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The Promise and Perils of Public Options

"[Is] there a genuine case to be made for the ideal of the government providing goods and services alongside private alternatives? ... [Two] law professors ... argue that there is -- citing the postal service, public defense attorneys, and municipal golf courses as examples ... [T]heir argument for establishing or expanding various 'public options' in a number of policy areas is most convincing as a critique of voucher-based government spending."

Better to Split Up than Prop Up Troubled Multiemployer Pension Plans

"One idea being pushed aggressively by the sponsor community is actually no solution at all, and should be taken off the table as soon as possible: namely, propping up insolvent multiemployer plans with taxpayer-financed loans. To put it bluntly, the loan approach is unfair, irresponsible, and it wouldn't work. Such loans would essentially be a continuation of ill-considered policies that to date have failed, and would only cause the costs of pension underfunding to soar still further."

Who Should Pay to Cover Pre-Existing Conditions?

"[T]reating an expensive health condition costs (someone) lots of money. There are four basic approaches that can be taken to this problem. [1] Leave sick people to face the costs of their own treatment, whether out of pocket or through high-cost insurance, no matter how ruinous those costs become. [2] Mandate that other, healthier people overpay for the value of their own health insurance, so that sick people can underpay for the value of theirs. [3] Spread the costs of paying expensive health bills throughout society, for example by having taxpayers pick up the tab. [4] Require a targeted group to shoulder the costs."

Social Security Slouches Towards Insolvency

"Each year since 2010, Social Security has been operating at a cash flow deficit, meaning the annual costs exceed income from payroll taxes and the taxation of benefits. In 2022, the annual program costs will be more than total income, which also includes interest on the trust fund assets. At this point the trust fund will be drawn down. By 2034, the trust fund will be exhausted, at which point tax income would only be enough to pay for 77 percent of benefits."

Four Lessons from the Latest Social Security Trustees' Report

"[1] Social Security faces a huge financing shortfall.... [2] The shortfall is certain.... [3] We are running out of time to save Social Security, if we haven't already.... [4] We need public trustees."

Rep. Tim Ryan's Good Idea: Pay Pensions Before General Creditors in Bankruptcy

"On May 20, Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) introduced the Prioritizing Our Workers Act of 2019 ... [T]he bill would require that pension benefits owed to workers be honored before other creditors of a bankrupt company are paid back. Such a change to bankruptcy law faces formidable political obstacles and would have substantial effects on financial markets.... Ryan's proposal moves in the right direction from the standpoints of both economics and fairness[.]"