by Dale Coberly  Social Security…Hearts and Minds Tom Margenau wrote an essay about the payroll tax holiday in The National Memo Is Your Tax Holiday Gift A Lump of Coal? His essay seemed to me to illustrate one of the problems with the Social Security “debate” as it has been constructed. Margenau  describes himself as […]

Let’s start with two basic facts: • Governments in all thriving, prosperous countries tax/spend 25–50% of those countries’ GDP (averaging around 40%). • Governments in non-prosperous countries — those that haven’t suffered a recent crash in the numerator/GDP — are all below that range. There is not a single thriving, prosperous country that does not […]

by Linda Beale Should reinsurance using foreign affiliates be deductible to US corporations? Foreign-owned US insurance companies frequently reinsure through their foreign affiliates and then claim a deduction under section 832(b)(4)(A) for the reinsurance premium paid to the affiliate to reduce the US tax liability of the US company. Rep. Richard Neal (D-Ma) introduced a […]

In my first post here as an official Bear, I want to start by thanking Dan Crawford and the rest of the Clan of the Angry Bear for inviting me to join the party. I’ve been a regular lurker and occasional commenter for years, and have learned a huge amount from the experts here. I’m […]

Health Care thoughts: PPACA Employer Mandate Part 1 So I am trying to put together a template for evaluating the employer health insurance mandate under PPACA…. Some preliminary thoughts: 50 employees does not mean 50 employees, there as a Full Time Equivalent (FTE) calculation that is certain to confuse employers because it is different than […]

Dan here…Linda Beale writes on the intent and passage of these bills. Whether the use of the payroll tax has political and budget consequences for people’s perceptions of Social Security and its future remains a question previously discussed at Angry Bear here. by Linda Beale (Update from Linda: Payroll Tax Extension Passes) GOP’s payroll tax […]

Steve Roth is a serial entrepreneur whose businesses have ranged from book and magazine publishing to high-tech professional conferences to corporate services. Steve’s publications include “Capital in the American Economy Since 1930: Kuznets Revisited,” an appendix to James Livingston’s Against Thrift: Why Consumer Culture is Good for the Economy, the Environment, and Your Soul. That […]

The number of newly reported drug shortages (mostly generic) has been growing: There were 74 newly reported drug shortages in 2005. The number dipped slightly to 70 in 2006, then rose to 129 in 2007, 149 in 2008, 166 in 2009, and 211 in 2010. In mid-2011 there were about 246 shortages. NPR had a […]

Barry Ritholz keeps us abreast of retail spending: Last month, I published a post on the nonsense that is Black Friday sales (No, Black Friday Sales Were Not Up 16% (not even 6%). That evolved into a Washington Post article, Did Black Friday save the season? Beware the retail hype. Today, we learn that many […]