By Richard Rubin; Bloomberg ~ Dec 16, 2014

(Bloomberg) — The U.S. Senate passed a $42 billion package of tax incentives, reviving dozens of lapsed breaks for 2014 and setting them to expire two weeks from tomorrow.

After the 76-16 vote, the bill heads to President Barack Obama. The House passed the measure Dec. 3 on a 378-46 vote.

Congress will have the “dubious distinction” of starting next year with all of the provisions expired, said Senator Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican who is poised to become chairman of the Senate Finance Committee in January.

“Congress is turning in its tax homework eleven-and-a-half months late and expects to earn full credit.” Oregon Senator Ron Wyden

If You’re Older Than 65, Add $1,200 to Your Standard Federal Deduction

By Tom Herman; The Wall Street Journal ~ Dec 14, 2014

Q: What will the standard deduction be for this year for a married couple, both over 65?

P.B., Port St. Lucie, Fla.

A:Assuming you and your spouse will be filing your federal income-tax return jointly, the standard deduction for you and your spouse will be $14,800 for the 2014 tax year, says Mark Luscombe, principal federal tax analyst for Wolters Kluwer, WTKWY -1.05% CCH. This refers to federal income-tax returns to be filed next year for 2014.

Here is how that is calculated: The basic standard deduction is $12,400 for married couples filing jointly for the 2014 tax year. (For singles, it’s $6,200.) There are additional amounts for those who are 65 or older, or blind. The IRS website has more details.

By Robert J. Samuelson; The Washington Post ~ Dec 14, 2014

Has the monster of exploding health costs finally been slain? After five years of slow spending growth, it’s tempting to think so. This would be a momentous development, because rising health spending has had damaging side effects. It has reduced workers’ take-home pay, as employers devoted more compensation dollars to insurance and fewer to wages and salaries. Growing government health spending (mainly through Medicare for the elderly and Medicaid for the poor) has had a similar effect. It has squeezed other public programs.

By Brandon Bailey; The Associated Press ~ Dec 14, 2014

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — As soon as Mark Kim found out his personal information was compromised in a data breach at Target last year, the 36-year-old tech worker signed up for the retailer’s free credit monitoring offer so he would be notified if someone used his identity to commit fraud.

Someone did. The first monitoring report showed crooks opened accounts in his name at Macy’s and Kohl’s department stores, where they racked up more than $7,000 in charges. “My heart basically sank,” he said. Over the next seven months the New York City resident spent hours on the phone, most of a day in a police station filing a report, and countless time sending documents to banks and credit reporting agencies to clear his credit history.

Dan Jones; Light Reading ~ Dec 11, 2014

AT&T has expanded 4G voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) services to parts of South Carolina and is promising more markets and interoperability work in 2015.

“AT&T has rolled-out VoLTE and HD Voice in select areas in the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, with more to come,” writes John Donovan, senior executive vice president of AT&T Technology and Operations in a blog post.

By Mark Miller; Reuters ~ Dec 11, 2014

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Wall Street banks, automakers and insurance giants got bailouts during the economic meltdown that started in 2008. But when it comes to the pensions of retired truck drivers, construction workers and mine workers, it seems that enough is enough.

The $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill moving through Congress this week adopts “Solutions Not Bailouts,” a plan to shore up struggling multiemployer pension funds – traditional defined benefit plans jointly funded by groups of employers in industries like construction, trucking, mining and food retailing.

A bailout, it is not. The centerpiece is a provision that would open the door to cutting current beneficiaries’ benefits, a retirement policy taboo and a potential disaster for retirees on fixed incomes.

By Roy Beveridge, MD; Forbes ~ Dec 10, 2014

One recent analysis by the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics found that people aged 65-79 receive more than 27 prescriptions for new drugs per year.

Let me say that again: Twenty-seven prescriptions per year. Not only is this a high number, it’s also a concern. Consider the possible drug interactions and side effects. One report found that the number of pain-relieving narcotic prescriptions for seniors rose more than 20% over a five-year period.

I witnessed this problem firsthand during 20 years of practicing oncology. I remember one patient, “Alice,” a 93-year-old who was being seen by too many physicians. When she came to my office, she brought a plastic shopping bag filled with the 15 different medications that were prescribed to her by her nine physicians. Alice told me that she spent a lot of her day just figuring out which medicines to take, and usually guessed. It took me most of the appointment to determine what she was on and for what conditions. I took her off 10 medications.

By Ben Steverman; Bloomberg ~ Dec 10, 2014

Congress is set to vote on a $1.1 trillion spending bill this week, one with a troubling provision for U.S. retirees. If the bill passes, the promised retirement benefits of millions of workers could be slashed. The knee-jerk reaction: Fear that it could set a dangerous precedent and lead to more widespread cuts in retiree pension benefits. Is that realistic? Here’s what it really boils down to.

Is my pension going away?

By Tom Murphy & Tom Raum; The Associated Press ~ Dec 10, 2014

WASHINGTON (AP) — Retirees covered by financially troubled multiemployer pensions could soon see their benefits cut under a congressional spending deal to keep the government running.

Architects of the proposal said it was the best way to keep the pension plans viable and benefits flowing to retirees.

“We have a plan here that first and foremost works for the members of the unions, the workers in these companies and it works for the companies,” said Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., who worked the deal out with Rep. John Kline, R-Minn.

But it quickly drew fire from some labor unions and AARP, who denounced what they call backroom deal-making that will create hardships for older Americans.

A vote on the overall spending plan was expected before week’s end.