Last November, the Elizabethtown Journal published the commentary, “How Much Does Your Health Insurance Cost” In that essay, it was argued that most individuals who are enrolled in employee-sponsored health insurance plans do not have an accurate conception of the total cost of that insurance. It was further asserted that many confuse their contribution with the actual cost, therefore underestimating the plan’s true cost. It was also contended that, although the employee contribution is probably the most significant number for the employee, it is also critically important that an employee be aware of the plan’s total cost. Starting this year,[Read more...]

One of the core community organizations in Elizabethtown is the Elizabethtown Area Senior Center.  The Elizabethtown Journal caught up with Joyce Hardman to ask her a few questions and find out more about the Senior Center. EJ: Where is the Senior Center located? SC: The Elizabethtown Area Senior Center is located in the GEARS Community Center at 70 S. Poplar St. in Elizabethtown EJ: In what manner is the Senior Center affiliated with the Lancaster Office of Aging and with GEARS (Greater Elizabethtown Area      Recreation & Community Services)? SC: The Senior Center is a department of GEARS and we have[Read more...]

We lament. We lament sending rascals to the capitol in Washington.  We lament sending rascals to the capitol in Harrisburg.  We lament the rascals in the cycling peloton who have used deceitful means in gaining our adulation. As this commentary is being penned, the news of Lance Armstrong’s confession is receiving a great deal of press and comment.  The public’s response has been trending toward a demonization of the cyclist.  That response is guided by the assumption that his misdeeds were a consequence of a private decision of a cheater who possesses deep character flaws.  It is unarguable that the[Read more...]

Readership of the Elizabethtown Journal has been steadily increasing.  Readership is currently about 1,000 non-trivial visits per week. The Elizabethtown Journal (EJ) has been designed to be a comprehensive site for citizen journalism organized around a core of regular news and features about local government, civic, economic, and social life.  A citizen journalism site seeks input from all members of the community and attempts to make contributions a simple task.  As part of the mission, forums and conversations about anything posted on the site are encouraged.  Check the site to learn how to contribute or email me (Mike Schwartz, editor)[Read more...]

Rodney Erickson, president of Penn State, will see his salary increase by 16 percent to $600,000 next year. Not surprisingly perhaps, the comments forum on pennlive.com is filled with outrage [1]. But consider that, despite the increase, Erickson’s salary will be lower next year than what Spanier was earning as his base salary last year. PSU says that the increase brings Erickson’s salary in line with that of presidents in comparable institutions. We do not know what that reference list is, but below is data on president salaries and student enrollments at a few public universities [2]. Spanier’s base pay[Read more...]

In March of this year a small bakery opened on the square in Elizabethtown (see: Jody Viers Stapler: J’s Sweet Treats and J’s Sweet Treats Ice Cream Parlor).  It may not be obvious to those who are not regular bakery customers that the bakery currently operating in this location is an entirely different business.  The original bakery closed its doors a few month ago and a new business opened in its stead.  The two bakeries are not related in any way, except that they occupied the same site.  The new bakery, Center Square Bakery, is owned and operated by Natalie[Read more...]

In 1986, Scott Little of Elizabethtown was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease. Inherited from his mother, the disease produces multiple cysts in the kidneys, reducing their ability to function and eventually leads to kidney failure. In 2009, Scott was put on the transplant waiting list and began to search for a living donor. His wife Missy was tested, but was not a match. “I wrote a letter detailing my story, attached it to an email, and sent it to everyone I knew,” states Scott. Denise Tshudy, also of Elizabethtown, received that email. “I went to church with Scott and occasionally[Read more...]

How much does your health insurance cost?  If you are like the 56 percent of workers who have an employer-based health insurance plan, you can identify what it costs you by inspecting the health care deduction from your pay stub.  When you’re planning your personal finances or choosing whether to enroll in your employer’s plan or your spouse’s plan; this certainly is the best number to use.  In fact, it may seem that this is the only number that has any benefit for you or that you need to know. As you may have suspected, this is not the real[Read more...]

The federal government’s Summer Work Travel program “provides foreign students with an opportunity to live and work in the United States during their summer vacation from college or university to experience and to be exposed to the people and way of life in the United States” [1]. But the foreign students who came under the program last year and worked in Hershey’s chocolate plant claimed that they were forced to work for minimal wages under physically demanding conditions. The students went on strike, and the ensuing media coverage revealed how subcontractors such as SHS OnSite Solutions arranged for student workers[Read more...]

Although an issue of philosophical interest for many centuries, the Idea of Progress in its modern formulation can be attributed in large measure to Sir Francis Bacon. The Idea of Progress is a world view which assumes that history proceeds in the direction of improved material conditions and a better life for people on the planet. In Bacon’s view, the role of technological innovation, practical knowledge, and the material tools of existence are a major contributor to the intractability of progress. Since Bacon professed this view in the 17th century, it has become a widespread view in modern thought.