If we solve our healthcare spending (Medicare), practically all of our fiscal problems go away. If we don’t? Then almost anything else we do will not solve our fiscal problems.  - Dr. Victor Fuchs, Emeritus Professor of Economics, Stanford University, March 5, 2012. [1] The Medicare savings embodied in President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2014 budget proposal—mostly from…

Senate Budget Committee chairwoman Patty Murray (D–WA) unveiled the first Senate budget in four years. Murray deserves some credit for actually advancing a budget, but her budget contains steep tax increases that would reduce economic growth by increasing the cost of capital investment. Murray’s tax plan singles out corporations and individuals that are already faced…

The December employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that 2012 ended with an unemployment rate of 7.8 percent and 155,000 new jobs. The labor market has not had an adequate recovery and has made little progress from 2011 to 2012. Many American workers will experience permanent lower lifetime earnings as a result of the poor economic recovery,…

The economy created 146,000 jobs in November, and the unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent from 7.9 percent in October. The numbers in the November report were not substantially affected by Hurricane Sandy, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). While the headline numbers are positive, there are some major concerns inside the report. For instance, labor…

In October, the labor market continued its slow recovery by adding 171,000 jobs, but the unemployment rate climbed to 7.9 percent according to the latest jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Job growth continues to be sluggish, given the length of time out of the recession. At the current rate of job growth, a return to full employment is not expected…

Today’s seniors are facing higher Medicare costs. Over the next five years, current law, as amended by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA, also known as “Obamacare”), and President Obama’s budget proposals guarantee higher costs for today’s seniors. Status Quo Hikes The 2012 Medicare trustees report says that, over the period 2012 to…

Opponents of Medicare premium support routinely charge that it would cost future retirees $6,400 more annually. In fact, this dollar amount is incorrect, and the charge is erroneous. Such false charges are based on an outdated Congressional Budget Office (CBO) model of House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan’s (R–WI) 2011 budget proposal. Ryan’s 2012 proposal,…

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the economy created on net 96,000 new jobs in August and that the unemployment rate fell to 8.1 percent. The decline in the unemployment rate was entirely due to a steep decline in the percentage of people in the labor force, which reached a 30-year low. Forward-looking indicators tell a grim story as the labor market…

The June employment report released this morning by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows a labor market treading water. Employment and the labor force grew only in line with population growth at 80,000, and unemployment remained at 8.2 percent. In short, another month passed without a significant reduction in the number of unemployed Americans. Job growth and…

Analysts expected a slow but steady employment report in May. The actual employment report was considerably worse than expected. Employers created only 69,000 net jobs, and the unemployment rate edged up to 8.2 percent. Revisions also showed that employers created 49,000 fewer jobs than originally estimated in March and April. Coupled with the recent downward revision to…

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the economy added 115,000 jobs in April and the unemployment rate declined to 8.1 percent from 8.2 percent. However, further declines in the percentage of Americans in the labor force explain this slightly lower unemployment rate. Indeed, the labor force participation rate dipped to a 30-year low as many unemployed workers…