AAUP Academe May-June 2018 As I approached age sixty-five after thirty-seven years of university teaching, I took stock of what my retirement income would look like. Many retirement experts claim that at least 70 percent of preretirement income is necessary to maintain one’s standard of living. For example, someone whose final annual income will be $100,000Continue reading “Autopsy of a Retirement Plan”
Category Archives: Social Security
Retirement Savings Plan for Private Workers Only Partial Solution
Hartford Courant April 30, 2016 The Connecticut House just passed a bill to mandate that employers who don’t have retirement plans for their workers participate in a new state-sponsored plan, essentially a public IRA, which gives workers the option of saving for retirement. The Senate should pass the bill and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy shouldContinue reading “Retirement Savings Plan for Private Workers Only Partial Solution”
Obama State of the Union 2012 and Social Security
“As I told the Speaker this summer, I’m prepared to make more reforms that rein in the long term costs of Medicare and Medicaid, and strengthen Social Security, so long as those programs remain a guarantee of security for seniors.” Obama is leaving the door open to cuts to Social Security. Once again, those ofContinue reading “Obama State of the Union 2012 and Social Security”
Social Security Survives Elite Attempts to Weaken It in 2011
The Republican attempts in 2011 to weaken Social Security in the name of deficit reduction were to be expected; the mixed signals of the Democrats in terms of defending it were concerning. What saved Social Security from cuts was mobilization by organizations such as Strengthen Social Security of the public which overwhelmingly supports the programContinue reading “Social Security Survives Elite Attempts to Weaken It in 2011”
How Payroll Tax Cut Affects Social Security’s Future
by David Welna National Public Radio, December 7, 2011 President Obama put Congress on notice Tuesday in a speech in Osawatomie, Kan. He said that unless a temporary payroll tax cut is extended this month, 160 million Americans would see their taxes go up next year by an average of $1,000. But there’s concern on both sidesContinue reading “How Payroll Tax Cut Affects Social Security’s Future”
Oppose Social Security Tax Cut
by Steve Max www.portside.org December 1, 2011 Yesterday I received an e-mail from MoveOn summoning me to a demonstration in support of the Obama Administration’s attempt to fundamentally restructure Social Security and shift half of its funding into the congressional budget processes. Of course MoveOn never mentioned Social Security. They are deceiving their members byContinue reading “Oppose Social Security Tax Cut”
Social Security Payroll Tax Cut – A Temporary Stimulus with Permanent Damage
by  Charles A. Blahous FoxNews.com Published September 23, 2011 http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/09/23/social-security-payroll-tax-cut-temporary-stimulus-with-permanent-damage/ As a former colleague of mine has astutely observed, sometimes the most consequential policy mistakes occur because everyone is looking the other way. The President’s latest “jobs” proposal to extend, and expand, cuts in the Social Security payroll tax is a good example. While nearlyContinue reading “Social Security Payroll Tax Cut – A Temporary Stimulus with Permanent Damage”
Security Plus Annuities – A Bad Idea
The Aspen Institute recommends establishing “Security Plus Annuities†to supplement Social Security benefits, an idea endorsed by Richard H. Thaler, a University of Chicago economics professor with ties to the financial services industry, in the New York Times (“Getting the Most Out of Social Security,†July 16, 2011). The idea is that individuals would be ableContinue reading “Security Plus Annuities – A Bad Idea”
“Get Radical: Raise, Don’t Save, Social Security†by Thomas Geoghegan—New York Times op-ed article.
Thomas Geohegan’s “Get Radical: Raise, Don’t Save, Social Security†(New York Times, June 19, 2011) eloquently makes the argument that Social Security revenues and benefits both need to be raised, especially since 401(k)s have failed to provide sufficient retirement income.
Stockman’s March to Social Madness
David A. Stockman, Ronald Reagan’s Director of Management and Budget, came right out and said it in an April 24, 2011 New York Times op-ed, “The Bipartisan March to Fiscal Madness:â€Â Social Security should be reduced to a means tested program that would benefit only the poor. Instead of being the primary source of middle andContinue reading “Stockman’s March to Social Madness”