The chief actuary of the Social Security Administration has declared that Social Security, which is the federal government’s largest spending program, most workers’ largest tax expense, and most retirees’ largest income source, is “not in close actuarial balance.”1 That declaration came not today but in 1990, more than three decades ago. In 1991, the program’s…
Most right-of-center criticism of Medicaid comprises a mix of the following: The program’s spending incentives stimulate demand while restricting supply. They encourage state officials to maximize their capture of federal matching dollars rather than focus on a better balance of efficient, effective, and equitable health care services for their most vulnerable populations. When the states…
The US is an outlier among advanced economies in that its national government does not fully control, through regulation and budgeting, health insurance coverage and the provision of medical care. The government is a major force, of course, but there is more room than in other countries for private enterprise and initiative, and many transactions…
The United States has the largest, strongest, and most dynamic economy in the world. The strength of the US economy has made the dollar the world’s reserve currency, and the credit of the federal government is currently unquestioned. Even so, the United States should not take the reserve status of the dollar or the Treasury’s…
The COVID-19 pandemic, well into its third calendar year, has been America’s greatest crisis since World War II.1 In 2020 and 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 850,000 Americans were killed by strains of this coronavirus—and by the summer of 2022, the CDC reported the death toll had exceeded one…
America emerged from the 20th century as the world’s sole superpower, having achieved unprecedented strength and prosperity. Our constitutional republic created a miracle of human progress emulated throughout much of the world. Today, this great American triumph is facing enormous political and economic challenges, from without but also from within. Key Points: The system of…