Haven't the Japanese suffered enough already?

Burger King

Burger King has transformed the classic Whopper into the aptly named Meat Monster by squeezing two ground beef patties, two slices of cheese, three strips of bacon and a chicken breast between two buns.

That's right, meat lovers: beef, chicken and pork all in one sandwich. Oh, and to keep it healthy, you can add lettuce, tomatoes and onion slices.

Now here's the bad news, America. The burger is only available in Japan.

The Japanese press release for the Meat Monster doesn't include a calorie count, but according to The Consumerist, using typical U.S. ingredients, the burger would tip the scales at 1,160 calories, 69 grams of fat, 13 grams of sugar, 54 grams of carbohydrates and 2.3 grams of sodium. It will set a Japanese burger lover back 820 yen (roughly $9.70).

Apparently, in Japanese "Have it your way" translates into "Here's some heartburn for you."

At first we worried the Meat Monster was a hoax — the original press release was dated April 1 — but Lauren Kuzniar, a spokeswoman for Burger King, confirmed that, yes, the burger is a real menu item.

The Meat Monster isn't the only oddball sandwich available at Japan's Burger Kings. The Angry Whopper, the pickle-filled Crazy Whopper, the All Heavy (as in all you people will be heavy) and the Windows 7 Whopper (seven patties!) make America's options look downright slim.

What do you think? Is America ready for the Meat Monster?

Tax day is fast approaching, but this year your taxes aren’t going to be due on April 15.

That’s because Friday, April 15, which is usually tax day, is a holiday in Washington, D.C. For that reason, tax day this year is Monday, April 18.

The Emancipation Day holiday, marking the anniversary of an 1862 federal law freeing slaves in the District of Columbia, will give taxpayers who are procrastinators an extra weekend to get their taxes done.

Even in these divisive times, here’s one thing most Democrats, Republicans and independents can agree on: There's too much power in the hands of a few big players.

A new Gallup poll finds that more than two-thirds of Americans think lobbyists, major corporations and banks and financial institutions are too powerful.

Democrats and independents are more likely than Republicans to say that big companies and banks and financial institutions have too much power. Still, more than half of Republicans also agree the major corporations and financial players are too powerful.

For lobbyists, there is little good news in this poll: The feeling that they are too powerful cuts about equally across party lines.

Republicans and Democrats are much more divided when it comes to another group making a lot of news these days: Labor unions. Nearly seven in 10 Republicans say labor unions have too much power, while only two in 10 Democrats think that’s true. Independents are nearly equally divided.

The Gallup poll is based on a sample of 1,027 adults and was conducted in late March.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

The looming possibility of a government shutdown has some government workers contemplating some unexpected time off from work, but other professions aren't in nearly the same boat.

With Tax Day fast approaching – government shutdown or not – we’re guessing quite a few accountants and bookkeepers will be putting in a few extra hours this weekend, and burning the midnight oil next week as well. 

There are currently about 898,000 people working in the bookkeeping and accounting industry, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The profession wasn’t immune to the recession, so that’s down from a high of nearly 970,000 in December of 2007.

Oh, how quickly we forget.

The wounds from the Great Recession have yet to heal, but Americans are once again spending more, saving less and still carrying credit card debt, according to a new survey by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.

Twenty-six percent of adults report they are spending more than they did one year ago, the Harris Interactive survey found, and nearly 40 percent of people still carry credit card balances from month to month.

While that is good news for the nation's struggling retailers, it suggests Americans are reverting to the free-spending ways that preceded the housing meltdown. It's also a sign that people are suffering from "frugal fatigue,' said Gail Cunningham, spokeswoman for the nonprofit organization.

To make this trend even more worrisome, more than 41 percent of Americans give themselves a C or lower grade in regard to their knowledge of personal finance, an acknowledgement that they lack the ability to make sound financial decisions. Nearly 50 percent of adults do not maintain a budget or track their spending.

"An admitted lack of personal finance skills coupled with increased spending is a recipe for financial disaster," Cunningham said. "People owe it to themselves and their children to become financially savvy."

Another disturbing statistic from the survey: 33 percent of adults have no emergency savings. This makes them "one flat tire away from financial disaster," says Cunningham, who suggests adults put 10 percent of each paycheck into a savings account.

Farnoosh Torabi, a recurring Money 911 panelist and author of "Psych Yourself Rich," joined us for a live Web chat Wednesday morning after the show's Money 911 segment.

Here are two of her answers to questions from the live chat. See below for the full Q&A and video of the Money 911 segment. 

Margaret's question: 
My son is 16 and in 10th grade and I don't have a college 529 saving plan for him. I do have $10,000 saved to go toward his college and currently save $500 a month to put with this money. My question: Should I continue to keep this money in my savings or should I transfer it to some other account? 

Farnoosh's answer: 
Sounds like you're doing a nice job of saving for your son's college. With college two years away, I'd just stick to what you're doing. If you can afford to tuck away more each month, great. 
I would also advise that you discuss financing college with your son. Talk about what you can realistically contribute and the best way to make up for the rest. 

Encourage him to start applying for scholarships, grants and any free money that's out there. Check out Mark Kantrowitz's new e-book on college scholarships: Secrets to Winning a Scholarship.

Mary's question: 
I have a 32-year-old son who just keeps going from one institution to another getting loans - two cars, one motorcycle, all the latest sports outfitting. He has school debt, three loans and has been borrowing from the "Cash your check before you go" places. First, where do you find a financial advisor to set up this out of control life? I can tell he is very depressed about the situation so he just keeps spending to buy something to make him feel better. From what I can figure out, he is $15,000. in debt and brings home $300 per week. He has no management skills at all. Secondly, how can his father and I protect money he will receive from our estate? 

Farnoosh's answer: 
I wish I could come to your house and stage an intervention. He doesn't need a financial advisor. He needs a wake-up call! 
As parents, this is where you can really help. Have you actually sat him down and made him face his financial reality? You think he's $15,000 in debt, but how certain are you? It may be worse. 

Credit counseling centers may be able to offer him some help, but psychologically he needs to get to a better place - to find a better paying job and realize why he's spending recklessly. I would suggest some therapy sessions, as well.

To protect the money he will receive from your estate you want to work with a reputable estate planning attorney. You can find one in your area at The American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

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The Great Recession and its painful aftermath has had an indelible effect on most Americans’ lives, and now some are wondering how deep an impact it will have on the next generation as well.

The Centers for Disease Control reported last month that fertility rates fell 4 percent between 2007 and 2009, to 66.7 births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44. That’s the largest drop in more than 30 years.

The CDC said in its report that it’s not possible to link the decline in fertility to the decline in the economy just using fertility rate data.

Still, some are already making those types of connections. The Pew Research Center published a report last year comparing birth rate data with economic data and finding a link between the two.

Readers, did you put off — or even decide against — having a child because of the uncertain economic situation? If so, send me an e-mail. Please include your contact information since some responses may be used for an upcoming story.

Quick word of advice: If you need to go talk to a teller this Friday about  11 a.m. and you live in Alabama … don’t.

Reuters advises us that according to government statistics, the most common time for bank robberies are midmorning on Fridays. The most common place is southern and western states.

The good news? It appears that despite the fact that more people may actually need the money, the number of bank crimes (that includes burglaries, even though we thought that only happened in the movies) fell from 6,065 in 2009 to 5,628 in 2010.

No word on how long the robbers had to wait at the four-window counter that – of course – always only has one window open.

If the budget standoff in Washington leads to a government shutdown, you may not get your tax refund as soon as expected.

If the government does shut down, the IRS probably will suspend processing tax refunds for people who file paper returns, a government official familiar with planning for the shutdown said Tuesday. About 30 percent of taxpayers file by paper.

All taxpayers still will be required to file or seek an extension by midnight April 18, even though processing of some refunds would be suspended. Electronic filing and refund processing would continue as normal, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because plans for a possible shutdown are still in flux.

(Yes, taxes are due April 18 this year because April 15 is a holiday in the District of Columbia.)

A partial government shutdown could happen at midnight Friday if Republicans and Democrats can't come to an agreement.

The Internal Revenue Service referred questions about refunds to the Treasury Department, which declined comment.

UPDATE: The NBC Nightly News' John Yang ticks down the list of what other services could be affected in the video below.

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The annual statements outlining your projected Social Security earnings may be a thing of the past.

Citing budget restraints, the administration stopped mailing the statements this month. The four-page letters, which were sent to 158 million Americans last year, cost taxpayers $70 million a year to print and mail. The move will save taxpayers $30 million this year and $60 million in 2012.

The statements are mailed three months before your birthday, so if you were born in July or later, you can stop checking your mailbox. Workers can still get an estimate of their retirement benefits using the administration's online Retirement Estimator, or they can call 800-772-1213.

The suspension of mailings might not be permanent. In a few months the administration will decide whether to provide the information online or return to issuing paper statements, said Dorothy Clark, a spokeswoman for the agency. 

The agency is undergoing severe budget belt-tightening, while at the same time working hard to reduce its backlog of disability hearings, said Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue, when he announced the change last month during Congressional testimony (.pdf file). The agency is struggling to close more than 106,000 cases that will be 775 days or older by the end of the year

"That wait has very real implications — many people with disabilities lose their homes, medical coverage and dignity while waiting for a decision on a hearing," Astrue said. "We may not be able to keep our commitments to the American people because we do not have the necessary funding."

News flash: Attractive people are happier.

And it all boils down to simple economics, say researchers who get paid to study such things.

If you've been blessed with good looks, you're more likely to be blessed with a bigger bank account, according to new research by economists at The University of Texas at Austin, who've made a career out of examining the interplay of looks, success and money.

"Personal beauty raises happiness," said Daniel Hamermesh, a Texas professor who co-authored the study (.pdf file) with Jason Abrevaya. "The majority of beauty's effect on happiness works through its impact on economic outcomes."

In previous research, Hamermesh has established that beautiful people earn more money and marry better-looking and higher-earning spouses than their plain-Jane counterparts.

The study suggests these indirect economic benefits account for nearly half of the additional happiness that good-looking folks report. Women are more likely than men to report that their happiness is more directly affected by beauty than men.

"For men, almost all the effect is indirect  — through beauty raising their earnings, the kind of spouse they can get, their ease of getting loans, etc." Hamermesh said. "For women, however, those indirect effects account for only half the impact of beauty on happiness. The other half is direct. ... Better-looking women just feel happier."

To reach their conclusions, the economists reviewed five large international studies involving nearly 25,000 participants. To quantify beauty, interviewers rated the participants' attractiveness using set guidelines or evaluated their beauty from pictures.

Blame the economy, the government and the cruddy job market: Those are among the top reasons one in five Americans decided last year that they’ll need to work longer than expected.

The 2011 Retirement Confidence Survey, an annual report conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, found that 20 percent of Americans had decided in the past year that they will have to retire later than they thought they would.

For 36 percent of those who decided in the past year to postpone retirement, the poor economy was to blame.

Another 16 percent said they expect to retire at a later age because of a lack of faith in the government and/or Social Security. Fifteen percent cited a change in their employment situation.

Other reasons for delaying retirement included not having enough money, stock market losses and health care costs.

In general, the EBRI said there has been a gradual rise in the age at which people plan to retire. Just under one-fourth of all workers in the 2011 survey plan to retire before age 65. In 1991, half of all workers planned to retire before age 65.

The weak economy appears to have exacerbated the trend. In both 2009 and 2010, about one-quarter of those surveyed said they expected to retire later than planned.  

The 21^st annual retirement survey included 1,258 Americans over age 25 and was conducted in January.

Want to impress your prospective employees? Whip out the balance sheet, but don’t forget the sustainability report.

A new survey finds that more than 6 in 10 full-time workers think an employer’s impact on the environment is vital when evaluating whether to work there. That’s about the same percentage of people who think looking at their profit margin is important.

The telephone survey of 504 full-time workers was conducted in late February by Harris Interactive on behalf modular carpet manufacturer Interface Inc.

The survey also found a gender divide when it comes to environmental issues. Although 78 percent of female employees said a company’s impact on the environment was important, only 52 percent of male workers said the same thing.

The survey also showed that Americans think more highly of U.S. businesses than Chinese ones when it comes to environmental stewardship.

About three-fourths of those surveyed said they believe U.S.-based businesses are implementing policies that protect and preserve the environment. Only one-fourth said businesses based in China are doing the same thing. 

M. Spencer Green / AP

Anyone who’s ever worked for minimum wage knows that it’s tough make ends meet on $7.25 an hour. A new economic index, released Friday, attempts to show just how tough.

The Basic Economic Security Tables finds that a single worker would have to make around $30,012 a year, or nearly double the annual salary you’d earn working full-time for minimum wage, to meet their basic expenses.

A single parent raising two children would require an annual wage of $57,756, according to the report, while a household with two income earners and two kids needs $67,920.

The index was developed by Wider Opportunities for Women, a nonprofit that focuses on ways for families and women to achieve economic independence. Its measure of basic expenses includes day-to-day costs such as childcare, housing, health care and transportation, as well as long-term needs such as savings and retirement.

“We wanted to recognize that there was a cumulative impact that would affect one’s lifelong economic security,” Joan A. Kuriansky, executive director of Wider Opportunities for Women, told The New York Times in a story published Friday.  “And we’ve all seen how often we have emergencies that we are unprepared for,” she told the Times, especially during the recession. Layoffs or other health crises “can definitely begin to draw us into poverty.”

According to the Census Bureau, the median household income in 2009 was $49,777.

The Census Bureau also reported that the poverty rate hit 14.3 percent in 2009, the highest level since 1994.

Researchers on both sides of the ideological fence have long argued that the poverty rate is a poor measure of how Americans earning low wages are really faring. Liberal-leaning analysts often say the data understate the extent to which Americans are suffering to make ends meet, while some conservatives worry the data overstate the issue.

Economic Policy Institute

The Great Recession cost Americans trillions of dollars in accumulated wealth, as home values plummeted, retirement accounts shrank and Americans struggled with joblessness and other woes.

Few were immune to the big losses, but that doesn’t mean the pain was felt equally.

A new analysis from the Economic Policy Institute finds that the richest 20 percent of Americans saw their share of all Americans’ wealth increase by 2.2 percentage points between 2007 and 2009. The remaining four-fifth of Americans saw their wealth decline by the same amount.

The top 20 percent of Americans by wealth controlled 87.2 percent of all wealth as of 2009, according to an analysis by EPI, a liberal-leaning research group. That left the rest of the country with 12.8 percent of all wealth.

The top 20 percent did see their wealth shrink between 2007 and 2009, but not by as much as the rest of the country. EPI said that group had a 16 percent average annualized decline in household wealth, while everyone else saw a 25 percent average annualized decline in household wealth during the same period.

The recession officially ran from December 2007 to June 2009.