Being A Politician Is The Scariest Job In America

Americans think being a politician is scarier than being a mortician or an infectious disease doctor. In fact, there's no job in the U.S. that workers fear more than being an elected official, according to a nationwide survey by CareerBuilder.

It's all that public speaking, rejection and accountability associated with the job that terrifies workers most.

CareerBuilder's survey, conducted by Harris Poll, asked 3,103 full-time workers nationwide which jobs they found "most frightful." Here are the top 10 scariest jobs, straight from CareerBuilder's survey:

1. Politician: There are 56,857 politicians/legislators in the U.S.
Median hourly pay: $9.89
Average salary for U.S. Senators and members of the House of Representatives in 2014: $174,0001
Scary for those who fear: Responsibility; accountability to a large number of people; rejection.

2. Microbiologist for Infectious Diseases: In general, there are 20,800 microbiologists in the U.S.
Median hourly pay: $32.61
Scary for those who fear: Germs; Ebola; accidentally leaving the hazmat suit at home.

3. Security Guard at Teen Pop Idol Concert: In general, there are 1,163,023 security guards in the U.S.
Median hourly pay: $11.62
Scary for those who fear: Getting trampled by screaming tweens.

4. Kindergarten Teacher: There are 158,084 kindergarten teachers (non-special education) in the U.S.
Median hourly pay: $24.12
Scary for those who fear: Germs; temper tantrums; shaping the minds of America’s youth.

5. Crime Scene Investigator: There are 128,432 detectives and criminal investigators and forensic science technicians in the U.S.
Median hourly pay: $35.75
Scary for those who fear: Blood; the disappointment on people’s faces when you tell them the job is nothing like it is on TV.

6. Animal Trainer: There are 32,360 animal trainer jobs in the U.S.
Median hourly pay: $12.03
Scary for those who fear: Animal attacks; allergy flare-ups.

7. Mortician: There are 27,505 mortician, undertaker and funeral director jobs in the U.S.
Median hourly pay: $22.83
Scary for those who fear: Dead bodies; silence; zombie attacks.

8. Radio, Cellular and Tower Equipment Installers and Repairers: There are 16,213 radio, cellular and tower equipment installer and repairer jobs in the U.S.
Median hourly pay: $21.59
Scary for those who fear: Heights.

9. Stand-Up Comedian: There are 37,272 jobs in the entertainers and performers, sports and related workers industry, which include comedians, in the U.S.
Median hourly pay: $16.89
Scary for those who fear: Public speaking; awkward silence.

10. Parent: There are too many parent jobs in the U.S. to count.
Median hourly pay: Not nearly enough.
Scary for those who fear: Almost all of the above fears.

CareerBuilder notes that there are 56,857 Americans working as politicians or legislators making a ghastly low median wage of $9.89 per hour, according to Economic Modeling Specialists Intl, a market research company.

A Gallup poll found that 40 percent of Americans fear public speaking. That could explain why we're so petrified of the idea of being a politician, stand-up comic, or kindergarden teacher. Also, trust in government has plummeted to an all-time low, so that may have something to do with our fear of being a politician.

Walmart Was Offering A Special 'Fat Girl Costumes' Section In Its Online Store

Walmart has everyone's Halloween needs covered this year -- especially if you happen to fall into the category known as "fat girl."

No, we're not kidding, though we wish we were. Until just after 11am this morning, the mega-retailer actually had a subsection of online Halloween costumes marked as "fat girl costumes." (See below.)

A screenshot from Walmart.com taken on October 27.

This is an ill-advised category name, to say the least. "Fat girl" still remains a derogatory label, though it shouldn't be. And it's also unclear what the retailer's motivations were for creating such a category. As Anna Merlan at Jezebel pointed out, many of the costumes featured in the "Fat Girl" section were also available on a page labeled "Women's Plus Size Adult." So was this someone's idea of a funny joke? Or did Walmart actually think people were searching for "Fat Girl" costumes?

Walmart did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the section was taken down shortly after HuffPost contacted them. The "Fat Girl Costumes" page now redirects to an empty "Women's Plus Size Costumes" page.

In case you're not a fat girl but just think it would be hilarious to dress up as one for Halloween, why not try the Walmart "Fat Tinkerbell" getup? Or purchase a straight-up fat suit?

Halloween, brought to you by Walmart -- the best time of year to make fun of any woman over a size 6.

If you want some actually clever costume ideas, check out our list here.

UPDATE 2:04pm EST: The Huffington Post received the following statement from a Walmart spokesperson: "This never should have been on our site. It is unacceptable, and we apologize. We are working to remove it as soon as possible and ensure this never happens again."

H/T Jezebel

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These Are The Most Googled Halloween Costumes In Each State

Some states are making a topical Halloween choice this year, opting for Frozen costumes or dressing as the mythical Slenderman. Others will keep it classic, dressing as doctors or cheerleaders.

This map, made by SumoCoupon, a website that offers discounts at various stores, shows which Halloween costumes are the most "trending" in each state. Their team analyzed Google search volumes to determine which costumes were the most Googled in various parts of the country.

Americans love to emulate their favorite film characters... and apparently three states have a banana obsession.

Take a look:

22 Percent Of Americans Would Rather Die Than Retire Without Enough Money

Saving for retirement is scary. So little is knowable, and so much is uncontrollable and uncertain. A new survey from Wells Fargo reinforces just how anxious middle-class Americans are over how much financial security they will have once they retire, if they can ever afford to.

Wells Fargo found that “22 percent of the middle class say they would rather ‘die early’ than not have enough money to live comfortably in retirement.”

This is the depressing state of retirement in America: survey questions that pose an early death as a viable alternative to comfortable retirement.

Americans at least seem to have gotten the message that’s been drilled into them in the 30 years since the 401(k) was created: Personal savings will be your primary source of income when you retire. Only 30 percent of Americans think Social Security will be their primary source of retirement income, according to the Wells Fargo survey.

But the survey also reveals that Americans are deeply aware their personal retirement savings are inadequate, especially as they get older. Forty-eight percent of respondents in their 50s said they won’t have enough to live on if they stop working. Would-be retirees with inadequate savings are left with the choice of working longer or accepting the much lower standard of living that comes with relying only on the government safety net to survive.

The survey defines "middle class" as households with an annual income of $50,000 to $100,000 for 30-to-75-year-olds, and annual household income of $25,000 to $99,000 for 25-to-29-year-olds. The current U.S. median household income is $51,900.

The survey’s rather generous definition of middle class – which skews higher than one common measure of 50 percent above and below median income – makes data points like these even more troubling:

• 19 percent percent of middle-class Americans have zero retirement savings
• 34 percent are not currently saving for retirement
• A staggering 41 percent of Americans between 50 and 59 are not currently saving for retirement

Based on the numbers, most retirees will be unable to match their current standard of living. The standard assumption is that your retirement income should be 70 to 80 percent of your working income. The median savings across all age groups was a paltry $20,000.

Even a group that has saved a relatively large amount, people in their 40s with a 401(k), haven’t saved anywhere near enough. Their median savings are $50,000. That’s good for a little more than a single year of retirement, based on the current median income. Even bleaker: 40-to-49-year-olds without a 401(k) have median savings of just $10,000.

Why aren't people saving more? The survey's responses offer a hint. Wells Fargo asked what spending “sacrifices” people would make in order to save more. A little more than half said they’d cut back on discretionary and impulse purchases like spa visits, eating out, or jewelry. Yet most of Americans' spending isn’t on such variable, discretionary things. Housing, healthcare, food, and transportation make up about 65 percent of Americans' spending. On top of that, incomes have fallen over the past decade.

In other words, Americans' inability to save for retirement is all about high fixed costs and stagnant wages, not indulgence and a lack of willpower.

Wells Fargo, of course, would like people to think that they can will themselves to save more, and save it with Wells Fargo. From this self-interested perspective, surveys like this are sales pitches. (The first three words of the Wells Fargo report are a link to the company’s retirement services website.) They are meant to jolt and perhaps scare people into doing what they know they should already be doing: saving a lot more.

But this strategy is only effective if people have the means to save. A few Americans have enough individual savings to maintain their standard of living in retirement; most don’t now and likely won’t ever.

The problem, Wells Fargo's Kim Wimbish said, is that “non-retirees worry about their ability to earn more in their lifetime, and they are skeptical the stock market is the place for them to grow their savings.” Those worries are unfortunately well-founded.

Americans Are Taking Fewer Vacation Days Than At Any Point In Nearly 4 Decades

WASHINGTON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Americans took the least amount of vacation time in almost four decades last year, forfeiting billions of dollars in compensation without scoring points with their bosses, according to an industry group analysis released on Tuesday.

The report for the U.S. Travel Association said the average American with paid time off (PTO) used 16 of 20.9 vacation days in 2013, down from an average of 20.3 days off from 1976 to 2000. It added that 169 million days of permanently forfeited U.S. vacation time equated to $52.4 billion in lost benefits.

"By choosing to work instead of taking PTO, employees are essentially working for their employers for free," the analysis said.

The report did not give a reason for the drop in vacation time but the fall coincided with the 2007-2009 recession and a slow economic recovery. An Ipsos/Reuters survey in 2010 found that only 57 percent of Americans used all their vacation time.

Wealthier workers tend to earn more vacation days, and also leave more of it on the table, according to the study. People with an annual income of more than $150,000 failed to use an average of 6.5 vacation days last year, while those with less than $29,000 did not use 3.7 days on average.

Employees who foreited paid time off do not get more raises or bonuses than those who take all their vacation time. They also report higher levels of stress at work, the survey said.

"America's work martyrs aren't more successful. We need to change our thinking. All work and no play is not going to get you ahead - it's only going to get you more stress," Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, said in a statement accompanying the report.

The analysis was prepared by Oxford Economics, a forecasting group. It used Labor Department data and a June survey of 1,303 workers by GfK Public Affairs and Corporate Communications in conjunction with Oxford Economics.

(Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Alan Crosby)