Articles by Andrew G. Biggs
- Why Expanding Social Security Is a Bad Idea Tuesday, April 16, 2013
- A New America Foundation proposal would cost 3.7 percent of GDP and crowd out the private saving that drives our economy.
- Teachers and the License Raj Wednesday, December 12, 2012
- Requiring prospective teachers to take a rigorous ‘bar exam,’ as union chief Randi Weingarten proposes, is the wrong way to recruit and assess teachers.
- Public-Sector Pensions: The Transition Costs Myth Monday, May 21, 2012
- Public-sector employees and the pension industrial complex are using deceptive and self-serving arguments despite having an obligation to provide the public ...
- Liberals or Conservatives: Who’s Really Close-Minded? Thursday, April 12, 2012
- Conservatives understand their ideological opposite numbers far better than do liberals.
- Public Pension ‘Air Time’ Is an Absurdly Generous Perk Friday, January 13, 2012
- Why do public employees get a generous deal that is available pretty much nowhere else and to no one else?
- How Many Hours do Public School Teachers Really Work? Thursday, December 8, 2011
- Do teachers work dramatically longer hours than other white collar professionals? No.
- Cadillac Pay in the Land of Lincoln Friday, November 4, 2011
- Illinois public employees likely receive a significant pay premium over similar private sector workers.
- How Much Does the Federal Government Really Spend? Thursday, September 29, 2011
- Much, much more than you think.
- From Ponzi to Perry: The Truth about Social Security Wednesday, September 14, 2011
- Let us count the ways in which Social Security is and is not like a Ponzi scheme.
- The Obama Administration's Lone Star Mistake Tuesday, August 30, 2011
- Education Secretary Arne Duncan has trashed Texas schools, but Texas gets great bang for the buck.
- Means and Extremes: How Not to Balance the Budget Tuesday, June 28, 2011
- Should we impose a means test on Social Security and Medicare benefits? No.
- Public Pensions Roll the Dice Thursday, June 23, 2011
- How have public-sector pensions responded to the financial crisis? By doubling down, thus jeopardizing taxpayers.
- Senior Moment: Reduce COLAs and the Social Security Deficit Thursday, May 19, 2011
- Reducing Cost of Living Adjustments by basing them on a more accurate measure of inflation would alleviate the long-term Social Security deficit.
- Is Social Security Middle-Class Welfare? Thursday, March 10, 2011
- It once was, but isn’t anymore, and therein lies an important tale.
- The Protected Class? Friday, November 19, 2010
- Every worker will be asked to make sacrifices as governments put their fiscal houses in order. Private-sector workers should be confident they are treated the ...
- Why Does Government Grow and Grow and Grow? Thursday, September 16, 2010
- If Americans prefer smaller government, why does it continue to grow?
- America the Progressive Saturday, September 11, 2010
- The U.S. Social Security program is already among the most progressive in the world. Both liberal and conservative reformers would make it more so.
- New Blood for Social Security Friday, July 23, 2010
- Should public-sector pensions shift their workers to Social Security?
- No Garden-Variety Public Pension Crisis Saturday, July 10, 2010
- Public-sector pensions in New Jersey and other states completely ignore the dangers to taxpayers of investing in increasingly risky assets.
- Tax to the Max? Friday, July 2, 2010
- Should we lift the payroll-tax ceiling to fix Social Security?
- Should We Raise Taxes on the Middle Class? We Already Are Friday, June 25, 2010
- Taxes are already rising to record levels, with or without legislative changes.
- Are Government Workers Underpaid? No Wednesday, June 9, 2010
- Once all promised benefits are included, government employees at all levels—local, state, and federal—receive significantly greater total compensation than ...
- Spending, Not Tax Cuts, Is the Real Driver of the Fiscal Mess Friday, April 16, 2010
- It’s hard to argue that our looming budget problems derive from ‘too little taxes’ when by any historical standard taxes will rise to record levels even before ...
- Why Immigration Can’t Save Social Security Tuesday, April 13, 2010
- The logic of saving Social Security through immigration, which makes sense at first glance, falls apart when you inspect the details.
- Obama Budget Rigs Healthcare Numbers Friday, February 5, 2010
- For the first time by any administration in memory, the Obama budget forecast rejects the Medicare Trustees’ projections for long-run healthcare cost growth. ...
- The Baucus Plan’s Phony Deficit Reduction Thursday, October 22, 2009
- The true effect of Senator Baucus’s healthcare bill will likely be large increases in the deficit, not an $81-billion reduction.
- How Different Is Grandma’s Spending? Saturday, October 17, 2009
- The inflation seniors experience is far more similar to that felt by other Americans than it is different.
- Shooting the Messenger: CBO in the Crosshairs Thursday, June 4, 2009
- The official scorekeeper for health reform legislation in Congress has stated that the overhaul proposed by the administration could increase costs. What to ...
- The Straw Men of Social Security Thursday, May 14, 2009
- Social Security is the largest single spending program of the federal budget. Its costs relative to its tax base will rise by 26 percent over the next two ...
- Obama’s Truly Exceptional Budget and Tax Plans Wednesday, April 15, 2009
- Since at least the Kennedy administration, high economic growth has correlated with lower budget deficits. As projected, the Obama budget would be the ...