BlackRock CEO Larry Fink sent his annual letter to investors on Tuesday in which he cited the "immense strain" on Social Security amid the aging of the U.S. population and the need to reform the retirement system given its looming insolvency. Fink explained the economics behind Social Security‚ which collects taxes from people who are working to pay those in retirement who are receiving benefits: "During your working years‚ the government takes a portion of your income‚ then after you retire...

BlackRock Chair Larry Fink said capital markets can help solve a crisis brewing around the ability of Americans to afford retirement as lifespans elongate‚ and that the government can provide a basic safety net. In his annual letter to shareholders of the investing company overseeing $10 trillion in assets‚ Fink called the decreasing ability to retire in a financially sound way one of the biggest economic challenges of the mid-21st century. He said access to investing can help solve this...

With Americans living longer and spending more years in retirement‚ the nation's changing demographics are "putting the U.S. retirement system under immense strain‚" according to BlackRock CEO Larry Fink in his annual shareholder letter.  One way to fix it‚ he suggests‚ is for Americans to work longer before they head into retirement. "No one should have to work longer than they want to. But I do think it's a bit crazy that our anchor idea for the right retirement age — 65 years old...

Many kids are seriously struggling in school. According to US News‚ an estimated 49% of public students started off the 2022-2023 school year behind in at least one subject as last year. That’s only a small fraction better than the 50% of students behind in the previous year. And while there are several factors contributing to this issue—recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic‚ a lack of resources for many public schools‚ a teacher shortage‚ etc.—several educators feel that a majorly overlooked aspect is the parents' involvement‚ or lack thereof‚ in their child’s education. Recently‚ one former teacher bluntly stated that it was parents' “denial” that’s to blame. Odion‚ who now works as a flight attendant‚ made her case in response to another teacher asking parents “Why don’t y’all know that your kids aren’t performing on their grade level?” on TikTok. In the original video‚ the teacher (@qbthedon) laments that even though he teaches 7th grade‚ most of them still perform on a 4th grade level‚ and‚ despite his efforts‚ those kids still move onto the next grade. The worst part is that the parents don’t seem to be aware that their kids are struggling. @qbthedon Lets chat!! #fyp #viral #teachertok ♬ original sound - QBSkiiii This lack of awareness and engagement dates back further than the pandemic years‚ says Odion‚ who taught Pre-K and Kindergarten in 2013.Case in point: parent-teacher conference nights‚ where virtually no parent would show up. Odion then recalled one father who did attend with his daughter‚ called Tia for the story‚ but would not believe that Tia did not know the full alphabet."In kindergarten‚ you have to at least know‚ I think it was 80% of the 52 letters‚ as in uppercase and lowercase‚ and you have to be able to identify at random. So‚ I'm telling the dad that she barely knows 10 letters. And he's in denial. 'Nah‚ you know‚ she knows her letters‚'" Odion says. She then acts out that night‚ using a makeshift flashcard like she did to test Tia. "I literally said‚ 'What letter is this?'” Odion says while holding up the letter “M.” “She said something that's not it. Put another one down. 'What letter is this?' She don't know it."Even still‚ the dad insisted that Tia knew her letters‚ then eventually blamed Tia’s older brother‚ who‚ despite only being a sixth grader himself‚ was apparently “supposed to teach her.” “It is not up to a child in elementary school‚ or middle school‚ or really any of your older kids‚ as someone who's an older child... It is not up to the kids to teach younger kids‚” Odion says in the clip.Using another example‚ Odion states that a fifth grader in her class was reading at a kindergarten level and could only process basic sentences like “I see you” and “I like to see.”In this instance‚ the students should be held back in order to fully learn the year’s curriculum. But Odion argues that parents fight against it “because they are more concerned about the optics of a child being held back than actually taking care of the child's needs."In this instance‚ the students should be held back in order to fully learn the year’s curriculum. But Odion argues that parents fight against it “because they are more concerned about the optics of a child being held back than actually taking care of the child's needs."While the research shows that holding kids back a grade doesn’t necessarily improve their academic performance‚ and that there are pros and cons either way‚ the biggest point Odion seems to be trying to make is that parents need to be more proactive in their child’s education. "Parents‚ y'all can't be backseat drivers about your child's learning. You have to help reinforce it at home. You put a kid in front of that phone or iPad whenever they come home‚ it better be on YouTube‚ and it better be learning about letters and sight words. You can't tell me you can't read to the kid. It takes 10 minutes to read to the kid. No one is that busy‚” she concludes.Watch the full video below: @bodacious_bobo #stitch with @QBSkiiii ♬ original sound - Odion • $OdionE This article originally appeared on 1.5.24

Hollywood isn’t a place where people typically talk about their faith. In a world run by free-thinking creatives and people with secular‚ progressive values‚ those who hew to more traditional‚ conservative Christian beliefs tend to be less visible. But Mark Wahlberg has no problem being vocal about his Catholic faith‚ which must be refreshing to the approximately 61 million Catholics in America.Wahlberg spoke about the balance he has to strike between his private and professional life on the Today show on February 22‚ also known as Ash Wednesday to Christians. The “Boogie Nights” actor wore an ash cross on his forehead to commemorate the holy day.“It’s a balance‚” the 51-year-old actor said. “I don’t want to jam it down anybody’s throat‚ but I do not deny my faith. That’s an even bigger sin. You know‚ it’s not popular in my industry‚ but I cannot deny my faith. It’s important for me to share that with people. But‚ I have friends from all walks of life and all different types of faiths and religions‚ so it’s important to respect and honor them as well.” \u201cMark Wahlberg is joining us to talk about the Catholic prayer app \u2018Hallow‚\u2019 discusses fasting‚ opens up about why it\u2019s important for him to not deny his faith‚ shares why he doesn\u2019t force Catholicism onto his children‚ and more.\u201d — TODAY (@TODAY) 1677073808 He also believes in leading through his example instead of pressuring his four children to follow his faith.“I don’t force it on them‚” he said. “But they know that Dad can’t start the day without being in prayer‚ can’t start the day without reading my Scripture or going to Mass. And hopefully‚ instead of forcing that on them‚ they’ll say‚ ‘Well‚ if it works for Dad‚ maybe it’ll work for us‚’ and they’ll kind of gravitate towards it on their own.”Wahlberg can keep his faith strong while dealing with the pressures of Hollywood thanks to his relationship with Father Flavin‚ a parish priest who helped him make drastic changes in his life. As a young man‚ Wahlberg was a high school dropout who had multiple run-ins with the law. But Flavin has helped him turn his life around.“He’s been in my life since I was 13‚” Wahlberg said of Flavin. “He married me and my wife and baptized all my children.” It's also believed that Flavin helps Whalberg choose his movie roles that “honor his religious roots.”The “Father Stu” star says that his faith has helped him develop the discipline to be a successful actor."Discipline has always been important for me in life‚" he told Today. "Once I started getting into movies and transitioned from music‚ I realized I needed a lot of discipline in my life‚ and that discipline has afforded me so many other things. I’ve been rewarded for it so much‚ and I want to share that with people‚ whether that’s with fasting‚ working out more‚ detaching from other things and just spending more time with God‚ in prayer or in thoughtful reflection. Those things are important."Wahlberg’s ability to live a life in alignment with his faith is noble in an industry that can easily challenge one’s moral compass. It’s also noteworthy that has chosen to live by example instead of being preachy and is accepting of those who may believe differently.This article originally appeared on 2.24.23

Most states in the U.S. have oddly shaped boundaries‚ largely formed by meandering waterways and coastal irregularities. But two states stand out for their seemingly defiant rectangularness—Wyoming and Colorado.These almost-twin states share a border‚ are almost exactly the same size (Colorado is just 1.06 times larger than Wyoming)‚ boast basically the same shape and have the Rocky Mountains eating into a sizeable chunk of them. (Wyoming's share of mountains is a bit larger than Colorado's‚ but its topography isn't nearly different enough than Colorado's to account for how many fewer people it has.)Wyoming's population as of 2022 was estimated to be just over 580‚000‚ while Colorado's was estimated to be just over 5.8 million. Almost exactly a 10-fold difference between the two very similar states. So…why?Water resources? A logical guess‚ but nope. Both states contain the headwaters of multiple major rivers‚ and according to RealLifeLore‚ Wyoming actually has a slight edge over Colorado due to the way its freshwater is legally allocated. What makes Wyoming the least populous U.S. state despite being the country's 10th largest state by area has to do with the Gold Rush‚ agriculture‚ World War II‚ federal lands‚ the rise of the telecom industry‚ educational institutions‚ airplanes and more. It's a historical Tale of Two States that illustrates how twins with different upbringings can share many similarities but also end up with two very different life stories. Watch the folks at RealLifeLore explain the population discrepancy between Wyoming and Colorado: The one correction some people in the comments of the video offered up was that referring to the "mild" climate in Wyoming seems a bit misleading. Several people mentioned that the winter weather in Wyoming is harsher than in Colorado‚ which may account for fewer people wanting to live there. (However‚ considering the fact that there are more densely populated places in the world with exceptionally punishing winters‚ weather doesn't fully explain it‚ either.) It'll be interesting to see in another hundred years or so if these states' population trends change‚ but for now‚ Wyoming remains the least populous and most naturally undisturbed state. So if you're big on the outdoors and not so big on people‚ the Equality State (Side fun fact: Wyoming was the first state to give women the right to vote.) might just be the place for you. If you love the mountains but also people‚ Colorado may be more your speed. This article originally appeared on 5.10.23