It's incredibly hard to get by as a contractor in America. It shouldn't have to be.

Retirement, paid sick days, a steady schedule — in theory, these should be a given for all working people. In practice, not so much.

Right now, a little over 10% of the American workforce is part of the “gig economy,” according to the UC Berkeley Labor Center, which means that most or all of their main income comes from work they do as independent contractors or through temp, on-call, and contract work.

They aren't guaranteed direct deposits, they don't get paid-time off, and they often have to grapple with stagnating wages and self-employment taxes. Plus, there is no employer contribution when it comes to saving for retirement and health care coverage.

Keep Reading
health care benefits workers workplace working class gig economy portable benefits freelancers short-term employees rockefeller center the workers lab
More
True
The Rockefeller Foundation

Finland proved baby boxes keep babies alive. Here's how they'll work in India.

New parents everywhere know the first rule of parenting is keep your baby alive. Unfortunately, there are many factors that can make this a challenge.

That first year of life is the hardest because it's when babies are the most vulnerable. Couple that with a low socio-economic status, and this fundamental task may start to feel daunting.

However, about 80 years ago, one country — Finland — came up with something ingenious to help parents keep their babies alive: a box.

Keep Reading
parenting health care parents maternal mortality johnson & johnson infant mortality baby box barakat bundle maternal health infant health south asia genh
Family
True
Johnson & Johnson

Way more moms die having babies in the U.S. than in any other developed nation. Why?

The maternal death rate has dramatically decreased in recent decades worldwide. But in the U.S., it has risen more than 26%.

When people think of women dying during childbirth, they don't usually think of the United States. But according to a study published in 2016 in Obstetrics and Gynecology, the U.S. saw a 26.6% increase in pregnancy and childbirth-related deaths for women from 2000 to 2014. That's a sharp contrast to other developed nations — and even much of the developing world — where maternal death rates have plummeted.

The U.S. is the only developed country where maternal death rates have been rising. Photo via Jean-Sebastien Evrard/Getty Images.

Keep Reading
health care mothers u.s. maternal mortality rate dying mothers
Family

A fiery rant about workplace etiquette during flu season is going ... viral.

Former Obama speechwriter Jon Lovett has a problem with how we handle flu season in the U.S.

During a recent taping of his podcast, "Lovett or Leave It," Lovett touched on a topic we're not actually hearing a whole lot about: the current flu epidemic. The flu — which experts say is the worst in nearly a decade and has already racked up a modest body count — is an issue that's not getting much attention.

Enter Crooked Media co-founder Lovett. He's fired up about this year's flu, and we should all should hear him out. (Just a warning: some NSFW language.)

Keep Reading
health care money work cdc prevention illness influenza sick jon lovett
Family