Guest lecturer: The Department of Economics at LSU’s E. J. Ourso College of Business will host Cornell University economist Robert H. Frank for a free public lecture titled “Success and Luck” at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 28, in the Business Education Complex Auditorium, Nicholson Drive Extension. Frank is the H. J. Louis Professor of Management and a professor of economics in the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. He has made pioneering contributions in the areas of income equality, the role of status in conspicuous consumption, and emotions in decision making. His “Economic View” column appeared monthly in The New York Times for more than a decade. He is a frequent contributor to National Public Radio’s show Planet Money and has authored several books including The Winner Take All Society and most recently, Success and Luck.
On the stage: Five candidates vying to be Louisiana’s next U.S. senator are squaring off tonight in the first statewide TV debate of the race, The Associated Press reports. The debate is being held on the campus of Louisiana Tech University in Ruston and will be broadcast statewide on LPB and online. Though two dozen contenders are on the Nov. 8 ballot, only five met the polling and fundraising criteria set by the Council for A Better Louisiana and Louisiana Public Broadcasting to reach the debate stage. Those candidates are: Republican U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany, Democratic Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell, Democratic lawyer Caroline Fayard, Republican U.S. Rep. John Fleming and Republican state Treasurer John Kennedy.
Hardly enough: Millions of Social Security recipients and federal retirees will get a 0.3% increase in monthly benefits next year, the fifth year in a row that older Americans will have to settle for historically low raises. The Associated Press reports next year’s benefit hike will be small because inflation is low, driven in part by lower fuel prices. The federal government announced the cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, today. By law, the COLA is based on a government measure of consumer prices. The COLA affects more than 70 million people—about one in five Americans. The average monthly Social Security payment is $1,238. That adds up to a monthly increase of less than $4 a month. There was no increase this year. Read the full story.
