Brian Gongol
Iowa's public-sector pension plan is only 80% funded
It was almost fully-funded at the start of the century, so something has to be done. Opinions differ -- the state treasurer, for instance, wants to put a cap on the amount that can be paid out to people who were high-income members of the program. But that may have the effect of discouraging people from taking those public-sector jobs if they can get cushier benefits in the private sector instead. At the same time, taxpayers probably aren't going to be very happy if they're asked to foot the bill for the shortfall...particularly if they're among the majority who have defined-contribution retirement plans instead of defined-benefit pensions. People are living longer than ever and we're in a very low-return investment environment. Something's going to have to change, because the devil-may-care habits of yesterday aren't suitable anymore.
Big password breach at Yahoo
Half a million passwords were stolen and posted on the Internet. The company was storing them -- irresponsibly -- in a non-encrypted database. Most people won't be affected, but it would be wise for anyone using any Yahoo services -- especially the email service -- to change their passwords.
Will the auto problem of the future be emissions or gridlock?
Bill Ford thinks (and is pushing his company to act upon the notion) that emissions will be reduced to practically zero within the foreseeable future. But he thinks the world's number of autos on the road will quadruple in the next 40 years, and that it will cause chaos in heavily-populated areas worldwide.
How 25 famous logos evolved into their current states
Not all are even any good -- but it's hard not to have a soft spot for the Shell logo. Something about it seems just outrageously friendly for a major oil company.
Show notes from the WHO Radio Wise Guys - July 14, 2012
