Social Security is going bust, a report released by trustees of the federal government’s entitlement programs claims. And without more money being poured into the system, the report argues, tens of millions of Americans will receive only three-quarters of their Social Security benefits in the near future. But even if trustees hadn’t figured that out by now, you would have known this was bound to happen.
The fiscal black hole surrounding Social Security and Medicare had been talked about long before mankind got its first glimpse of the interstellar phenomenon. Like the particles and electromagnetic radiation absorbed in the galactic monster’s path, the American people face an event horizon, a point of no return.
The US military’s Afghanistan operation is going so well, the US military wants to stop telling you about it.
According to the AP:
Amid a battlefield stalemate in Afghanistan, the U.S. military has stopped releasing information often cited to measure progress in America’s longest war...
The move fits a trend of less information being released about the war in recent years...
Sometimes you have to congratulate the progressive left on their ability to turn that frown upside down. When the laws of economics hand them socialist lemons, they turn right around and make leisure lemonade. Specifically, Kate Aronoff at the Intercept has written an article that says the Green New Deal will make us all happier—in part because who needs all that work and economic output anyway?
To show I’m not putting words in her mouth, here are some excerpts from the Aronoff piece:
The government’s releases of various economic indicators such as GDP, CPI and unemployment receive wide coverage in the media. In a measured and authoritative voice, various economists and other experts who are interviewed discuss their views regarding the health of the economy. A rise in an indicator such as GDP is interpreted as good news while a decline is seen as pointing to troubles ahead.
What are the tools that economists and financial experts utilize in their assessments of the economy? What is the basis of their framework of thought?
Listen to the Audio Mises Wire version of this article.
People, Power, and Profits: Progressive Capitalism for an Age of Discontent. By Joseph E. Stiglitz. Norton, 2019. Xxvii + 371 pages.
