Current Events in July 2013

Market concerns over the Federal Reserve's bond purchase program is cited as a possible factor in a dip in mortgage rates this week.

Freddie Mac reports the average for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was down 14 basis points from the week before -- to 4.37% percent with an average 0.7 point. Last year at this time, it averaged 3.53%.

The 15-year FRM averaged 3.41% with an average 0.7 point, down from last week's 3.53%. A year ago, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.83%.

The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.17% this week with an average 0.6 point. Last week it averaged 3.26%. at this time last year, it averaged 2.69%.

The average this week for the 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM was 2.66% this week with an average 0.4 point -- the same as last week. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.69%.

"Fixed mortgage rates fell as Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke helped ease market concerns about the Fed reducing its bond purchases,” according to Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac. During a question and answer session following a speech on July 10th, Bernanke indicated that a highly accommodative monetary policy is what's needed in the U.S. economy.

"Indications of a slowing in the economic recovery also placed downward pressure on mortgage rates,” Nothaft added. “Consumer sentiment fell to a three month low in July while retail sales in June grew by only 0.4 percent, which was half of the market consensus forecast. In addition, housing starts fell in June to the slowest pace since August 2012."

Bankrate

Bankrate.com says disappointing reports on retail sales and housing starts resulted in mortgage rates pulling back from last week's 2-year high.

As tracked by Bankrate, the benchmark 30-year FRM, which has an average of 0.31 discount and origination points, slid to 4.56%.

The average 15-year FRM fell to 3.65%, while the larger jumbo 30-year FRM declined to 4.71%. Adjustable rate mortgages were mostly lower, with the popular 5-year ARM retreating to 3.56% and the 7-year rate falling to 3.87%. The 10-year ARM was the exception -- moving a touch higher to 4.08%.

Weaker economic data increases the odds the Fed holds off tapering its bond-buying stimulus. And further easing the upward pressure on interest rates this week were comments from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, who emphasized in an appearance before Congress that the tapering is not set in stone and the Fed is very adaptable to incoming economic data.

As recently as May 1, the average 30-year FREM was 3.52%. At that time, a $200,000 loan would have carried a monthly payment of $900.32. With the average rate currently at 4.56%, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $1,020.51, a difference of $120 per month for anyone who waited just a little too long.

Lucasfilm and Pixar have settled an anti-poaching suit, according to a report in the San Jose Mercury News.

The Mercury News says that the judge in the case “indicated she has received a letter from lawyers in the case disclosing the two companies have settled their part of the hotly contested case, leaving five companies in the litigation.”

“The order did not disclose the terms of the settlement,” the story says.

The settlement is part of an ongoing legal battle in which the software engineer plaintiffs claim that a number of companies agreed not to recruit -- or “poach” -- each other’s employees, thereby foreclosing job opportunities and also deflating salaries.

The original complaint, which alleged violations of the federal Sherman Antitrust Act and California’s Cartwright Act, claimed that Apple, Google, Intel, Adobe, Pixar, Lucasfilm, and Intuit were all privy to the agreement.

Class action status denied

In April, Judge Lucy Koh, of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, denied class action status to the suit, writing that the proposed class definition was too broad.

“The court is most concerned about whether the evidence will be able to show that the defendants maintained such rigid compensation structures that a suppression of wages to some employees would have affected all or nearly all class members,” Koh wrote.

"The court is also concerned that plaintiffs' proposed classes may be defined so broadly as to include large numbers of people who were not necessarily harmed by defendants' allegedly unlawful conduct.”

During the course of the litigation, it was revealed that Steve Jobs, Apple’s late CEO, wrote an email to Google’s Eric Schmidt in March 2007 asking that his company to stop recruiting Apple employees.

"I would be very pleased if [Google’s] recruiting department would stop doing this,” Jobs’s email said.

Everybody's watching everybody these days, which can be a good thing. Many new cars are equipped with backup cameras and lane-intrusion detectors that warn you if you're about to back over somebody or change into an occupied lane.

But what if someone is creeping up on you from behind?

This isn't a situation most of us encounter very often but police run into every now and then. While working surveillance or simply sitting at the curb watching traffic, cops are sometimes assaulted and even killed by bad guys who sneak up on them from behind.

Intermotive, a company that makes specialized equipment for public safety clients has come up with a solution. It's called Surveillance Mode and it uses the police car's backup camera and sensors to warn officers when someone is creeping up on them from behind.

When it detects a threat, the system raises the car windows, locks the doors and sounds an alarm. For now, it works only on Ford Police Interceptors. It also shows an image in the rearview mirror, allowing officers to keep an eye on what may be happening behind them.

A recent Harris poll found that, by and large, consumers were skeptical about the benefits of organic food and not eager to pay more for it.  In fact, the survey found that 59% of consumers believe labeling a food as “organic” is simply an excuse to charge more for it.

While that survey mostly measured attitudes about food and the environment, it turns out there may be reasons to be skeptical about the supposed health benefits of organic and locally-grown food as well.

A widely publicized 2012 Stanford University study concluded that organic food doesn't provide any health benefits over conventionally-produced food. The question that is seldom asked is whether organic food is as safe as conventional foods.

The answer, according to one critic of federal food safety efforts, is that it may not be. 

"The system lets so many foreign products in, organic consumers might as well save their money," said Mischa Popoff, a former organic food inspector, advisor to the Heartland Institute and author of "Is It Organic?" a self-published book that explores what Popoff says are shortcomings in organic food inspection and production.

Find a farmer

"It’s one thing to go out and find a farmer and buy directly but if you go to Whole Foods and buy something that's certified organic, it could be from Turkey," he said, noting the recent recall of pomegranate seeds grown in Turkey.

"You don’t know if it's safe. How do you know that the farmer didn’t use Round-Up, that he didn’t cheat, that there weren't human feces in his fields? There’s only a once-annual, announced inspection by agents of the USDA."

Since the USDA "outsources" inspection duties to independent contractors, there is no assurance that those inspectors are qualified, thorough or even honest, Popoff told ConsumerAffairs. Complicating matters further is that in countries that are part of the European Union (EU), the USDA accepts EU inspections on an "equivalency" basis, he said.

Farmers markets

 So should health-conscious consumers do all their shopping at local farmers' markets? Not according to Popoff. 

"The best thing about the farmers' market is that it provides you a chance to meet the farmers. Then you can go out to their farm and be your own eyes and ears," he said. "But beyond that, it's a hornet's nest. 

"You see a lot of reselling going on," Popoff said. "A farmer used to pay $50 a year for his table but now a lot of farmers' markets are like little strip malls. The farmer could be paying thousands of dollars a year for his table. So if he runs out of carrots, guess what? He's going to find carrots somewhere."

In fact, farmers' markets in most areas are the most unregulated part of the supply chain, Popoff argues: "There's no way to verify the food was really grown locally or that it's really organic. You're just taking the word of the guy who says he's a farmer."

Who's responsible?

Who's to blame? As usual, Congress gets much of the blame but Popoff says the USDA also needs to take a stronger hand and put its own inspectors into the field instead of relying on independent contractors.

The people in the USDA's national organic program offices have never gone out to do an actual inspection. "They've lost their connection to the world," Popoff said.

At its most basic level, inspection of food crops by USDA is supposed to make sure there are no uncomposted fecal matter -- human or animal -- in the food. That's because feces is at the root of many Salmonella, E. coli and other common contaminants yet he claimed USDA does not test as often as it should for fecal matter, choosing instead to run more expensive tests for Round-Up and other prohibited substances.

Popoff not popular

Not surprisingly, Popoff's view is not exactly popular in the organic movement. 

"Popoff is a conservative ideologue, a global warming denier, an ardent critic of hybrid automobiles, and has suggested that the American mortgage crisis that precipitated the financial meltdown was caused by 'overregulation,'" said Mark A. Kastel, codirector at the Wisconsin-based Cornucopia Institute.  

But Cornucopia stops short of dismissing everything Popoff says. Popoff suggests that the entire certification process is without merit and should be replaced with a testing protocol for prohibited toxic chemicals. 

“We think there is great merit in doing spot testing, as Congress required, and we have criticized the USDA for not having implemented testing until now, but it would be prohibitively expensive to test all farms and crops and would not substitute for other careful oversight protocols,” said Will Fantle, Cornucopia's research director.

The organic movement is at the moment sort of like the electric-car or open source software movements -- a relatively small group of ardent enthusiasts arguing over details that are at best obscure and at worst stultifying to the outside observer.

While Popoff may be seen as extreme by some, there is general agreement that -- with more than 8 million cases of food poisoning per year, according to federal health statistics -- food safety in the United States is embarrassingly inadequate.   

FDA catches flak

It's the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that is in charge of ensuring the safety of most food once it leaves the farm, and is therefore the agency that's on the receiving end of a lot of criticism whenever a major food contamination crisis erupts.

"The FDA is picking up the flack because the USDA doesn’t do its job," Popoff said. "Once it leaves a farm, it’s food not a crop or an animal. Once it's harvested it becomes an FDA problem. The FDA can't go back and fix everything the USDA should have caught in the first place."

Stung by consumer complaints about mileage that didn't come close to its claims, Ford is rolling out a series of software changes to its 2013 Ford C-Max, Fusion and Lincoln MKZ hybrids.

"I thought my 2013 C-MAX would be a Prius Killer? NOT! As a returning Ford buyer I feel deceived," said Ronald of South Portland, Maine, in a ConsumerAffairs story published in March. "Based on the advertised EPA estimates, I would have been ok with low 40's but 28-33 mpg is not even in the ballpark."

The company said letters will be going out by the end of the month to about 77,000 owners asking them to make an appointment with their dealer for a half-day of work updating the software.

Ford and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have claimed the cars can achieve 47 miles per gallon in combined highway and city driving but consumers say they haven't even come close to that lofty figure.

It will be better

Ford isn't saying what the mileage should be after the software upgrade but promises it will be better. Among the changes, which don't apply to plug-in hybrids, are these:

• The hybrids will automatically remain in electric-only mode to a top speed of 85 m.p.h., up from 62 m.p.h. now.
• Active grille shutters will close in cold weather or when the air conditioner is running to warm or cool the cabin faster, allowing the batteries to kick in sooner to run in electric mode.
• Fan speed will be reduced, requiring less fuel to operate.
• The engine will warm up 50% faster, which allows stop-start technology to work faster, saving fuel when the vehicle turns itself off when idled.

“Just as individual mileage can vary based on driving styles and environmental conditions, we expect fuel economy improvements will differ from customer to customer depending on individual driving habits,” said Raj Nair, group vice president, Global Product Development. “Customers should see the most improvement at highway speeds, during air conditioner use and operation in colder climates.”

Nair said the upgrade was not a direct result of the class-action lawsuits and consumer complaints.

"We are committed to continuously improving the fuel economy of our vehicles,” said Nair. “We believe these actions will provide our customers enhanced on-road fuel economy satisfaction.”

Sales surging

Despite the complaints about mileage, the Ford hybrids have been selling well. 

A safe-driving group has filed a 41-page lawsuit against Ford Motor Co., claiming that the MyFord Touch and MyLincoln Touch infotainment systems are defective and dangerous.

The Center for Defensive Driving (CDD) says that Ford knows about the defects but has not alerted potential customers. It also charges that the company has issued several technical service bulletins and extended the warranty on the system but has not launched a recall.

The Los Angeles-based organization is a not-for-profit educational group that offers free classes in defensive driving. It has no paid staff, according to its website. 

Frequent freeze-ups

In its suit, which seeks class action status, CDD says that it leased a 2013 F-150 Lariat pickup to document the problems, which included frequent freeze-ups, failure to respond to commands and poor connections with mobile phones and MP3 players.

The suit cites several complaints on file with the National Highway Traffic Safety Agency (NHTSA) and notes that a J.D. Power and Associates official has said that problems with the infotainment system contributed to Ford's decline in the firm's customer satisfaction ratings.

The systems, introduced by Ford in 2011, promised owners of Ford and Lincoln vehicles that they would have the ability to seamlessly operate audio controls, use a GPS navigation system, control climate systems and operate a Bluetooth-enabled device through the system.

“In theory, MyFord Touch is a brilliant idea and worth the premium that Ford charged its customers for the system,” said Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, the Seattle firm filing the suit. “In reality, the system is fundamentally flawed, failing to reliably provide functionality, amounting to an inconvenience at best, and a serious safety issue at worst.”

According to the suit, the system fails even while controlling crucial vehicle functions, such as the defroster and rear-view camera, which are controlled through the system, putting drivers and passengers at risk.

By now, you've probably noticed the license plate readers mounted on police cars. They're cameras, usually on the rear fenders of the police car, giving them a clear view of the license plates of cars in adjacent lanes.

Initially, the devices were used mostly to check against lists of stolen cars, those registered to wanted persons and, perhaps, parking ticket scofflaws.

But increasingly, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) says, the data gathered by the cameras is being fed into massive databases that contain the location information of many millions of innocent Americans stretching back for months or even years.

"This is what we have found after analyzing more than 26,000 pages of documents from police departments in cities and towns across the country, obtained through freedom of information requests by ACLU affiliates in 38 states and Washington, D.C.," the ACLU said in a statement. "License plate readers are just one example of a disturbing phenomenon: the government is increasingly using new technology to collect information about all of us, all the time, and to store it forever – providing a complete record of our lives for it to access at will."

The ACLU has published a report on its findings is now releasing all of the documents it has gathered and making it available through an interactive map, so that citizens can see what information their local police department has on them. 

Some uses are beneficial

The ACLU concedes that there are no doubt beneficial uses of the technology.

"We don’t object when they’re used to identify people who are driving stolen cars or are subject to an arrest warrant. But they should not become tools for tracking where each of us has driven," the civil-liberties group said.

But since the cameras take photos of every passing car, they gather information on people who are completely innocent, as this sample data from the ACLU studies show:

While one or two photos don't amount to much, over time the government is collecting a massive amount of information about Americans as they go about their daily chores. It would not be hard to imagine scenarios in which this data could be used improperly.

"The government doesn’t have a great track record of using this kind of information responsibly," the ACLU said in its report. "[T]he data can be abused for official purposes, like spying on protesters merely because they are exercising their constitutionally protected right to petition the government, or unofficial ones, like tracking an ex-spouse."

Limit retention time

What's the solution? The ACLU suggests that data not be saved unless it generates a "hit." In other words, if a license plate number is on a "hot list," any sighting of that plate should be retained while all other data should be promptly discarded.

"There is no need to store plates for months or years," ACLU argued.

Very few things you consume are calorie-free. Water is one. Many diet beverages also fall into that group. But when you see food packages labeled “fat-free,” remember that the product inside does have calories. In fact, chances are it also has some fat.

For a product to meet the guidelines to be labeled fat-free, it must contain less than 0.5g of fat per serving. True, that's not very much fat but if you ignore the serving size and end up eating several servings, the product is no longer even close to being fat-free.

“Reducing the amount of fat and saturated fat that you eat is one easy way to limit your overall calorie intake,” the NAtional Institutes of Health (NIH) says on its website. “However, eating fat-free or reduced-fat foods isn't always the answer to weight loss. This is especially true when you eat more of the reduced-fat food than you would of the regular item.”

Peanut butter comparison

If you need to reduce fat from your diet for health reasons, that's one thing. But thinking the reduced-fat food will help you lose weight is probably misguided. Food manufacturers make up for the lack of fat by adding flavor-enhancing sweetners and salt.

Consider this: two tablespoons of reduced fat peanut butter contain 187 calories. Two tablespoons of regular peanut butter contain 191 calories. When it comes to controlling your weight, it's the calories that matter.

For consumers who want to cut down on both fat and calories, nutritionists have begun promoting the creative use of herbs and spices. These flavor-enhancing additives can allow you to cut down on sugar, which adds calories, and sodium, which can raise blood pressure.

John Peters, professor of medicine at the University of Colorado, recently presented results from an experiment he conducted using meatloaf, vegetables and creamy pasta.

He concluded that adding just a small amount of everyday herbs and spices to vegetables and reduced-calorie meals may make those foods more appetizing to consumers. That, he told the 2013 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting & Food Expo, could ultimately help consumers cut down on dietary fat and select more foods in line with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

In Peters' study the test group of 150 subjects tasted the meal with full fat, which contained 610 calories, one with reduced fat, and one with reduced fat using everyday spices added such as onion, oregano, paprika and garlic. Both alternatives clocked in at 395 calories.

Putting it to the taste

How did they taste? The experiment rated the meals using a nine-point Likert scale. The meals were randomized so nobody knew which of the three they were eating.

The analysis of the experiment found the test subjects could not tell the difference between the full-fat meal and the reduced-fat meal with spices. Both scored about a 7.0 on the scale.

When subjects tasted just the meatloaf, they picked the reduced-fat version with herbs and spices, giving it a slight edge over the meatloaf with full fat. The same held true for the vegetables.

Only the creamy pasta tasted better with its full complement of fat. Peters urged the food industry to continue studying the relationship between herbs and spices and dietary satisfaction.

“Substituting herbs and spices for fat may be a promising strategy for helping people meet the Dietary Guidelines, especially if it’s simple stuff you can buy in the store that doesn’t require any exotic training,” Peters said.

Industry sources report strong sales of used light trucks through the first six months of 2013, resulting in fewer bargains on the used car lot.

"June closed out the first half of the year with average auction prices of used vehicles up to eight years in age nearly equal to last year's level," said Jonathan Banks, executive automotive analyst with the NADA Used Car Guide. "Given the stability observed in used-vehicle prices year-to-date, we expect to close out the year with prices essentially unchanged from the historically high average of $15,664 in 2012."

While average prices of some used car classes dipped or stayed the same, full-sized pickups and SUVs saw a substantial 7.7% price hike. If you are in the market for a used pickup, it might be helpful to read what other owners have to saw about a particular model. Keep in mind that complaints are often anecdotal, but sometimes they can suggest areas for further research before signing on the dotted line.

Positive report

Keith, of Sussex, N.J., reports his 2010 GMC 3500HD SLE-2 4WD 6.0L has held up well, despite the fact that he's put lots of miles on it in a short period of time.

“Carry two tons in the bed more than once a month,” Keith writes in a ConsumerAffairs post. “Added an extra trans cooler. Nothing but good things to say.”

It's his second GMC and he says he's had good luck with both.

“The only issue is brake pad chatter over bumpy conditions,” he reports. “Slight touch of the brake pad make it go away.”

Christopher, of Rockaway, N.J., reports brake problems with his Chevy Silverado. He says his wife was driving the truck, which had 92,000 miles, when the brakes failed at a stop sign.

Rusted brake lines

“When I checked the truck, I saw a leak from one of the rear brake lines and noted that all the other brake lines had severe rust too,” he writes. “Additionally, the brake warning light did not come on before this incident and only came on later as I transported the truck to a repair facility, after filling up the brake reservoir. There was absolutely no warning of any incident with the brakes before they failed and from what I have found out, this is a known issue to Chevrolet and there is an engineering investigation going on through the NHTSA but no recall has been issued yet.”

Christopher said he finds it odd that Chevrolet used stainless steel in the exhaust system to avoid rust issues but did not use the same material for an important system like brake lines.

Some automotive complaints center, not so much on the vehicle's systems, but on cosmetics. Larry, of Bonne Terre, Mo., reports his recent vintage Nissan extended cab has a passenger door that won't open.

'Cheap plastic'

“I have the door panel off and can see everything seems to be working just stuck, so I pulled hard on the outside handle, it came off,” Larry writes. “Cheap plastic! How do you get these things open without using the jaws of life?”

Brian, of Rio Rancho. N.M., has a 2006 Ford F150 and was relatively pleased until the engine started running rough and the check engine light came on.

“Took it to my buddy's shop where he ran a check and told me three spark plugs are bad and that happens when it goes over 100,000 miles,” he writes. “The bad part is I only have 92,000 miles.”

You may recall that Ford had a problem with its 1997 to 2002 model trucks spitting out spark plugs, resulting in costly repairs. Meanwhile, the apparent demand for used full-sized pickups could mean your wheels are worth more in a trade-in.

"Seasonal effects aside, consumers should expect trade-in prices to remain high through at least the end of the year, especially for full-size pickups and SUVs because of lower supply and increased demand from a recovery in construction," Banks said.

First-time claims for state unemployment benefits posted a big decline in the week ending July 13.

Government figures show there were 334,000 initial applications -- a drop 24,000 from the previous week's 358,000. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had been expecting 348,000 filings.

Analysts say the big drop is likely due to seasonal adjustment problems related to auto plant shutdowns for retooling that are not occurring in their usual fashion this year.

The 4-week moving average, which is not as volatile as the weekly numbers and is considered a better gauge of the labor market, fell by 5,259 from last week to 346,000.

The complete report is available on the Department of Labor website.

Chrysler is recalling 184 model year 2013 Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan vehicles manufactured June 11, 2013, through June 12, 2013.

The occupant restraint control module (ORC) has incorrect software installed which may adversely affect air bag deployments in collisions. An air bag that does not deploy, or deploys improperly, may increase the risk of injury.

Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the ORC module, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin in August 2013.

Owners may contact Chrysler at 1-800-247-9753. Chrysler's recall campaign number is N48.

Toyota is recalling 74 model year 2012 Yaris vehicles manufactured August 21, 2011, through August 31, 2011.

A relay in the Power Steering Control Module of the electronic power steering system could experience a short circuit due to insufficient distance between terminals in the relay and moisture contamination of relay coil windings. A short circuit in the relay could disable power steering assistance, increasing the risk of a crash.

Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the power steering control module. The recall is expected to begin in late July 2013.

Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.

"From Bergdorf's to Filene's" is how one official described the cost of health insurance in New York under Obamacare. New Yorkers, traditionally hard to shock, are still assimilating the news that the average individual health insurance premium will fall 50 percent next year when the Affordable Care Act takes effect.

"Health insurance has suddenly become affordable in New York,” said Elisabeth Benjamin, vice president for health initiatives with the Community Service Society of New York, according to The New York Times. 

Gov. Mario M. Cuomo broke the news, as he announced that state insurance regulators have approved rates for 2014 that are at least 50 percent lower on average than those currently available. 

“New York’s health benefits exchange will offer the type of real competition that helps drive down health insurance costs for consumers and businesses,” said Cuomo. “The opportunity to choose among affordable, quality health insurance options will mean improved health outcomes, stronger economic security, and better peace of mind for New York families.”

New Yorkers who now pay $1,000 a month or more for insurance will be able to find policies for as little as $308 per month. Federal subsidies for low-income people will drive their out-of-pocket cost down ever further.

“In setting these rates, we worked hard to do right by consumers and small businesses so they have access to affordable, quality health insurance," said Benjamin M. Lawsky, Superintendent of Financial Services. "Moreover, where New York previously had a dizzying array of thousands upon thousands of plans, small businesses will now be able to truly comparison shop for the best prices. New York will continue to move ahead rapidly so the exchange is up and running for 2014.”

Invisible hand or iron fist?

How can this be? Is it that fabled invisible hand of the marketplace? Or is the iron fist of the state?

Well, it's actually a little of each. It's competition, something that has been sadly lacking in health insurance recently, and it's being stimulated by the state health insurance exchanges established under Obamacare, as it's widely known.

The New York situation mirrors that in the biggest megastate of all -- California, which was quick to set up its health insurance exchanges. In the most competitive markets, like Los Angeles, a 25-year-old could pay as little as $190 per month for a basic plan, much less than had been expected.

Insurers have been rushing to get in on the action, not wanting to see Blue Cross Blue Shield and other big players wrap up the market. New York says it has approved 17 insurers to sell individual policies in the state, eight of them new to New York.

Small-business premiums will not fall as sharply as individual premiums but they are much lower to start with, insurance experts note.

When the World War II generation returned from war after 1945 America faced a housing shortage. Many ex-GIs and their wives moved in with parents or in-laws out of necessity. It wasn't until housing developments like Levittown, N.Y., sprang up that they began to move out and into homes of their own.

Their children, the Baby Boomers, couldn't wait to get out of the house and out from beneath their authoritarian parents. As soon they could they left home and returned only for visits.

For Boomers' kids, however, things are a little different. Good jobs are fewer than in years past and the cost of living is high. The Millennial generation has more in common with their Boomer parents and the two generations seem to get along. In a word, for an adult child moving back home it is comfortable. Maybe too comfortable.

“What I find in talking to my friends with children of this age, parents really are willing to help their kids out as far as they can,” said Janet Bodnar, an editor at Kiplinger who writes about families' financial matters. “Starting out, it looks like a win-win situation.”

Set expectations

Yes, the kids return to the comfort of home. And Mom and Dad, truth be told, actually like having them around, at least for a while. But the secret to making this arrangement work, says Bodnar, is making it clear from the get-go that it's temporary. It's part of the process of setting out expectations and that requires answers to a few questions.

“How is this relationship going to work?” Bodnar said. “What do you expect the kids to do and what are you willing to do in return?”

For example, if the kids are working are they going to pay rent or contribute financially to the household? If they're not working do you expect them to contribute any services in-kind? In Bodnar's case her youngest son has moved back home while attending graduate school. He earns his keep by performing household chores and providing on-site tech support for his parents.

Helping with the job search

Some kids move back home when they start a job search. Bodnar says parents can be helpful but should be careful not to overdo it. She recalls an incident in which one parent actually accompanied her adult child to a job interview.

If you have counseled your children about job-hunting skills in the past, it doesn't hurt to remind them of it, even if they seemed to reject your advice when they were younger.

“When they get out into the real world, suddenly all this advice begins to make sense to them,” she said.

If an adult child has returned home and is unemployed, parents might feel like they need to provide financial support, in addition to putting a roof over their head. If so, they are not alone. A Pew Research study on intergenerational living found that 48% of parents of adult children had helped their children financially in the previous year.

Skin in the game

But here it's especially important to have clear ground rules.

“Kids always have to have some skin in the game,” Bodnar said. “You don't want to give them carte blanche and pay for everything.”

This should be negotiated upfront. For example, Bodnar says her son is on her family cell phone plan but when it's time to upgrade a phone, he pays for it. If a child isn't paying rent, she suggests having them pick up one of the household expenses, like the cable bill.

Having an adult child move back home can be nice for parents, as long as it's temporary and it doesn't strain finances. After all, the parents may have economic problems of their own and other family pressures.

“You can not jeopardize your own retirement or, if you have younger kids still in school, you can't be expected to support them in the way in which they've become accustomed forever,” Bodnar said.

That's why when a boomerang kid returns, a frank and open discussion should be the first order of business.

It isn't just older folks who should be worried.

New research in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension finds the risk of elevated blood pressure among children and adolescents rose 27 percent during a thirteen-year period.

The culprits may be higher body mass, larger waistlines and eating too much sodium or salt.

High blood pressure is a risk factor for stroke, heart disease and kidney failure and accounts for about 350,000 preventable deaths a year in the U.S.

"High blood pressure is dangerous in part because many people don't know they have it," said Bernard Rosner, Ph.D., lead author of the study and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. "It's a very sneaky thing. Blood pressure has to be measured regularly to keep on top of it."

What's 'normal?'

In adults age 20 and older, blood pressure should normally be less than 120/80 mm Hg. However, among children and teens blood pressure norms vary according to age, sex and height.

While the researchers noted "elevated" readings, the children could not be called hypertensive because blood pressure readings must be high three times in a row for an official diagnosis.

Researchers compared more than 3,200 children ages 8-17 in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) III in 1988-1994 with more than 8,300 in NHANES in 1999-2008. They accounted for differences between the two groups in age, sex, race/ethnicity, body mass, waistline and sodium intake.

The findings

Researchers found:

• Boys were more likely to have elevated blood pressure, but the rate increased more markedly in girls from the first study to the second.
• More children were overweight in the second study, and both sexes -- especially girls -- had bigger waistlines.
• Children whose body mass or waistline measurements were in the top 25 percent for their age group were about twice as likely to have elevated blood pressure as children with measurements in the bottom 25 percent.
• Black children had a 28 percent higher risk of elevated blood pressure than non-Hispanic white kids.
• In both studies, children with the greatest sodium intake were 36 percent more likely than those with the lowest intake to have elevated blood pressure.
• More than 80 percent of children in both studies had a daily sodium intake above 2,300 milligrams; however, fewer children in the later study had an intake above 3,450 milligrams.

"Everyone expects sodium intake will continue to go up," Rosner said. "It seems there's been a little bit of listening to dietary recommendations, but not a lot."

What to do

Americans eat an average 3,400 milligrams of sodium daily -- more than twice the 1,500 or less that the American Heart Association recommends. Two-thirds of sodium intake is from store-bought foods and one-quarter from restaurant offerings.

Studies have linked excessive sodium in the diet to high blood pressure, and have suggested reducing sodium intake in children's and adolescents' can lower average systolic (top number) blood pressure by 1.2 mm Hg and average diastolic (bottom number) pressure 1.3 mm Hg.

With the end of July fast approaching, there's only a little time left before college freshmen start heading off to campus.

So right now a lot of students are walking the aisles of department stores and gathering all they'll need to face their first semester away from home. And many times, Mom and Dad will be footing the bill.

Whether they spend money on knickknacks for their child's dorm room, on footlockers to pack a lot of stuff or a bunch of new clothes, parents will definitely shell out some major bucks for the college experience. And that's before the student sets foot on campus.

How much?

But what will the costs be after that?

According to EasyFianance.com, the average yearly cost for a public four-year college in the United States is $25,892, if the student is from out of state. A private four-year school runs about $31,915 a year.

If you choose to go in-state, a public four-year school will cost $17,227 on average and a public two-year in state school will run $9,541 -- but only if you choose to live off-campus.

Just the start

But tuition is just one of the expenses that parents and students will face.

Yearly health costs for one student will run $2,200. Books will cost $1,137. A computer will run about $1,000. Clothing and other items from the book store will cost $826 and having a social life will set each student back about $520 a year.

Got a car? Add about $500 each year. And attending sporting events will cost about $230, so there will be costs coming for parents and students from all directions.

Show me the money

Research shows there are currently 19.7 million students in the United States attending college -- 11.2 million women and 8.5 million men. And most of them will have to find ways to come up with the money they'll need.

Student borrowing is the most popular way of paying tuition; the average amount a student will borrow is $5,692 a year. Separately, parents will borrow about $3,396 a year and through savings and their personal income, parents will contribute an additional $2,261 yearly.

A good number of students will use their own income to help pay for school; the average amount they'll pay is $8,752 a year. Some will get help from their relatives ($2,314 a year). Others will use grants and scholarships ($1,682 a year) to get the money they need.

So from various sources, a lot of students will be able to gather the funds to pay for school, but for most folks, that's where the financial fun just begins.

Student debt

During the course of four years, many students will think about the debt they'll eventually have to pay off, but they'll probably put those thoughts on mental back burners. 

But somewhere between the graduation ceremony ending and the real world beginning, paying off that debt will be moved to the front burner. Researchers say the average amount of debt a student graduates with is about $25,250 -- an increas of 50% over the past 10 years.

Moreover, 45% of students fail to graduate but are still left with huge loans to pay back.

Out of all students who attended a 4-year school in 2010, two-thirds were left with a student debt, and since 1999 student debt has gone up by 511%.

Paying off debt

Just how are graduates paying off their debt? A lot of them are moving back home to make payments easier.

Statistics show that 85% of college grads move back in with their parents, becoming boomerang kids; in 2010 the unemployment rate for new college graduates was 9.1%.

However, many people will say the high cost of college is worth it, as statistics show that college graduates will earn about 85% more than high school graduates. But some  will have it better than others.

Currently, the college majors with the highest unemployment rate are, clinical psychology, fine arts, U.S. history, library science, military technologies, educational psychology, architecture, industrial and organizational psychology, linguistics and comparative literature.

As far as master's degrees are concerned, geology, nursing, public health, business administration, biology, medicine, physical therapy, economics and civil engineering are some of the highest-paying majors.

Lowering costs

Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia of Colorado says it'll take the efforts of Washington and local communities to get schools to lower tuition.

"One thing we need to do is avoid placing blame and figure out how to find a solution, because it's in our shared interest to do so" said Garcia in a published interview. "We do have to control costs and provide more state resources to the schools so they don't have to raise tuition, and we have to pressure schools to be innovative, to look for ways to provide education at a lower cost to students while not compromising their quality."

In addition, Garcia says we'll all have to view higher education differently from here on in, and solve the problem of high tuition costs together, not individually.

"We have to convince voters that it's an investment that's worth making, and I don't think most voters are buying that just yet," he said. "They view Higher Ed as an individual responsibility; they don't see the collective community benefit that we all get when and individual receives and education."

Companies advertise in order to build brand awareness with consumers. When it's decision time, the company is hoping the consumer will pick its brand.

That's how companies sell everything from beans to automobiles and yes, even health benefit policies. A study by HealthPocket, a company that rates health care policies, has completed a study of how individual policies stack up in the the government's Medicare plan quality star system. In particular, it focused on one well-known and widely-used branded Medicare Advantage program. 

“We found that plans bearing the AARP brand in the Medicare Advantage market on average fall short of the industry in two measures of plan quality,” the study said.

More than 14 million Americans have Medicare Advantage plans, which supplement coverage under traditional Medicare. The plans are growing in popularity compared to traditional Medicare, and consumers who choose Medicare Advantage coverage have a variety of plan options to compare before making a final decision.

According to HealthPocket, consumers usually base their choices on multiple factors, including premium cost and finding their physician in a plan network. The Medicare plan quality star rating system ranks plans by assigning them a number of stars.

In the middle of the bunch

Out of five possible stars, HealthPocket says 85 percent of AARP's plans fell into the 3.0-3.5 range, with 8.7 percent in the 4.0 range and no plans achieving an excellent 4.5 or 5.0 score. At the same time, 31 percent of non-AARP plans achieved a score of 4.0 or higher.

Sheila, of Boynton Beach, Fla., signed up with AARP's United Healthcare Medicare Advantage and finds the requirement of pre-authorization for drug approval, which can take up to 72 hours, doesn't work well in her case.

“I am suffering with blood clots, which can be very dangerous,” she writes in a ConsumerAffairs post. “If I don't take the drug, I could easily suffer an embolism that will end my life. I can understand the need for an authorization on a controlled substance. They insist that a prescription from my doctor will not suffice as authorization. I do not write my own prescriptions. If a doctor does, why is this not considered authorization?”

Bill, of Livonia, Mich., says his doctor hates his AARP policy and he is coming to share that view.

'Polite but incompetent'

“I find their telephone customer service to be very polite but incompetent,” Bill writes. “I've called five times over the last five weeks to check on my application and on the fifth call, they said they have never received a completed application. All other calls they said it was in progress. Also, I tried to apply using their website but it wouldn't work. So I faxed my application and they lost it. I will seek insurance elsewhere.”

According to the HealthPocket study, the highest-performing competitors  were nonprofit health plans, including Kaiser; Gunderson Lutheran Health System; Baystate Health; and HealthPartners, Inc. Certain for-profit plans also had higher average contract scores than AARP, including Humana and Aetna, the report said.

"Having health plan options can save money and improve quality of care, but it can also make decisions tough for consumers," said Steve Zaleznick, Executive Director for Consumer Strategy and Development at HealthPocket. "While going with a well-known brand can bring peace of mind, consumers also have tools they can use to help weigh costs and quality objectively, including for plans with less familiar names."

The Medicare plan star-rating system is a tool consumers can use to compare plans. The rating provides a one to five – actual results start at two stars -- scoring system for Medicare Advantage Plans. The overall rating reflects treatment, preventive care, and customer satisfaction collected on the Medicare Advantage plan.