World News and Trends: Huge bankruptcy rise among seniors
With rising prices of health care bills and basic living costs, the elderly are facing troubled economic times.
From 1991 to 2007, the rate of personal bankruptcy among those ages 65 or older jumped by 150%, according to AARP [the American Association of Retired Persons]. The most startling rise occurred among those ages 75 to 84, whose rates soared 433%" (USA Today, June 18, 2008). Medical bills are a huge factor. Experts believe that health care is the biggest factor in increasing bankruptcies among elderly Americans. A major health problem in old age can wipe out a person's savings and put one deeply in debt.
Many senior citizens, instead of entering retirement in good financial shape, are loaded with debt. Social security payments often are simply not high enough to meet rising costs of food, medicine and housing.
It's never too late to begin to get your personal finances back on track. If you do your part, according to the financial principles laid down in the Bible, God will help! He has resources at His fingertips that we cannot even imagine. (To see how, request our free booklet Making Life Work.) (Source: USA Today.)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: September - October 2008
Course Content
Jerold Aust
Jerold Aust has served in the ministry for 52 years, as a public speaker for 58 years, a published writer for 38 years, and is employed by UCG’s Media and Communications Services. He is a Senior Writer, interviewer, and editor for Beyond Today Magazine and has taught Speech Communication for UCG’s ministerial online program and the Book of Revelation for ABC.
Jerold holds a BA in theology from Ambassador College, Pasadena (1968), an MA in Communication from California State University, Fullerton (1995), a distance-learning Ph.D (2006), and a Famous Writers School diploma in non-fiction writing (1973). Additionally, he studied post-grad communication at University of Southern California (1995), radio, TV, voice-overs, and Public Relations at Fullerton College (1995-1996), and graduate communication at Wichita State University (1978). Jerold has taught communication at the University of South Alabama (7 years) and ABC (17 years). His published works include, Ronald Reagan’s Rhetoric: Metaphor as Persuasion and EZSpeakers: Public Speaking Made Easy in 7 Steps. Jerold's overarching goal is to share with humankind its incredible destiny!
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
