Rising health care and insurance costs are keeping manufacturers awake at night, according to a quarterly survey by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and IndustryWeek. Other t op concerns? Political uncertainty and the unfavorable business climate.

If Congress – in its quest to rein in the federal deficit – decides to tax workers’ health benefits, more than half of American workers would either switch to a less costly plan, shop around, or drop coverage, according to new research from the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).

Around 150 million Americans drag themselves out of bed each day and show up for work. You get your first cup of coffee, chit-chat a bit, punch in, and settle in for a long day on the job.

More than a few years ago (more than I care to think about anyway), I was a summer camp lifeguard/camp counselor. A common refrain from the campers was “I’ll sue you.” It didn’t matter what the transgression was – giving them 2% instead of whole milk, wheat bread instead of white, not allowing them to vandalize something - they frequently threatened to sue me or another member of the camp staff.

A move to make helmet use optional under Michigan law is meeting with stiff opposition from a coalition of health care organizations, who say that helmets save both lives and money.