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The Economist magazine pension issue

blogs.law.harvard.edu

21–22 of 22 posts

Re: The Economist magazine pension issue

#21
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No account for inflation? No account for the rising costs in healthcare, and diminishing returns on that "investment"? No account for the fact that 35 years ago the proportion of economic active people to retired ones was completely different? If you are going to dismiss a (very middle class, by social standards) dude, at least you should do a little bit more than hand-waving.

2% is real. The US has average around 3% for years now. And since I don't believe in the tendency of the rate of profit to fall I don't think assuming at least 2% is unreasonable. But let's say zero. Does anyone really think we'll lose the ability to care for the old? Here's the simple way to think about pensions/SS: we take about 4% of GDP and cut checks to old people. They buy food and pay their rent. Nobody starve…

In Japan, pension outlays, right now, are more approximately 10% of GDP. In the US RIGHT NOW, pension outlays are approximately 6% of GDP.

As the ratio of earners to pensioners moves closer to 1:1, this % outlay is only going to get worse.

Am I trying to fool you?

[edited to remove pointless ad hominem]

Re: The Economist magazine pension issue

#22
post #4
post #2

I like this blog (other entries of which have been posted here before), but I find it a bit misleading that it shows up on HN as coming from "harvard.edu" -- which I assume to be Harvard's official web portal. (Clicking through reveals it to be a posting on blogs.law.harvard.edu, which provides free blog webspace to anyone with a Harvard-affiliated email address.) Am I just being too picky?

blogs.law.harvard.edu also belongs to harvard.edu, so what's the problem? Many universities give blog space (and email accounts) to alumni, as a way to keep them engaged (and hit them up for donations...).

ISPs and other services often give customers customername.isp.net... - I do this, customers get username.xen.prgmr.com, while prgmr.com is for official business stuff. most of the stuff on something.xen.prgmr.com has absolutely nothing to do with prgmr.com, other than paying me eight bucks a month or what have you, so marking a something.xen.prgmr.com link with 'prgmr.com' would give people the wrong idea.
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