Category: Social Services and Entitlements
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Work Ethic, the Welfare State and the Income Gap
by James A. Bacon Once again, Bacon sallies forth into the debate over the rising income gap… The latest piece to catch my eye is a new paper, “The Swedish Model Reassessed: Affluence Despite the Welfare State,” by a Finn, Nima Sanandaji, and published by the Helsinki-based Libera Foundation (which, as far as I know,…
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The Wonk Salon, October 14, 2011
Immigrant Demographic Trends in the 2000s Brookings Institution The foreign-born population in the United States grew by 8.8 million in the 2000s. Immigrants are somewhat more likely to live in the suburbs, to be educated, to reside here a decade or more, and to get naturalized. Immigrant Access to Social Services Urban Institute Even though…
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The Wonk Salon, October 12, 2011
State Spending Still Outpacing Inflation, Population Growth Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission Despite the recession, state spending over the past 10 years has outpaced inflation and population growth by a wide margin. General Fund spending hasn’t kept up — the growth comes from Non-General Fund spending. Medicaid Errors Costs the State $ Tens of…
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The Wonk Salon, September 23, 2011
Comparing Public- Vs. Private-Sector Compensation: Private Wins by a Hair Boston Center for Retirement Research Private-sector workers earn about 9.5% more than state-local government workers with comparable skills. If benefits are included, total compensation is just about equal on a national level. Immigration Assimilation: It Takes Two to Tango Center for American Progress Historically, Americans…
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Kaine leaps into the Ponzi Pool
By Norm Leahy I don’t begrudge Democratic Senate candidate Tim Kaine’s desire to stir-up the base with this meeting, or forum, if you prefer, on Social Security. It is amusing, though, to read the quote Wes Hester pulled from the Kaine campaign’s press release announcing the event: A release from Kaine’s campaign announcing the Tuesday…
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Nice Try, Cooch
By Peter Galuszka Surprise, surprise, surprise. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has tossed out a notorious challenge by Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli and arch-conservative Liberty University to Obamacare. In a surprise move, a three-judge panel at the appeals court ruled that the two plaintiffs did not have standing to bring the case and…
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The Over-Regulation Hoax
By Peter Galuszka “They’re coming out with multiple, onerous regulations,” says Mike Bucci, a small business owner in Richmond, according to a visual runby Chief Baconaut James A. Bacon Jr., as part of a blog posting titled”Paperwork, Solar Panels, and Job Creation.” Mr. Bucci complains that his small business, which comes up with business solutions,…
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Grumpy Old Men
By Peter Galuszka Here I was, sitting in a strip mall Panera, waiting for the next electric socket to open up. It was the aftermath of Hurricane Irene and I had been without electricity since 4:35 p.m. Saturday. I have a home office, so having no power can be deadly. Plenty of other people had…
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The weak suit that could undermine challenges to the health care law
By Norm Leahy Ken Cuccinelli is worried. It’s not a familiar feeling for Virginia’s Attorney General. Mid-way through his first term in office, Cuccinelli has translated his firm conservative beliefs into a series of court cases challenging what he, and his supporters, sees as federal government excesses. So often has he taken the feds to…
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Tax the Rich!
By Peter Galuszka One the recurring themes of James A. Bacon, the Bacon-In-Chief, and his Baconauts, is that while the vast, unwashed masses of Americans must endure cutbacks in their lifestyles and spending to prevent “Boomergeddon,” the rich are strangely left out of the equation. Keep in mind that in the past 30 years, the…
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With Warner snub, “super committee” shows it’s hardly super
Senator Mark Warner had some small hope of being named to the congressional “super committee” that is supposed to pore over the federal budget and find hundreds of billions of dollars worth of additional savings (or taxes increases, or both) in order to avoid across the board cuts. Those automatic cuts would result in a…