The constantly criticized worker/beneficiary ratio is a load of garbage as an argument for the unsustainability of the system. Here's a historical chart of the ratio (source): By that argument, there should have been a crisis in about 1960 when the ...Read More
While I don't by any stretch think that losing control of the House of Representatives is a political certainty for Democrats, I also don't think that such a loss would necessarily be a bad thing. It would be a symbolic ...Read More
Every now and again in the discussion of the US tax system, a major reform proposal gets kicked around - not a measly Bush-style bracket readjustment or anything like that, but a real major reform. A consumption tax. A flat ...Read More
I've taken a moment and cooked up some charts examining the relationship between tax rates and income equality. Here's the most relevant one. It shows the effective tax rates on the top and bottom income quintiles and their effect on ...Read More
Steve Benen posted his monthly update of job progress, but I wanted to get a closer look at the numbers. So I threw together this chart using private sector job numbers only (basically, ex-Census), and including a stimulus spending line ...Read More
Social Security’s Non-Crisis
Should Democrats Lose the House?
The Constantly Progressive Consumption Tax
Fairness, Taxes, and the Bush Oddity
Stimulus: A Shot in the Arm