Tag Archives : Social Security Privatization
Government-Run Social Security Is Bad News for Blacks and other Minorities
America desperately needs genuine entitlement reform to avoid a Greek-style fiscal future. The biggest problems are the health entitlements such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Obamacare, but Social Security also has a huge long-run fiscal shortfall. That’s why I’m a big fan of the very successful reforms in places such as Chileand Australia, where personal accounts are producing big benefits for workers.These systems […]
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What America Can Learn from the Faroe Islands about Social Security Reform
I’m currently in the Faroe Islands, a relatively unknown and semi-autonomous part of Denmark located in the North Atlantic. Sort of like Greenland, but too small to appear on most maps. I’m in this chilly archipelago for a speech to the annual meeting of the Faroese People’s Party. According to Wikipedia, “the party is supportive […]
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Personal Retirement Accounts Are Great…but only if You Can Stop Future Politicians from Confiscating the Accumulated Wealth
Most Western nations have huge long-run fiscal problems because of unfavorable demographics and misguided entitlement programs. That’s the bad news. The good news is that dozens of nations have fully or partially shifted to mandatory private savings as a pro-growth way of modernizing bankrupt tax-and-transfer Social Security systems. But good news in the short run […]
read more...I Made a $16 Trillion Mistake, but Still Had a Stronger Position in this Debate
I’ve done a handful of TV debates on Social Security, including the time I said that I wished Republicans had a secret plan for personal retirement accounts. So I thought I was well prepared for this duel with a defender of the status quo on Fox Business Network. I generally think the debate went well, […]
read more...The Chilean Miracle Shows that Economic Liberty is the Best Way of Helping Ordinary People
I’m in Vienna, Austria, for the annual European Resource Bank meeting. I had the pleasure last night of listening to Jose Pinera speak about economic reform in Chile, particularly the system of personal retirement accounts. He shared a chart that conclusively shows why good economic policy makes a difference. Wow. Look at how much faster […]
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Unexpected Praise for Australia’s Private Social Security System
One reason I’m so bullish on Australia is that the nation has a privatized Social Security system called “Superannuation,” with workers setting aside 9 percent of their income in personal retirement accounts (rising to 12 percent by 2020). Established almost 30 years ago, and made virtually universal about 20 years ago, this system is far […]
read more...If You Could Reform only One Major Entitlement Program, Which One Would You Pick?
This is a tough question. I obviously want comprehensive reform of all entitlement programs, so selecting just one is a bit of a challenge. Sort of like being asked to pick your favorite kid. Would I reform Social Security? That’s a logical choice. It’s the biggest program in the federal budget, so it’s presumably the […]
read more...Yes, We Should “Reform” Payroll Taxes, but only if that Means Personal Retirement Accounts
Washington is filled with debate and discussion about the economic burden of the federal income tax, which collected $1.13 trillion in FY2012 ($1.37 trillion if you include the corporate income tax). Yet politicians rarely consider the economic impact of payroll taxes, even though these levies totaled $.85 trillion during the same fiscal year. Yes, we […]
read more...Australia vs. the United States: Two Charts that Tell You Everything You Need to Know about Social Security Reform
There are two serious problems with America’s Social Security system. Almost everyone knows about the first problem, which is that the system is bankrupt, with huge unfunded liabilities of about $30 trillion. The other crisis is that the system gives workers a lousy level of retirement income compared to the amount of taxes they pay […]
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Everything You Need to Know about Entitlement Reform
Most people have a vague understanding that America has a huge long-run fiscal problem. They’re right, though they probably don’t realize the seriousness of that looming crisis. Here’s what you need to know: America’s fiscal crisis is actually a spending crisis, and that spending crisis is driven by entitlements. More specifically, the vast majority of […]
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