Monday Stuff

A few quick hits, items of interest that in some way touch on what people know.

• A majority of European Community consumers lack knowledge about their basic rights.  According to the study: "A majority of consumers were not aware of their fundamental rights such as the right to have a faulty product repaired, replaced or reimbursed 18 months after purchase, the right to cancel an online financial services contract within 14 days if they change their mind or find a better offer, or similarly, the right to cancel a contract with a doorstep salesman."
• A lot of retiring baby boomers think they won't actually get to retire and may have to keep working, according to a new survey. Me, I'm in my university's "optional retirement plan" in which, I'm fairly certain, retirement is only an option.
• That nuclear family is a bad thing, or so suggests this story, in that it violates the human rights of the elderly.  In other words, a nuclear family leaves out the elderly, who then suffer from loneliness and other problems.  It's an interesting way to approach this, one I've never considered before.
• Americans score pretty low in consumer spending knowledge, says this story.  "More than 41 percent of Americans give themselves a C or a lower grade for their knowledge of personal finance, acknowledging that they lack the ability to make sound financial decisions"  Ack.

And that's it for a busy Monday.