Author: Dennis Miller

Can Americans Really Depend on Social Security?

Social SecurityIn 1935 the government passed Social Security into law setting up a government managed retirement plan for the majority of US workers. To fund the plan, they passed the Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA). The law mandates that employers withhold a portion of the worker’s salary (contribution) and requires the employer to match the contribution.

It was sold to the public as a form of annuity, with each worker’s contributions and benefits based on their income. While Social Security has features similar to an annuity (paying lifetime benefits), in many ways it is different.

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Challenges of the Baby Boomer Generation

Baby BoomerSome of my most enjoyable memories are when my youngest son Drew played baseball. How fortunate we were when an extraordinary coach, Gary Staab, asked him to play for the North Atlanta Mustangs.

We spent our summers driving terrific young men all over the southeast. I wish I had taken a photo of 15 teen-age boys sleeping in my motorhome as I drove home late on Sunday nights.

Gary and I are in our 70’s and feel blessed to still be in contact with many of them. My son’s group is now in there 50’s.

I’m delighted to introduce one of those men, E.J. Harof. EJ has raised a family and done well. He is at the time of life I call “racing to the finish line!” The economic and emotional pressures come from all directions – aging parents, getting children through college and funding their own retirement.

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An Economic Showdown is Looming

Economic ShowdownThe Keynesians and the Capitalists are heading for an economic showdown at the O.K. Corral.

Keynesians believe the central government should control the economic levers affecting the masses. The economy can’t be entirely left up to the free market. Big government believers want the “leaders” determining the winners and losers. Controlling reallocation of wealth preserves the power of the political class. Using tax dollars to garner votes has turned into an art form.

George Bernard Shaw said, “A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.”

US Governmentspending.com “guesstimates” 2017 spending on welfare and Medicaid will top $1.127 trillion. While the welfare class grows, Peter is working his butt off and sees a lot of his hard earned money wasted.

Many felt the elections in Britain (Brexit) and the US were similar, a major pushback against a powerful, controlling central governments. Margaret Thatcher reminds us, “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.”

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You Can’t Have Free Market Pricing Without a Free Market

Free MarketIs there such a thing as free market pricing? Where does it exist? In last week’s interview with Ed Steer I asked about free market pricing in gold. His response relates to more than metals:

“Free market pricing? Well, nobody knows what the true free market price of the precious metals really is, because there never has been a free market in them since they were discovered…and now traded.”

What is free market pricing? I like the Wikipedia definition:

“One view is that a free market is a system in which the prices for goods and services are determined by the open market and consumers, in which the laws and forces of supply and demand are free from any intervention by a government, price-setting monopoly, or other authority.”

Government intervention into a free market for any reason, be it regulation, taxes or laws that create imbalances affecting the buyer or seller’s ability to do business freely, destroys the free market.

The political perspective

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