by Bruce Webb Andrew Biggs references an editorial from the Charleston SC Post and Courier Advance Entitlements Reform However, President Obama's major entitlement-reform offensive strikes on the Medicare front. He proposed, in his speech to Congress, to deliver "quality, affordable health care for ...

by Bruce Webb In a world where we actually had our priorities straight we wouldn't even be talking about Social Security. The country, the world is sick with fear about our jobs, about keeping our houses, about the plunging values in our 401ks. The LAST thing we need is the Peter G. Petersons fear-m...

by Bruce Webb The Treasury Department maintains a handy web application called Debt to the Penny. As the name suggests it will give you total Public Debt to the penny for specific dates in the past or for a range of dates. It is this total Public Debt figure that is generally cited in news coverage,...

by Bruce Webb Not in any real world sense. And before shaking your head in sorrow at the fact that Bruce seemingly has lost it given the numbers in Table IV.B6.—Unfunded OASDI Obligations for 1935 (Program Inception)Through the Infinite Horizon which clearly show a $4.3 trillion dollar gap over th...

Fiscal Responsibility Summit Attendees: (noted without comment. Except for those of us who follow Social Security-Dean Baker made the cut) ADMINISTRATIONSecretary of the Treasury, Tim GeithnerSecretary of Transportation, Ray LaHoodSecretary of Homeland Security, Janet NapolitanoDeputy Secretary of S...

Prince of Darkness Denies Own Existence "There is no such thing as a neoconservative foreign policy," Perle informed the gathering, hosted by National Interest magazine. "It is a left critique of what is believed by the commentator to be a right-wing policy." & "I see a number of people here who bel...

by Bruce Webb In comments there were requests for a clear unitary narrative summing up my view of Social Security. This is more difficult than it sounds because of the competing narrative is so simple and compelling: Boomer retirement hits Social Security, the latter itself goes 'Boom', lets do some...

by Bruce Webb People in comments on some of the previous threads have what are on the surface reasonable questions. These questions fall in part into two categories. Some long time followers of the Angry Bear Social Security series ask 'Why are you still talking about this, we get it already'. While...

by Bruce Webb In a variety of comments posts I have argued that the 1983 Social Security compromise was not intended specifically to prefund Boomer retirement using several pieces of evidence including this interview with the Executive Director of the Commission Robert Myers and Prefunding Social Se...

by Bruce Webb Politicians tasked with convincing democratic majorities that they should oppose minimum wage increases generally fall back on the economic argument that such increases simply lead to job losses. Often they go on to point out that these losses fall disproportionately on the young, the ...