I do not usually write posts like this, but this one is too hard to pass up. I published this article on January 10th about the right-wing class envy arguments. Relevant excerpt: What the conservatives call envy, the leftists call a yearning for equality. What those who scoff at envy really seek to do is… Continue reading Romney proves my thesis about class envy accusations correct
Notes on increasing age qualifications for Medicare and Social Security
The CBO released a brief earlier this week about the budgetary impacts of raising the eligibility age for Medicare and Social Security. As anyone would expect, raising the qualifying age for either program will reduce government outlays. Raising the Medicare eligibility age by two years will reduce government outlays on the program by 5 percent.… Continue reading Notes on increasing age qualifications for Medicare and Social Security
Congressional under-funding of IRS costs the government $385 billion
The Internal Revenue Service released a report on how much revenue the government misses out on due to illegally unpaid taxes. According to their estimates, the figure for 2006 was around $450 billion, with 17 percent of taxes going unpaid. Around $65 billion of the unpaid taxes are recovered through enforcement, leaving a net tax… Continue reading Congressional under-funding of IRS costs the government $385 billion
Bain Capital and the social safety net
Mitt Romney has recently suffered attacks for his tenure as head of a buyout firm called Bain Capital. During Romney’s time there, Bain Capital purchased a number of struggling companies and laid off scores of workers in an effort to turn the companies around. This is, in essence, what buyout firms do. They take over… Continue reading Bain Capital and the social safety net
Are the poor envious of the rich?
Since Occupy Wall Street pushed inequality back into the mainstream consciousness, those on the right have scrambled to mount their defenses. Paul Ryan and Eric Cantor tried to defend by emphasizing the existence of social mobility, something that is