by Bruce Webb 2007 Report Table IV.B72008 Report Table IV.B7 2009 Report Table IV.B7There are some prominent commentators on Social Security who insist that its future Unfunded Liabilities are in large part the result of over-generosity to past participants, and particularly those who drew benefits from the program in the early years without fully contributing. […]
As always, click on image to enlarge.People who claim that ‘there is no Trust Fund’ never explain how this works in practice. In reality the two Social Security Trust Funds have portfolios of securities with stated maturities and rates. As these become due each year they are rolled over into new securities in whole or […]
a post by coberly ONE OF THE LESS NOTICED PASSAGES IN THE TRUSTEES REPORT… … reveals something rather interesting: On page 12, it says, “Social Security’s scheduled tax revenue is projected to decline from its current level of about 5.0 percent of GDP, reaching 4.4% by 2083.” That’s odd… Decline? That should make you wonder: […]
a post by coberly MISDIRECTION: How They Keep You From Seeing The Good News When you go to a Magic Show, the Magician directs your attention away from what he doesn’t want you to see. And you go oooh! and aaah! And feel good about being fooled. And happy to have paid your money. When […]
Ken Houghton finds someone who is more pessimistic than I am. Via Bankimplode.com News, I see that Martin D. Weiss, Ph.D., has come up with a list of Large Banks Likely to Fail: Seven institutions — JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup, Wells Fargo & Co., Goldman Sachs Group, GMAC LLC, SunTrust Banks, Inc., and Fifth […]
The next time someone tells you that “the banks need help,” just refer them to Barry Ritholtz: Talk about burying the lead: The Times also noted — in the very last paragraphs — how the big incompetent banks and their very pricey bailouts are screwing these small healthy banks: “Isn’t that the American way?” [Donald […]
In the matter of externalities, accusing political enemies of being terrorists even after they are cleared of all wrongdoing is a feature of having economic power.* Good thing it’s not being done by a country G-Mu dislikes, or we’d hear about this at Marginal Revolution. But they’re too busy arguing that the Greenspan Commission were […]
By Spencer The web is full of comments on the CBO projections of the Obama budget. So I though a slightly different analysis might be appreciated. Most bloggers are comparing the Obama budget to the Bush budget. But I suspect a comparison to the Reagan budget would be more meaningful in that both Obama and […]
Dear Philadelphia Inquirer, I also am a native of the City of Brotherly Love. The last two firms at which I have worked have lost billions of dollars. While I admit that—unlike your latest columnist—I am not responsible for that happening, I believe this qualifies me to write a monthly column for you. While I […]
The 2009 Report of the Trustees of Social Security released at 3 PM East Cost Time. File names have been updated and should work. If for some reason they are different you should be able to access the PDF and HTML versions or order the paper version at Reports from the Board of Trustees Entry […]