Table IV.B5.—Components of Summarized Income Rates and Cost Rates,Calendar Years 2015-89[As a percentage of taxable payroll]Lots of numbers here but the only ones want to focus on are those in the last column, those which show actuarial balances for each of the OAS and DI Trust Funds for for the next 25, 50 and 75 […]

Hmmm. I think I’ll just let people have fun figuring out what this all means. Hover over the image or double click and you should get legible version. Hint the meanings of ‘past’ ‘current’ and so ‘future participants’ might not mean exactly what they seem at first encounter. You can scroll to the text from […]

Well one answer it line I in the above figure from the 2015 Social Security Report. Figure II.D7.—Long-Range OASI and DI Combined Trust Fund Ratios Under Alternative Scenarios [Asset reserves as a percentage of annual cost] Under the definitions used by the Social Security Actuary and Trustees the program is ‘Solvent’ over the short term […]

At 1:30 EDT the Trustees of Social Security will hold a media availability at which they will release the 2015 Social Security and Medicare Reports. If past practice holds the Reports will be released on line at or before that time in both a web (HTML) format and in PDF. Assuming past file name conventions […]

Very interesting paper that I missed in real time. Social Security: What Would Happen If the Trust Funds Ran Out? Almost everyone who addresses this question assumes that the answer is pretty simple: if either of the Social Security Trust Funds goes to zero than benefits will automatically drop from ‘Scheduled’ to ‘Payable’ which translates […]

Pulled back from comments. (bolding mine) Marko July 20, 2015 7:01 am These days , more people may own stocks , but the vast majority own trivial amounts. Look up Edward Wolffs stuff on wealth distribution and try to estimate how much stocks would have to go up to tease out any meaningful consumption out […]

Here is an interesting (as always) cyber discussion between Brad DeLong and Dean Baker. DeLong asserted (as he often does) that the great recession was so severe because of finance and “clogged credit channels” Baker argued (as he often does) that the decline in house prices alone was sufficient to explain the downturn. In particular […]

Today Paul Krugman wrote… Link “Many economists used to think of the labor market as being pretty much like the market for anything else, with the prices of different kinds of labor — that is, wage rates — fully determined by supply and demand. So if wages for many workers have stagnated or declined, it […]

In any event, it’s completely unclear where people will stop in for hamburgers and fries, and where they will buy extremely cheap household items, once the fast food industry and Walmart have ceased to exist because there no longer are Americans who lack the skills and qualifications for good jobs and they’ve all found good […]

The left claims they’re for American workers, and they’ve got lame ideas, things like minimum wage. Instead of focusing on that, we need to talk about how we get people skills and qualifications they need to get jobs that go well beyond minimum wage. — Scott Walker, yesterday Yep, raising the minimum wage and instituting […]