social security

No trust for Social Security

The trust fund is nothing more than a trap and a fantasy for those who think it's a solid foundation for Social Security.

I used to joke about the government "solving" Social Security's long-term problems by creating Treasury IOUs out of thin air and sticking them in the program's trust fund. My point, of course, was to show that no matter how many Treasury securities there are in the trust fund MORE

Privatizing Social Security: Still a dumb idea

You thought it was dead, but with stocks on the rise, you can expect some brand new congressmen to give it new life.

The holiday season is upon us, making this a perfect time to go searching for turkeys -- the financial variety, of course. But this year, rather than looking backward at inept deals or government programs, let's try to find future turkeys.

And the biggest one is ... privatizing Social MORE

Unemployed to the point of disabled?

One of the lesser-noticed realities of America's jobless problem is the surge in people applying for disability insurance.

Like it or not, when times get tough, Americans tend to turn to the government for help. More people file for disability claims whenever the economy suffers a setback, but the implications this time around could be much greater than previous downturns as high unemployment is expected to linger for years to MORE