{Cross posted from dKos Social Security Defenders group. Some parts will be pretty familiar to AB readers} You may have to bear with me here. Because very few people have seriously examined what a solvent Social Security system would actually look like. One of those that has is (thankfully) Steve Goss, the Chief Actuary of […]

McConnell is Partially Right About Government Employment David Weigel listens to Senator McConnell so we don’t have to: Weigel says: I looked at the government employment data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and it is true that most of those working for the government work for state and local government. As our table […]

by Mike Kimel Justifying Progressive Tax RatesCross posted at the Presimetrics blog. The Atlantic’s website carries a blog by a conservative/libertarian who writes very well on a wide variety of topics, and who sometimes covers economic issues with great insight. Of course, I’m talking about Andrew Sullivan. (What, you didn’t think… of course not. Don’t […]

Events 150 years ago should be remembered in 2011. A large re-enactment of scenes of the battle is planned for Gettysburg 1-3 July 2013. There were many event leading up to, and following, the greatest battle fought in the Western Hemisphere and they also should be commemorated. “11 Mar in 1861 is significant; it is […]

2011 Hayek Book Prize Nomination Form The Manhattan Institute is currently gathering nominations for our Hayek Prize, which will honor the book published within the past two years that best reflects F.A. Hayek’s vision of economic and individual liberty. The winner of the Hayek Prize will be given a $50,000 cash award and asked to […]

I found this little reminder of who is sharing to fix the deficits: Tax policy center

The Federal Reserve released the Q4 2010 Flow of Funds Accounts for the US. On the household balance sheet, net worth (total assets minus total liabilities) was estimated at $56.8 trillion, which is up $2.1 trillion over the quarter. Notably, household net worth has increased $6.4 trillion since the recession’s end (Q2 2009). Moreover, personal […]

Mark Thoma at Maximum Utility has conclusions on the figures for creation of jobs and trend in trade deficits: (reposted with permission of the author) Figures on the trade balance and new claims for unemployment insurance are out this morning, and the news isn’t as good as hoped. First, initial claims increased: In the week […]

Wisconsin Senate Passes Bill Ending Public Bargaining Rights by Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism writes on this evening’s news on Wisconsin political conflicts. Reposted. After claiming repeatedly in the media that the fight to end public worker bargaining rights was all about the budget, Governor Walker stripped the collective bargaining provisions out of the budget […]