There's good news, and then there's…

Life insurance firms have finally revised the life expectancy tables on which they base, among other things, the premiums you have to pay. The last time the actuarial tables were changed was in 1980 and while you might not have noticed it personally, you've really benefited in the interim: for males age 40 the old life expectancy was 74.1; the new table says it's now 78.3. For females age 40, 78.4 was tops in 1980; the new expectancy is 82. Aside from the extra years, you all stand to benefit from lower insurance premiums, likely to be cut by as much as 30 percent in some states.

Enjoy it while you can, especially if you are male. According to the wonks at U.S. News & World Report, American males are in such bad shape (literately and figuratively) that an editorial carries the not so promising title, "Are men obsolete?" What's the problem? Aside from the continuing hemorrhaging of well-paying jobs and the increased availability of those "service sector" dead ends, competition from females has never been hotter, with girls outperforming in grade and high schools, and closing the gap in such once male dominated fields as medicine and law. So be nice, Goldilocks has a competitive streak you shouldn't take for granted.

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