fiscal responsibility Archive

Another Path To Solvency

By John Lumbard. The legislatures of seventeen states have recently passed a bill calling for a constitutional convention that would be focused solely on the drafting of a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.  Each of these bills explicitly states that it will be declared null and void if the Supreme...
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Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother

By James Schaefer. And thy grandparents, and great-grandparents . . . So often, we forget the sacrifices that have been made by those who came before us -- those in our own families, and in so many other families -- who gave so much of themselves to leave a better world for...
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The True Cost

By James Schaefer. There is an enormous cost to taxpayers -- and to the American economy, and to government -- by having the Social Security system structured and administered the way it currently is. Holding the Social Security Trust Fund in safe but low-yield U.S. Treasuries -- "backed by the full faith...
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Contagion and Eurosclerosis

By John Lumbard. The debt of Portugal has fallen in value so much that a buyer can now get a yield of 16% on long term, ten year bonds.  Portugal won't have to actually pay 16% until it has to borrow again (most likely when an old bond issue matures and...
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Are We Like Greece?

By John Lumbard. The fear that Europe will drag the U.S. into a recession is ebbing, and it's about time.  It's likely that Europe is already in a recession, but we're not---and there's little reason why we should be, because our exports to the continent are only worth about 4% of our...
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So. There Really Was Enough Money After All . . .

By James Schaefer.   The existence of the Alternate Plan, which substitutes for Social Security in three Texas counties, is proof that Social Security has collected sufficient FICA revenue over the decades to keep the system solvent (Perry Is Right; There Is a Texas Model for Fixing Social Security, Wall Street Journal, September...
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How To Create Jobs

By Paul K. Wright. The economy of 2012 should look very similar to the economy of 2011, and it’s likely that we won’t see any change in this low-growth environment for a number of years. Consumers and corporations have been spending less and paying down debt, and while this lower rate...
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Balanced Budget Amendment Poll

A July poll, conducted by CNN, shows that 74% of Americans are now in favor of a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution.  It wouldn't be surprising to see that the numbers have ticked a bit higher in August, because the debt-ceiling debate revealed that Congress is far from mustering the...
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Balanced Budget Amendment Pros and Cons

In recent weeks there has been a debate in the editorial pages of The Wall Street Journal regarding the merits of a balanced-budget amendment, or BBA.  First came an opinion piece by Senators DeMint (SC) and Snowe (Maine) in favor of an amendment (so far this year 48 senators have co-sponsored...
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The Truth about Entitlements

By James Schaefer.   In today’s Wall Street Journal, the lead editorial discusses the problems of government overspending (The Road to a Downgrade, July 28, 2011). Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid prove Milton Friedman's thesis: we cannot get something for nothing.  There is no free lunch; and indeed, it is quite an...
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