When Deficits Matter …

There’s a lot of misunderstanding in popular culture (most started during the Reagan years) about deficit spending and the public debt.  Deficits tend to increase naturally during bad economic times due to what we economists call automatic stabilizers.  These are spending programs (most of which were built into the economy during the New Deal) that [...]

Dismal Economists: Getting Real on those Green Shoots

I’ve been concerned about the lack of real evidence for the administration’s green shoot hypothesis. It seems that I’m not the only one. A new Wall Street Journal Poll shows that Americans are increasingly ‘wary’ of the deficit and Obama’s economic intervention as Obama’s poll number’s slip.
But the poll suggests Mr. Obama [...]

Social Security: Reform, Refund, or Opt-Out? (Part 4)

The aging burden is upon us and solutions are required quickly. People are living longer. There are three responses households face: consume less and save more when young, consume more and have lower monthly benefits when older, or work longer. They should make these decisions with a combination of their own savings and employer savings [...]

Social Security: Reform, Refund, or Opt-Out? (Part 3)

Lessons from the World
One of the most interesting things about the large number of countries reforming their public pension programs is how dissimilar many are to the United States. A large number are in Latin America or Asia countries that are not experiencing the demographic challenges faced by the United States. Instead, they reform their [...]

Social Security: Reform, Refund or Opt-out? (Part 2)

Public Pension Concepts and Alternatives
 Social Security reform combines three basic possibilities. It can raise contributions or it can cut benefits sometime in the present or future. (This would be a choice between pre-funding or pay-as-you-go (PAYG)). It can be private or public. It can be diversified or undiversified. The current system is public, has no [...]

Social Security: Reform, Refund or Opt-Out (Part 1)

Several years ago, I did some research on Social Security. I thought I’d share that with you now as we look to more possible reforms coming from the Obama administration. This part is just introductory. Part 2 will be on Public Pension Concepts and Alternatives.
One of the most successful and significant programs put into place [...]

Obama’s Attack on Social Security

OK, I know they aren’t talking privatization anymore now that the stock market collapsed, but I like that cartoon anyway. And yes, the siege on the social safety net continues, with a slight hiccup, as Myiq2xu reported in the previous post. Apparently some Democrats–probably members of the shrinking Democratic wing of the Obamacratic [...]

Obama’s “Fiscal Responsibility Summit” and the Week Ahead

It’s going to be a big week for the Obamagharchy. In order to short-circuit the coming Obamageddon, our Dear Leader is making “fiscal responsibility” the focus of his week. On Monday, President Obama will meet with lots of “experts” and think tank denizens to discuss the future of what is left of the [...]

Thursday: We are so screwed

Remember this from the convention last year?  The scripted dog and pony show that Obama’s and Nancy’s people put together to deprive voters of their right to self determination?  Nancy gets a role at the end when she gives biggest FU to Hillary and liberal voters who might have objected.

Do I [...]

By request: Unemployment Chronicles

(Photo source, Darth Dragon on Flickr)
When I wrote that I was laid off for the second time in 3 months here, Laurie recommended the following:
Laurie, on January 24th, 2009 at 4:30 am Said:
SM plz keep us posted. If you can, do an unemployed diary. You know, where you have to go, what forms you have [...]