Author’s Response to Social Insecurity – Investment Rules Need Rethinking
Filed Under SteveG's Posts
I solicited a response to my post Social Insecurity – Investment Rules Need Rethinking from Arun Muralidhar a co-author of the book that I mentioned, Rethinking Pension Reform, by Franco Modigliani and Arun Muralidhar, Published October 2004.
I posted it as a comment to that other item, but RichardH urged me to make it more prominent.
Here is what Arun Muralidhar gave me permission to post:
I think the privatization folks have realized that privatization is a pipe dream (especially given that even the Chileans have reformed their system away from privatization) and the market collapse of 2008 demonstrates how individuals who were unlucky to be conceived in the wrong year and month could have been left in poverty at retirement if they were in DC plans. Also, the folks who support no change to current way of financing benefits have got to realize that a PAYGO system is unsustainable and leaves SS contributions very susceptible to small changes in population and productivity growth. The simple solution is to implement what we call “risk sharing through a common portfolio.” Because of continued inaction in Washington year after year (and squandered surpluses), there is a cost to be borne and it is currently a 1.1% permanent increase in SS taxes for all citizens – the worse part, if we keep delaying, the cost keeps rising as this is a ticking time bomb, but the fuse is long so Washington can kick the ball down the road to the next set of representatives!
The sad part is Congress is totally paralyzed (I tried contacting my rep, Congressman Rush Holt, when I lived in NJ and he claimed he did not have the time to meet and I was fobbed off onto a researcher). Someday, I hope that our elected representatives get a backbone to take this on and not strap our kids with a ridiculous tab for our inaction.
In addition to having a decent health care system, shouldn’t we ensure that we do not leave our retirees in poverty or plunder from our children to prevent such an outcome?
Post Linx
Permalink | Trackback |
|
Print This Page | Leave a Comment
Health Reform in No Uncertain Terms
Filed Under SteveG's Posts
That’s why we need health insurance reform right now
When you hear people more worried about the politics of it than what’s right and what’s wrong…
Follow this link to the page where you can record the results of your call to your Congress people
With just days remaining, the final vote is shaping up to be extremely close. Everything we’ve worked for is on the line, and your voice is needed now more than ever before.
Post Linx
Permalink | Trackback |
|
Print This Page | Leave a Comment
Social Insecurity – Investment Rules Need Rethinking
Filed Under SteveG's Posts
Follow this link to the editorial in the Worcester T & G.
I posted this response to this Editorial as a comment on the web site:
Wow, I cannot believe that I am seeing this as a T & G editorial. I have been advocating this since at least 2004.
Read the book – Rethinking Pension Reform, Franco Modigliani, Arun Muralidhar, Published October 2004.
http://www.cambridge.org/uk/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521834112
It spells out a well thought out plan to modify Social Security investment policy in ways indicated by this editorial.
Imagine if Social Security had been allowed to invest at the depths of the market in March 2009. That investment by Social Security would already be up by 60% or more.
Previous publications by Modigliani and Muralidhar show even more detail than in the book. They had an FAQ that showed how they resolved just about every possible objection to their plan. Ted Kennedy was going to have them testify before Congress, but I don’t think that ever actually happened.
Follow this link to what I posted back in 2004 about this topic.
Post Linx
Permalink | Trackback |
|
Print This Page | 1 Comment
The Raging Septuagenarian
Filed Under SteveG's Posts
Follow this link to the article A Look Inside the Life of News Corp. Mogul and Raging Septuagenarian Rupert Murdoch — New York Magazine
.
I figure it always pays to understand what motivates an adversary. I think it may be much worse than I imagined.
Post Linx
Permalink | Trackback |
|
Print This Page | Leave a Comment
Have You Sent Your Letter To Congress?
Filed Under SteveG's Posts
http://my.barackobama.com/DaySix6
With everything on the line and so little time left, we have to bring our voice to Congress through every possible channel.
It takes just a few minutes to write and send your own letter directly to your representative to let them know that you support health reform.
I have made phone calls, sent email, and written on my Representative’s facebook page.
Don’t miss an opportunity to make your voice heard.
Post Linx
Permalink | Trackback |
|
Print This Page | Leave a Comment
U.S. Anger Over East Jerusalem Row Is Excessive
Filed Under SteveG's Posts
Follow this link to the story in the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz.
This gives the other point of view to my previous post, A Serial Obstructionist.
As with all issues in Israel, I don’t know which side to believe. Of course that’s no different from political issues in this country. Sometimes it is hard to know who to believe.
Of course the Haaretz article doesn’t take into account the political problem faced by President Obama. The Palestinians may be taking advantage of the Obama administration’s seeming anger over the Jerusalem row. However, the Palestinians may be taking advantage of Netanyahu’s demonstration that you can walk all over the Obama administration and they will be powerless to do anything about it.
It is not clear to me which position that Obama could take that would be more harmful to Israel in the end. Netanyahu has made his political calculation to do what he has done. Time will tell who is the better political calculator, Abbas, Netanyahu, or Obama.
As for the analysis in Haaretz, I would hardly call Obama’s attempts to strengthen sanctions on Iran, extending a hand
to Iran, unless you mean by hand
a closed fist.
Post Linx
Permalink | Trackback |
|
Print This Page | Leave a Comment
A Serial Obstructionist
Filed Under SteveG's Posts
Follow this link to the article on the ZEEK website which is presented by The Jewish Daily Forward. The article claims that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have deliberately ambushed Vice President Joseph Biden with the announcement of the plans to build 1600 housing units on the west bank.
You may or may not choose to believe this. I don’t quite know what to make of it.
Post Linx
Permalink | Trackback |
|
Print This Page | Leave a Comment
Public option: In Pelosi’s hands
Filed Under SteveG's Posts
Follow this link if you want to support the airing of this ad.
Post Linx
Permalink | Trackback |
|
Print This Page | Leave a Comment
Investigation Raises Questions on Driver’s Version of Prius Incident
Filed Under SteveG's Posts
Follow this link to the article in The Wall Street Journal. I know what newspaper
I have just given you as a link. However, this appears to be a news story and not an editorial, so there might be a smidgen of credibility in it.
During the 911 call, the operator urged Mr. Sikes to shift the car into neutral. He later said he was afraid doing so might cause the car to “flip” or shift into reverse.
What kind of ignorant driver would think that shifting to neutral would cause the car to flip over, but slamming on the brakes would not? What kind of driver would rather crash into a wall at 95 miles per hour for sure rather than run some other kind of risk to get the car under control?
The piece I quoted isn’t even the question being raised. The actual question is whether or not the driver actually applied the brakes as forcefully as he claimed. I wonder if the behavior of the anti-lock brakes caused him to take his foot off the brakes.
I don’t know how many of you have experienced your anti-lock system coming into action. In some cars it causes a rapid vibration in the brake pedal. In some cars you may also get a bit of noise from the brakes. If you are unaware of what is going on, you might think this is a problem and might take your foot off the break pedal. Actually, this behavior is a sign that the anti-lock system is doing exactly what it is designed to do. You just need to keep your foot on the brake until you regain control.
A federal safety investigation of the Toyota Prius that was involved in a dramatic incident on a California highway last week found a particular pattern of wear on the car’s brakes that raises questions about the driver’s version of the event, three people familiar with the investigation said.
On Monday James Sikes, 61 years old, called 911 and told the operator his blue 2008 Toyota Prius had sped up to more than 90 miles per hour on its own on Interstate 8 near San Diego. He eventually brought the vehicle to a stop after a California Highway patrolman pulled alongside Mr. Sikes and offered help.
During and after the incident, Mr. Sikes said he was using heavy pressure on his brake pedal at high speeds.
But the investigation of the vehicle, carried out jointly by safety officials from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Toyota engineers, didn’t find signs the brakes had been applied at full force at high speeds over a sustained period of time, the three people familiar with the investigation said.
The brakes were discolored and showed wear, but the pattern of friction suggested the driver had intermittently applied moderate pressure on the brakes, these people said, adding the investigation didn’t find indicators of the heavy pressure described by Mr. Sikes.
Further details of the findings weren’t available.
On Friday NHTSA officials declined to comment on the inspection and couldn’t immediately be reached on Saturday.
Toyota spokesman Mike Michels said the company will release technical findings very soon and declined to comment further about the vehicle’s brakes. Mr. Michels said the hybrid braking system used in the Prius would make the engine lose power if the brakes were pressed at the same time as the accelerator.
Mr. Sikes lawyer, John Gomez, said Saturday: “Regardless of the outcome of the investigation, it’s clear that there is a problem with these cars. We’re going to wait till the inspection is complete.” He said that the California Highway patrolman involved in the incident said he saw the car’s brake lights go on and that he smelled the brakes burning.
The investigation’s findings aren’t 100% conclusive and still must be finalized. But they are likely to cast doubt on how the situation was described by Mr. Sikes. The California Highway Patrol has said it has no reason not to believe Mr. Sikes, but questions have mounted in recent days, in part because the Prius has a type of technology that pulls back on the accelerator when the brake is engaged.
During the 911 call, the operator urged Mr. Sikes to shift the car into neutral. He later said he was afraid doing so might cause the car to “flip” or shift into reverse.
Mr. Sikes’s Prius is subject to a recall by Toyota to prevent the driver’s floor mat from pinning down the gas pedal that was announced in November and covers 5.4 million vehicles in the U.S.
Reports of unintended acceleration have prompted Toyota to recall more than six million vehicles in the U.S. and more than eight million world-wide. The recalls are aimed to fix the floor mat issue as well as gas pedals that can get stuck.
Post Linx
Permalink | Trackback |
|
Print This Page | Leave a Comment
51 Senate Votes For The Public Option
Filed Under SteveG's Posts
Follow this link to make a contribution to the effort by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee.
I would not normally post a link showing a segment from The Ed Show. I consider him to be a blowhard on the left almost in the image of Rush on the right. However, this piece does seem worthy of consideration.
Post Linx
Permalink | Trackback |
|
Print This Page | Leave a Comment