In the post-Newtown debate over mental illness, a distraught and exhausted mother has written a chilling article describing life with her troubled son and the health care system's shortage of options. The boy, "Michael," remains undiagnosed, and despite medication he continues to exhibit a hair-trigger temper. His mother says Michael shares characteristics with gunman Adam Lanza and other mass killers, and during his unpredictable episodes he makes frightening and violent threats. The mother's lack of help is typified by her meeting with a social worker who informed her that their best option is to get Michael charged with a crime, because "That’s the only way you’re ever going to get anything done. No one will pay attention to you unless you’ve got charges."

The entire article is republished below with permission from "The Blue Review."

Friday’s horrific national tragedy—the murder of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in New Town, Connecticut—has ignited a new discussion on violence in America. In kitchens and coffee shops across the country, we tearfully debate the many faces of violence in America: gun culture, media violence, lack of mental health services, overt and covert wars abroad, religion, politics and the way we raise our children. Liza Long, a writer based in Boise, says it’s easy to talk about guns. But it’s time to talk about mental illness.

Three days before 20 year-old Adam Lanza killed his mother, then opened fire on a classroom full of Connecticut kindergartners, my 13-year old son Michael (name changed) missed his bus because he was wearing the wrong color pants.

“I can wear these pants,” he said, his tone increasingly belligerent, the black-hole pupils of his eyes swallowing the blue irises.

“They are navy blue,” I told him. “Your school’s dress code says black or khaki pants only.”

“They told me I could wear these,” he insisted. “You’re a stupid bitch. I can wear whatever pants I want to. This is America. I have rights!”

Energizer CEO Klein sees 2012 compensation jump 47 percent

Energizer Holdings Inc. CEO Ward Klein earned $9.5 million in total compensation in fiscal 2012, up 47 percent from 2011, according to a regulatory filing.

His 2012 earnings were comprised of a $1.1 million salary, $4 million in stock awards, $1.7 million in non-equity incentive plan compensation, $2.6 million in increased pension value and nonqualifed deferred compensation earnings and $213,426 in other compensation, which includes company matching accruals in savings plans, term life insurance premiums and perquisites such as personal use of company aircraft and personal financial advisory services.

On Nov. 8, Energizer Holdings announced that it planned to reduce its global workforce by more than 10 percent, or approximately 1,500 people, as part of a restructuring it announced in September.

Energizer Holdings, Inc. Announces Multi-Year Restructuring Program Estimated Gross Annualized Pre-Tax Cost Savings of approximately $200 Million


ST. LOUIS, Nov. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Energizer Holdings, Inc. (ENR) today announced that its Board of Directors authorized an enterprise-wide restructuring plan and has delegated authority to the company's management to determine the final plan with respect to these initiatives.

Energizer expects to achieve gross annualized pre-tax cost savings of approximately $200 million as a result of this restructuring project. The Company expects that nearly three quarters of the savings will improve profitability, and the remaining portion of the savings will be invested in the business to drive long-term growth. The Company estimates one-time charges associated with achieving these benefits to be approximately 1.25 times gross annualized savings, of which approximately 25% to 30% are estimated to be non-cash charges.

The Company expects that a substantial portion of the actions necessary to achieve the targeted savings should be completed by the end of fiscal 2014 and the total savings are expected to be fully realized in fiscal 2015. A majority of the one-time charges associated with these initiatives are expected to be recorded within the next 12 to 18 months as restructuring costs will likely be incurred ahead of achieving estimated savings (see exhibit - schedule of savings and costs estimates).

These actions are expected to reduce the global workforce by more than 10%, or approximately 1,500 colleagues.

In a recent speech to business leaders at a conference in Washington, D.C., Vanguard chief economist Joseph Davis, Ph.D., shared his thoughts on why, despite serious fiscal and economic challenges, the United States may be in the midst of a new industrial revolution—one that could provide the engine for sustained growth.
An edited transcript of Mr. Davis's speech is presented here; you can view a video of his full remarks on Vanguard's website for institutional investors.
Good morning, and welcome. I am honored to speak with you today.

Cautious optimism and the light in the tunnel
With this as a backdrop, what is Vanguard's long-term outlook for the U.S. economy? In two words: cautious optimism.

Yes, amid all the talk of doom and gloom, I see flickers of light at the end of the tunnel, but my near-term outlook is a very cautious one, marked by serious downside risks, given the fiscal challenges here and around the world.

As I look out over the horizon, over the next five or 10 years or even longer, I see another economic future that few are talking about—one that could, just could, return our economy back to that white light. It's driven by a force that has been more than a generation in the making; a powerful, underappreciated force that has the potential to raise the standard of living for all of mankind, and that will reshape the world; a force that, like its predecessors, has the U.S. in the front, not in the back; a force that is not local but global; and a force whose positive and powerful impact on productivity and growth has only just begun.

Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer, plans to begin denying health insurance to newly hired employees who work fewer than 30 hours a week, according to a copy of the company’s policy obtained by The Huffington Post.

Under the policy, slated to take effect in January, Walmart also reserves the right to eliminate health care coverage for certain workers if their average workweek dips below 30 hours -- something that happens with regularity and at the direction of company managers.

Walmart declined to disclose how many of its roughly 1.4 million U.S. workers are vulnerable to losing medical insurance under its new policy. In an emailed statement, company spokesman David Tovar said Walmart had “made a business decision” not to respond to questions from The Huffington Post and accused the publication of unfair coverage.

Labor and health care experts portrayed Walmart’s decision to exclude workers from its medical plans as an attempt to limit costs while taking advantage of the national health care reform known as Obamacare. Among the key features of Obamacare is an expansion of Medicaid, the taxpayer-financed health insurance program for poor people. Many of the Walmart workers who might be dropped from the company’s health care plans earn so little that they would qualify for the expanded Medicaid program, these experts said.