Archive for June, 2010

What Karl Rove Leaves Out of His New Memoir

22 Jun 2010 at 12:06

Eric Laursen

Social Security

No Comment

So I’m a bit behind on my reading. What with the plethora of books purporting to explain the origin and progress of the post-meltdown economy, I only recently got around to the most intriguing political memoir of the Bush II years, Karl Rove’s Courage and Consequences: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight. But [...]

Hungary: Template for Social Security’s Future?

21 Jun 2010 at 01:02

Eric Laursen

Social Security

1 Comment

Former Sen. Alan Simpson, co-chair of our super-secretive National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, says the panel is looking at “15 different options” to restructure Social Security. The commissioners aren’t letting on what these are, of course. But they may be looking carefully at Hungary, where the post-communist government adopted a partially privatized system [...]

Deficit Commission Member Predicts Deadlock

09 Jun 2010 at 16:42

Eric Laursen

Social Security, Uncategorized

4 Comments

Rep. Jan Schakowsky, a member of President Obama’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, predicts the panel will not come up with a unified pan to cut the deficit – and slash Social Security. Schakowsky, appointed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is one of the small number of reliable pro-Social Security voices in the commission. [...]

Grannies with Cat Food on the Mall

08 Jun 2010 at 11:00

Eric Laursen

Social Security

No Comment

The Obama deficit commission is, at bottom, an attempt to end-run the electorate by enabling lawmakers and political appointees to cut a backroom deal to slash Social Security. One way to stop it emerged this morning from the America’s Future Now! conference in Washington. At a panel on “Holding Congress Accountable,” Darcy Burner of ProgressiveCongress.org [...]

Our Schizophrenic Deficit Commission

04 Jun 2010 at 00:06

Eric Laursen

Social Security

No Comment

There’s a very basic problem built into the president’s mandate for his National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. The commission is supposed to submit a plan to reduce the deficit, short-term, and shrink the national debt, long-term. But doing the one may actually make it harder to do the other. Sometimes it seems like [...]

Changing the Direction of the Social Security Debate

01 Jun 2010 at 17:11

Eric Laursen

Social Security

1 Comment

When it comes to Social Security, the best defense is a good offense. A new study by the National Academy of Social Insurance, arguing for restoration of survivor benefits for college students, creates an opportunity for the program’s defenders to get out of their defensive crouch. Reagan budget director David Stockman dismissed it as “dogs [...]

Eric signing “Understanding the Crash” at America’s Future Now! June 8

01 Jun 2010 at 14:20

Eric Laursen

Economics

No Comment

Understanding the Crash, my new book with Seth Tobocman and Jessica Wehrle, is now available from Soft Skull Press. Seth and I will be signing copies at the America’s Future Now! conference, Tues., June 8 at 3 p.m. at the Omni Shoreham Hotel (Regency Ballroom) in Washington, DC. Understanding the Crash explains the collapse of [...]