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• Government, Taxes & Other Disasters
• Home Ownership & Mortgages
• Q&A (from print)
• Retirement

• The dollar loses value every day

  D.B. in Plano Texas links two major sources of worry. "I am a recipient of both Social Security and Medicare. I remember the Nixon era economic panics. Would you hazard a guess as to when, in your judgment, we can reasonably expect a devaluation of the... Posted Jun 20 2006, 10:21 AM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Medicare & Generational Storm, Social Security

• Ride to Live, Live to Ride

  A recent column, " Life is less expensive for older couples ," brought a divided reader response. Carl J., a Houston reader, wrote: "It is the first time that I have seen something resembling the truth about retirement. I don't know where these people... Posted Jun 04 2006, 11:21 AM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Medicare & Generational Storm, Social Security

• When Worlds Collide

  One small set of tables among all the Social Security and Medicare trustees' report documents tells us two worlds will collide much sooner than expected. The worlds aren't planets. They are the world of U. S. government operations and the related, but... Posted May 16 2006, 02:58 PM by scottb with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Medicare & Generational Storm, Social Security

• This Year, a $3 Trillion Lump under the Rug

  A major supply of bedtime reading became available on May 1st--- the annual trustees' reports on Social Security and Medicare. Clocking in at 226 and 219 pages, respectively, the reports guarantee sleep for the innumerate. The reports may also cause nightmares... Posted May 14 2006, 03:03 PM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Medicare & Generational Storm, Social Security

• And Now, "Congress Risk"

  You've heard about credit risk, interest rate risk and manager risk, right? Well, Donald D., a Houston reader, thinks there's a greater risk. I think he's right. He calls it "Congress risk." Writing in response to my recent column about the benefits of... Posted Feb 21 2006, 05:08 PM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Medicare & Generational Storm, Social Security

• A Model Government Plan

  "How does the federal Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) compare with industry plans?" So asks F.C., a San Antonio reader. Answer: It compares very, very well. Indeed, in "The Coming Generational Storm" (MIT Press, $17) Professor Laurence J. Kotlikoff and I suggest... Posted Aug 02 2005, 02:49 PM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Medicare & Generational Storm, Retirement, Social Security

• Squeezing the Working Generation

  The recently released 2005 Social Security Trustees Report, a 225 page document that will never be confused with the eagerly awaited "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince," contains a table you can use to foretell an important part of your future. Modestly... Posted Apr 21 2005, 02:02 PM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Medicare & Generational Storm, Retirement, Social Security

• How Medicare Will Overwhelm Social Security

  You can stop worrying about cuts in Social Security benefits after 2040 due to unfunded liabilities. Why? Something worse will happen before then. Medicare will start to cut into your retirement benefits the day you retire. You can understand this by... Posted Apr 10 2005, 02:10 PM by scottb with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Medicare & Generational Storm, Social Security

• A New Deal for the 21st Century

  When it comes to Social Security, it's all rocks and hard places. Over the next 75 years the unfunded liabilities of our most important social program are estimated at $3.7 trillion. That figure assumes that the $1.5 trillion in U.S. Treasury obligations... Posted Jan 18 2005, 11:54 AM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Medicare & Generational Storm, Social Security

• Social Security and the Four-Way Fairness Test

  We're going to hear a lot about Social Security---probably a lot more than we want to hear. We'll hear dozens of sophisticated arguments from major think tanks of the left and right. Some will argue to continue the largest and most important social program... Posted Jan 04 2005, 02:08 PM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Medicare & Generational Storm, Social Security

• Understanding Social Security, the Trust Fund, and Future Benefits

  For most people it's TMI--- Too Much Information. In recent weeks, one reader confidently informed me that Social Security has no unfunded liabilities "because it is a pay-as-you-go program." Another reader wrote that future benefits wouldn't be threatened... Posted Jul 20 2004, 12:18 PM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Government, Taxes & Other Disasters, Medicare & Generational Storm, Social Security

• How To “Optimize“ Your Credit

  Q. I have a home mortgage question. I am evaluating a job opportunity in the mid west. My dilemma concerns my personal debt. I have about as much credit card debt (about $50,000) as I do ownership in my house (estimated selling price minus principle left... Posted Feb 12 2004, 09:43 AM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Home Ownership & Mortgages, Medicare & Generational Storm, Q&A (from print), Social Security

• Medicare, Medicare Prescriptions, and Life Expectancy

  Some columns bring more mail than others. My recent declaration of enmity for the AARP because it supported the $6 trillion prescription drug benefit was one of those columns. It brought a torrent of reader mail. A surprising amount was positive. But... Posted Jan 13 2004, 11:18 AM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Medicare & Generational Storm, Social Security