For years we have been regaled with scary, scary numbers about how Medicare’s projected unfunded liability was in the TENS OF TRILLIONS. And sure enough if you consulted the Medicare Report and examined the actuarial projections for Medicare Part A you would find that number. But a funny thing happened with the 2010 Report and […]
by Bruce Webb When I first started paying serious attention to Social Security reporting back in 1997 I was struck by its curious mix of precision and fluidity and how that mix moved from the latter to the former as you went from the data tables to the top line numbers and then on to […]
The monthly employment report roughly showed the economy to be still stagnated as the trends that have been in place so far this year continued. Private payrolls increased modestly by some 67,000 jobs. But the drop in census temporary employment caused total nonfarm payroll employment to fall 54,000.The year over year gain in jobs as […]
Robert Waldmann Is going to disagree with Barack Obama and Paul Krugman (alternative title “which one here is not like the others”). Krugman writes and Obama implies that no large stimulus will pass congress. I think a proposal to send a $500 check to every US citizen containing family would pass congress. In particular some […]
Robert Waldmann Kevin Drum stresses the very sound point that even if part of current unemployment is structural, we should stimulate to get rid of the part which is cyclical. I don’t have a serious disagreement and choose to debate his guess as to the level of structural unemployment for the sake of debating. “The […]
by reader Ilsm American Empire and “exert upon the world the full impact of our influence for such purposes as we see fit and by such means as we see fit” (Henry R. Luce); why the generals push back on Gates’ minimal 3% increase in their war machine, disguised as cuts. Generals push back on […]
by Dan Crawford (Rdan)(H/t Ken Houghton) Eric Leeper’s paper Monetary Science, Fiscal Alchemy∗, also found ungated in the Financial Times: Jackson Hole papers finally available, mentioned Angry Bear in a footnote page 12 in the section on reactions to the lastest CBO report. Here is the fiscal alchemy of Bruce’s post on the CBO report. […]
Daily Kos: Simpson to disabled vets: You cost too much Joan McCarter: Fresh off of being forgiven by the White House, Simpson has a new target. :RALEIGH, N.C.—The system that automatically awards disability benefits to some veterans because of concerns about Agent Orange seems contrary to efforts to control federal spending, the Republican co-chairman of […]
Edmoney is tracking the allocation and spending of education-related stimulus grants. The map is here. Some states have gotten the funds into circulation better than others. Selected states below (GA was highlighted by them): California, 78% New Jersey, 63% Georgia, 62% Indiana, 60% Oklahoma, 50% Mississippi, 42% Massachusetts, 41% Michigan, 41% Kentucky, 39% Pennsylvania, 35% […]