Article Artículo
College Wage Premium Has Been Almost Flat for Two DecadesDean Baker / December 05, 2012
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Nonsense on Conflicts of Interest in Public Pension CaseDean Baker / December 05, 2012
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The Fiscal Cliff and Baby Killing DoctorsDean Baker
The Guardian Unlimited, December 3, 2012
Dean Baker / December 04, 2012
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Washington Post Doesn't Realize that Sometimes Politicians are not TruthfulDean Baker / December 04, 2012
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David Brooks Thinks When Democrats Win Elections They Have to Give Everything to RepublicansDean Baker / December 04, 2012
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Latin America and the Caribbean
'Times' Fails to Include Expert Opinion in Discussing Argentina Media LawJake Johnston / December 03, 2012
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Labor Market Policy Research Reports, November 17 – 30, 2012Here's a roundup of labor market research reports released over the past two weeks:
Center for American Progress
Workers Deserve Equal Access to Paid Leave and Workplace Flexibility
Sarah Jane Glynn and Jane Farrell
Working Parents’ Lack of Access to Paid Leave and Workplace Flexibility
Sarah Jane Glynn
Latinos Least Likely to Have Paid Leave or Workplace Flexibility
Sarah Jane Glynn and Jane Farrell
Center for Economic Policy and Research
More Good Jobs
Shawn Fremstad
Debt, Deficits, and Demographics: Why We Can Afford the Social Contract
Dean Baker
Demos
State Guaranteed Retirement Accounts
Teresa Ghilarducci, Robert Hiltonsmith, Lauren Schmitz
Retail’s Hidden Potential: How Raising Wages Would Benefit Workers, the Industry and the Overall Economy
Catherine Ruetschlin
CEPR and / December 03, 2012
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Latin America and the Caribbean
Spanish-language Media Jumps on Assange’s “Ecuador is Insignificant” Comment, Disregards ContextAlexander Main / December 03, 2012
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Young, Educated and Jobless in America?John Schmitt / December 03, 2012
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The Serious People Are on the War PathDean Baker
Truthout, December 3, 2012
Dean Baker / December 03, 2012
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Lindsey Graham Commits Huge Gaffe: Shows Complete Lack of Understanding on the BudgetDean Baker / December 03, 2012
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NYT Disappears the Euro Crisis in Discussing Youth Unemployment in EuropeDean Baker / December 03, 2012
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Robert Samuelson Is Upset that No One Other Than the Washington Serious People Want to Cut Social Security and MedicareRobert Samuelson is angry that President Obama doesn't agree with him that Social Security and Medicare should be cut. Who does Obama think he is, disagreeing with Samuelson and the Serious People?
Just to be clear on the playing field here (Samuelson seems confused), not only does President Obama oppose cuts to these programs, his opponent Governor Romney also argued against cuts to Medicare. And polls consistently show that the vast majority of Republicans, conservatives and even self-identified Tea Party supporters also oppose cuts to Social Security and Medicare. So President Obama is defending a position that has the support of the vast majority of the American people regardless of political or ideological affiliation.
Samuelson gets a lot of other items in his piece wrong as well. When complaining about Social Security and Medicare he tells readers:
"The young will pay more and get less."
Actually, this is not true. Near retirees will have paid in to Social Security at current tax rates through almost their whole working life and will have to wait until age 67 to retire with full benefits. Younger workers will be able to anticipate longer life expectancies which means that they will likely get a slightly better return on average on their Social Security taxes. In terms of return on Medicare, if we care about outcomes, they almost certainly will do better with this program as well. Since Samuelson provides no sources, it is not clear what he thinks he is talking about.
He is also upset that:
"Supporting retirees is now the federal government’s main activity."
To people who not ideologues, this makes sense since the government can provide retirement income and health care benefits far more efficiently than the private sector. Apparently Samuelson wants to waste resources and have slower growth just so he can feel good about having a smaller government.
Dean Baker / December 03, 2012