Of Human Interest: News lite

STATES ALL OVER WELFARE REFORM MAP

Wyoming, Idaho, Wisconsin, Florida and Illinois have done it but Nevada, Rhode Island, Indiana, Hawaii and Arizona are having troubles significantly reducing their welfare rolls.

Since welfare reform hit the books in 1996, welfare rolls have fallen more than 60 percent nationwide but it varies state to state.

The National Center for Policy Analysis says another 1 out of every 6 people or 15 percent of those on welfare could have gotten off the public dole had the worst performing states just managed to do as well as the average state.

Wyoming tops the success list with a 95 percent reduction and Nevada brings up the rear at 27 percent.

The NCPA study says more than half of all remaining welfare recipients live in states that lack stiff work requirements -- such as New York and California, which continue to provide a variety of benefits regardless of work

status.

COPING WITH THE ECONOMIC DOLDRUMS

Some 82 percent of 431 North American businesses surveyed said last year they coped with the economic downturn by reducing salary increases, cutting jobs or freezing opening positions.

The Watson Wyatt Worldwide survey also polled more than 3,000 employees and found most would rather give up their stock-based rewards and skill and career development opportunities than have their benefits or annual pay and bonuses reduced -- if they have to do something to help their company through the rough economy.

But the news this year is brighter. Watson Wyatt says while most companies trimmed pay raises this past year, many now are now boosting raises to levels of the past several years.

Merit increase budgets are expected to rebound to 3.8 percent in 2003 from 3.4 percent in 2002, the study found.

WHAT'S BUGGING FLYERS

Fodors.com surveyed flyers in September to find out what's bugging them. When asked which airline charges bothered them the most, a 61 percent -- the No. 1 answer -- was ticket change fees.

Of the more than 1,200 responses, 12 percent said the overweight passenger fees bother them the most, with females being the majority to weigh in on this controversial issue.

Only 9 percent were bothered by the airline's extra baggage fees, but when broken down by sex, oddly enough more men than women were bothered by this charge.

Somewhat surprising -- 15 percent reported none of the fees bothered them.

WEB SITE CREDIBILITY

ConsumerReports.org and Consumer WebWatch say ratings of online shopping sites, known as e-Ratings, will now include a score assessing a Web site's credibility.

The rating will be determined by the way a site explains its privacy and security policies and by its stated commitments to customer service. In some cases a site's disclosure of business-related information, such as any sponsor or third-party relationships, also may be considered.

Jim Guest, president of Consumers Union, says, "The phrase caveat emptor or buyer beware was never more true than it is for consumers how shop and buy online." He adds "www" has revived the phrase the "Wild Wild West."

In the new e-Ratings methodology, certain sites will be evaluated based on how they label advertising, whether they disclose basic information about their identity and where they are located, whether they disclose business partnerships that affect the customer's bottom line, how prominently their privacy policy is displayed and whether it's readable.