson, left the Met in controversial circumstances several years ago while facing misconduct proceedings over an alleged off-duty road rage incident.
The 43-year-old was allowed to retire on ill health grounds because of a leg or shoulder injury before the disciplinary case, which is said to have involved allegations of violence, was heard.
But after surgery on his injury, he rejoined the force as a civilian operator, dispatching officers to calls, and then after being declared medically fit, was accepted to join Surrey Police as a PC.
Later, despite the outstanding disciplinary proceedings, he transferred back to the Met and was deployed in the riot squad.
Sadness and anger: Relatives of Ian Tomlinson react to the decision not to prosecute the police officer who attacked the newspaper seller
Last night Scotland Yard refused to comment on the apparent vetting bungle. It said: 'It is not appropriate to comment on the officer's employment history-until the completion of any criminal or misconduct proceedings.'
But a source told a Sunday newspaper last year: 'No former officer with an outstanding disciplinary matter should ever be given his job back.'
Last night there was no sign of PC Harwood, his wife - a practice manager at a GP's surgery - or their two young sons at their £450,000 Surrey home.
Neighbours said the family left the property at around 1am yesterday, hours before the officer was informed of the CPS decision not to charge him.
Colleagues confirmed that PC Harwood had gone to ground 'for the foreseeable future'.
He has been suspended on full pay for 15 months and insists he did nothing wrong.
A colleague said: 'Simon's a good cop and there are many of us who believe he has been hung out to dry over this case.
'He faces an uncertain future with an inquest and possible disciplinary proceedings ahead.'
DOUBTS OVER THE DOCTOR BEHIND POST MORTEM
The pathologist whose testimony torpedoed criminal charges over Ian Tomlinson's death already faces disciplinary proceedings and could be struck off within months.
Dr Freddy Patel, pictured, is accused by the General Medical Council of mishandling four post-mortem examinations between September 2002 and January 2005.
He has been suspended from the Home Office register of forensic pathologists and barred from examining others who have died suspiciously.
The GMC hearing focuses on his actions during post mortems on four bodies, including a four-week-old baby, a five-year-old girl and two women.
He is accused of giving questionable verdicts on the causes of deaths, some of which later turned out to be suspicious.
As revealed in a document released by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) yesterday, doubts have also been raised over how he examined Mr Tomlinson.
Dr Patel found the newspaper seller died as a result of natural causes, consistent with coronary artery disease.
But investigators said Dr Patel wrote ambiguous notes about his findings and failed to examine three litres of fluid discovered inside Mr Tomlinson.
The fluid proved to be crucial as, if it was mainly blood, this would have indicated Mr Tomlinson died as a result of bleeding from an internal rupture.
Dr Patel did not retain the fluid or test it but insisted during interviews with prosecutors that it was mainly other fluids stained with blood.
Dr Patel, who qualified in 1974 at the University of Zambia, quit academic and NHS posts in the late 1990s to become a private pathologist on the Home Office register.
His disciplinary hearing began last week and is listed to continue until September. He denies misconduct.
Boeing has unveiled its unmanned hydrogen-powered spy plane which can fly non-stop for up to four days.
The high-altitude plane, called Phantom Eye, can remain aloft at 20,000m (65,000ft), according to the company.
Later this summer, Phantom Eye will be shipped to NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., to begin a series of ground and taxi tests in preparation for its first flight in early 2011. That debut flight is expected to last between four and eight hours.
Boeing says the aircraft could eventually carry out "persistent intelligence and surveillance".
It is a product of the company's secretive Phantom Works research and development arm.
Boeing says the aircraft is capable of long endurance flights because of its "lighter" and "more powerful" hydrogen fuel system.
"The program is moving quickly, and it’s exciting to be part of such a unique aircraft," said Drew Mallow, Phantom Eye program manager for Boeing. "The hydrogen propulsion system will be the key to Phantom Eye's success. It is very efficient and offers great fuel economy, and its only byproduct is water, so it's also a 'green' aircraft."
Phantom Eye is powered by two 2.3-liter, four-cylinder engines that provide 150 horsepower each. It has a 150-foot wingspan, will cruise at approximately 150 knots and can carry up to a 450-pound payload.
Key Phantom Eye suppliers and partners include Ford Motor Company (engines); Aurora Flight Sciences (wing); Mahle Powertrain (propulsion controls); Ball Aerospace (fuel tanks); Turbosolutions Engineering (turbochargers); the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency; and NASA.
"Phantom Eye is the first of its kind and could open up a whole new market in collecting data and communications," said Darryl Davis, president of Boeing Phantom Works. "It is a perfect example of turning an idea into a reality. It defines our rapid prototyping efforts and will demonstrate the art-of-the-possible when it comes to persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The capabilities inherent in Phantom Eye's design will offer game-changing opportunities for our military, civil and commercial customers."
The Armed Forces will not have the resources to defend the UK from all potential future threats under new budget cuts, the Defence Secretary warned.
In a frank interview, Dr Liam Fox said the state of the public finances meant Britain could no longer be protected from every conceivable threat.
The Army has been asked to cut its budget by a reported 25 per cent and in his clearest indication yet of where the axe is likely to fall, Dr Fox suggested that troops could be pulled out of Germany for the first time since 1945.
Under threat: Defence Minister Liam Fox has questioned the RAF's need for a number of different transport aircraft and warns that their plans to buy transporter planes could be put on hold
And he said that plans to buy hi-tech naval warships and RAF transporter planes could be put on indefinite hold.
His comments suggested the cuts could reduce Britain's military capabilities to their lowest level since World War II.
'We don't have the money as a country to protect ourselves against every potential future threat,' Dr Fox told the Daily Telegraph.
'We just don't have it. I did not come into politics to see reductions in the Armed Forces but I also did not come into politics to see the destruction of the economy.'
Since 1940, Britain has maintained a sufficient military force to conduct all-out warfare, counter-insurgencies such as in Afghanistan, and medium-scale campaigns like the Falklands or Sierra Leone
In future Britain's military forces would be configured only for 'realistic potential future threats', he added.
Since 1940, the nation has maintained a sufficient military force to conduct all-out warfare, counter-insurgencies such as in Afghanistan, and medium-scale campaigns like the Falklands or Sierra Leone.
And it is committed to contributing forces to military campaigns under military pacts such as Nato.
But Dr Fox has signalled that it could have to abandon one of those capabilities if it is forced to slash its budgets.
There are currently 25,000 troops stationed in Germany, a force Dr Fox has previously said that he hoped to withdraw at some point.
'We have to look at where we think the real risks will come from, where the real threats will come from and we need to deal with that accordingly,' the minister said.
'The Russians are not going to come over the European plain any day soon.
'I would say, what do Challenger tanks in Germany and the costs of maintaining them and the personnel required to train for them, what does that contribute to what's happening in Afghanistan?'
Earlier this week, in a speech at Farnborough air show in Hampshire, Dr Fox admitted the MoD's equipment programme was 'entirely unaffordable' and indicated that the nation's fleet of warships, fighters and armoured vehicles should be reduced.
He criticised the fleet's obsession with hi-tech ships such as the Type 45 destroyer and questioned the number of different transport aircraft required by the RAF.
On Tuesday a National Audit Office report found that the MoD was already £500million over budget for the current financial year with 'insufficient funds to meet planned expenditure'.
Early indications show that as many as 30,000 servicemen could lose their jobs if the ministry is to meet departmental budget cuts.
But Dr Fox insisted any cuts would not mean redundancies for troops before the end of the fighting in Afghanistan.
Zeroing in on the pilot on the left, evidence of a pretty sloppy cutting job:
