Random stuff I find interesting and you may not.
Distorting history and underestimating the severity of the problem only increases the chance of insolvency. The Social Security system’s persistent and growing deficits are scheduled to bring trust fund insolvency within nine years, which would force a 23 percent benefit cut. Yet most lawmakers refuse to discuss solvency reforms because voters (and many lawmakers themselves) … Read more
Experts predicted that baby boomers would be broke in their old age. Instead, they’re one of history’s richest generations. By now, many retired baby boomers should be pinching pennies, at best, or battling destitution, at worst. For decades, the media and the experts they quoted warned that boomers weren’t saving enough for a comfortable retirement. … Read more
Medicare and Social Security are the two largest federal government programs that are also growing the fastest. They are fiscally unsustainable as currently structured. Medicare consists of four parts which provide inpatient care (Part A), outpatient care (Part B), prescription drug coverage (Part D), and subsidies for seniors to choose alternative health insurance providers through … Read more
As legislators refuse to act, benefits will be cut without any possibility of sheltering those seniors who are poor. President Joe Biden tweeted last week that he will be a “nightmare” for Republicans who dream of cutting Social Security and Medicare. With this statement, Biden showed that he’s either shockingly ignorant about these two programs … Read more
‘Taxing the rich’ and cutting ‘woke’ programs won’t come close to getting the job done. You cannot balance the budget just by cutting programs that you don’t like. You cannot balance the budget by booting layabouts off welfare, by reducing “waste, fraud, and abuse,” by eliminating foreign aid, or by repealing the grievously misnamed Affordable … Read more
The U.S. electorate’s hostility toward serious entitlement reform has a long and consistent track record. Unyielding defense of the status quo has been a winning campaign strategy for decades, and serial efforts to push major changes to Social Security and Medicare onto the national agenda have all sputtered and failed. Both parties have internalized the … Read more
As early as 2011, research from Carnegie Mellon University suggested kids could be up to 51 times more likely to experience identity theft than adults. Now identity theft affects 1.25 million kids – or about 1 out of 50 children – every year, according to the research firm Javelin. Most of the time, child identity … Read more
Medicare announced on November 12 that it would apply big rate hikes on Medicare premiums next year. The monthly Part B premium will rise by $21.60, or nearly 15 percent, to $170.10 from $148.50 this year. This increase is more than double the projected $10 boost included in the annual report from Medicare program trustees … Read more
Social Security’s great achievement for retirees is a guarantee that they’ll get a check every month, without fail. Less appreciated is the stability the program brings to local economies and businesses. Retirees use their Social Security benefits to patronize establishments that sell goods and services locally such as restaurants, car repair shops, banks, and hospitals. … Read more
There is also a Part D penalty…. The Part B penalty is a permanent charge every month There are many rules associated with Medicare enrollment, but here are a few of the basics: Medicare Part A, which covers hospital insurance, is typically free of premiums for individuals who have worked at least 40 quarters of … Read more
The 2021 Social Security and Medicare Trustees’ annual reports are 138 days late and counting. The law requires the Board of Trustees of Social Security and Medicare to submit to Congress annual reports on the financial condition of these vital programs by April 1. This requirement has been in place since 1967. The board now … Read more
It’s understandable that we’re now paying a lot of attention to Joe Biden’s risky proposals for higher taxes and a bigger welfare state. After all, it’s a very bad idea to copy the economic policies of nations such as Italy, France, and Greece (unless, of course, you want much lower living standards). But let’s not … Read more
As a libertarian, I don’t care if couples have zero children or 10 children. But as an economist, I’m horrified that big changes in demographics are going to lead to fiscal crises thanks to poorly designed entitlement programs. Simply stated, modest-sized welfare states are sustainable if more and more new taxpayers enter the system to … Read more
Of the five most expensive wars the United States has waged, only one – World War II – involved an armed enemy. The other five – poverty, drugs, terror, and Covid, were all wars on nouns. Now the federal government appears to have inadvertently stumbled into another war – the War on Retirement. Unlike the … Read more
A $1.9 trillion additional relief package is expected to pass this week. This is in addition to already unprecedented spending. The US went deeper into debt than other countries this past year. The chart above shows the fiscal balance, spending minus revenue, as a percent of GDP for some rich countries, the advanced country average, … Read more
With COVID-19 ravaging the country and government pandemic lockdowns devastating our economy, the national debt has understandably slipped to the back of many Americans’ minds. But the federal government continues to fall deeper into the red at a dramatically accelerating rate. Free-market economists interviewed by FEE warned that we can’t continue like this forever without … Read more
The public debate on taxes, spending, and deficits consists mostly of lazy conventional wisdom that is largely incorrect. While detailed historical data on spending and taxes can be found at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) website, and the 10-year and 30-year budget projections are available from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), many lawmakers, … Read more
Shutdowns and bailouts are unsustainable for 18 months to two years. We need a new and better set of strategies, and we can’t put it off any further. In mid-April, 69 percent of 2,394 registered U.S. voters polled said it is “necessary” to develop a coronavirus vaccine “before we reopen the economy.” Politicians are beginning … Read more
The decade that just ended saw a period of uninterrupted economic growth. In the decade to come, we’ll pay for squandering it. Since the so-called Great Recession officially ended in the third quarter of 2009, the United States has enjoyed 42 consecutive quarters of solid if unspectacular economic growth. That’s the longest run of uninterrupted … Read more
On January 31, 1940, Miss Ida Fuller received a check for $22.54. She was the first person to retire under the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) scheme, better known as Social Security. At the time of her retirement in 1939, she had paid just $22 in Social Security taxes. Ms. Fuller lived to be … Read more
Elder Index measures the income needed for older people to stay in their own homes and meet their daily living costs . . . Q: How big a problem is economic insecurity among the elderly? Mutchler: Our research shows that in 2019, half of older Americans living on their own lacked the income needed to … Read more
Retirees could get substantially more in their Social Security check if they would just wait longer – up to age 70 – to sign up. Everyone began the same way: they saw a table showing how much more they would receive from Social Security for each year after 62 that they delayed. One of the … Read more
When should you claim Social Security? The optimum date for starting retirement benefits is the subject of much debate and analysis. For most people, however, it’s a simple matter of when they need the cash—and, indeed, many folks claim as soon as they’re age 62 and eligible. The experts can run models all they want. … Read more