No abstract.

The critics of President Bush's Social Security reform proposal claim there will be massive cuts in "guaranteed" benefits of 40% or more. That is absurd. Nobody's benefits need to be cut and nobody's taxes need to be raised. Current tax rates, given projected economic growth, are sufficient to...

In the short run, the Bush tax cuts were one of the largest and best-timed uses of fiscal policy in history, helping to prevent a much worse downturn (but it would have been better still if the tax rate cuts had been immediate and real spending controls enacted simultaneously to take effect well...

All candidates and Presidents make some statements that make economists cringe, often put into speeches by political advisors unconstrained by economic literacy. From its description of the state of the economy to its policy prescriptions, much of the Kerry-Edwards campaign's pronouncements are...

The paper surveys the agenda needed to restore noninflationary growth in industrial countries. The role of fiscal policy as short-run stimulus both on the spending side and on the tax side is discussed. The author comments on trade, specifically the new trade round, and international finance....

The accurate measure of prices is fundamental to almost every important issue in economics, from measuring economic progress to the conduct of monetary policy to the indexation of private contracts and public programs and tax rules. This paper reviews the causes of bias in the United States...

This paper presents new evidence on cost-of-living indices and annual inflation rates for the elderly population as well as the general population. It employs a now fairly widely accepted adjustment for the inappropriate treatment of housing in the Consumer Price Index. We disaggregate by...

This paper compares the well-being of the Retirement History Survey of the elderly with their own previous levels of income and economic welfare. Traditional replacement rates are calculated, although a number of shortcomings of such measures are discussed. Modifications are made by examining...