The result of this history is that entitlements have expanded far beyond assisting the poor. Many of the benefits go to beneficiaries far above the poverty line. Congress has proven totally untrustworthy in managing surpluses or trust funds or maintaining a sound financial basis. The explosion in entitlements is the primary driver of the post-World War II debts.
Read More
from the Wall Street Journal, The Uncounted Trillions in the Inequality Debate by Martin Feldstein: excerpts: These data seem to show a country whose wealth is highly concentrated. But the true picture is hardly as stark as critics of inequality
Read More
“Social Security was an extraordinarily good deal for the first beneficiaries. Over time, the program has become less and less of a good deal, and will continue to do so. And it looks even less attractive relative to plausible alternatives.
Read More
“The simplest method is to begin with an opt-out provision for Social Security. People who understand the benefits of deferring consumption in order to invest for retirement should have the option to act on that knowledge using their own resources.
Read More
In the Wall Street Journal Richard Vedder writes The Wages of Unemployment, 1/15/13. Excerpts: The sharp rise in food-stamp beneficiaries predated the financial crisis of 2008: From 2000 to 2007, the number of beneficiaries rose from 17.1 million to 26.3
Read More
Richard Vedder writes in the Wall Street Journal The Wages of Unemploymewnt, 1/15/12. Excerpts: Compare 2010 with October 2012, the last month for which food-stamp data have been reported. The unemployment rate fell to 7.8% from 9.6%, and real GDP
Read More
Nicholas Eberstadt writes in The Wall Street Journal, Yes, Mr. President, We Are a Nation of Takers, 1/24/13. Excerpts: Over the 50-plus years since 1960, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, entitlement transfers—government payments of cash, goods and services
Read More
Investors’ Business Daily has justly pointed out that Obama’s threat to Social Security in the current budget / debt ceiling talk is more than just another arrow in his class warfare quiver; it is a frank admission of what a
Read More
The real test of the Tea Party and the new conservative majority in Congress is how committed they are to cutting the expenses of government. It is foolish to think it can be cut by a meaningful amount without cutting
Read More
The biggest risk the Democrats take on the comprehensive approach to health care is that they will find it much harder to use the health insurance companies as the demon to unite their troops. They may try to continue to
Read More
It will be a bitter pill for many, but it is inevitable.
Read More
Recent Comments