Retirement Security

CA Event: Expanding Savings and Retirement Security

Communications — Thu, 22 May 2008 08:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
05/21/2008 - 12:00pm

**Please note that the event date has changed to May 21, 2008**

Every day, six million Californians, or roughly 43 percent of workers in the state, go to work for an employer that does not provide any type of retirement pension or savings plan. This lack of retirement savings opportunities puts California working families at risk. On Thursday, May 22, Mark Iwry of the Brookings Institution will present on the current retirement savings crisis in America -- its causes and the continuing effect it will have on the financial security of working families as well as the state and national economy. Mr. Iwry will also discuss state and national policy options to significantly encourage retirement savings and the accumulation of assets by lower- and middle-income workers.

Mark Iwry is former benefits tax counsel for the Treasury Department. He is an expert on employee benefits, pensions, retirement, savings, and health care, and frequently advises and testifies before Congress on these issues. At Treasury, where he oversaw national policy on tax-qualified pension and 401(k) plans, as well as other employee benefits, Mr. Iwry played a key role in developing many important reforms to the nation's pension system. Mr. Iwry is one of the originators of the concept of state portable retirement savings account for private sector workers.

This event is co-hosted by the New America Foundation, the Assets Policy Initiative of California and the California Research Bureau, in association with Assemblymembers Kevin De Leon (D-Los Angeles) and Joel Anderson (R-La Mesa).

If you have questions, call or email Claudie Kiti Bustamante at (916) 448-5189 or bustamante@newamerica.net.

"Future of American Politics" Event on C-SPAN

Communications — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:20:00 -0500

New America in the News:

The first panel spoke on the changing political culture in the United States and how it will affect the next social contract. Panelists focused on the growing demand for post-partisanship, teamwork, and tolerance among younger voters. The second panel discussed political institutions and elections, including the past political era, which began in 1978, and the possible shape of the new political era that panelists believe is beginning. The third panel discussed possible policies in the next political era? Some topics were broadening asset ownership, modernizing the tax system, and workplace flexibility. The final panel spoke on political parties in the next political era. They discussed how each party is struggling to build a new majority coalition and the growing popularity of the Democratic Party, particularly among young people. Following each panel panelists answered questions from members of the audience. For the video, visit the C-SPAN Event Page.

Rethinking Social Insurance

Fiscal Policy — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

The single greatest threat to the fiscal health of the United States is the runaway growth of the nation’s major retirement and health care entitlement programs. Social Security and Medicare are projected to grow from 7.5 percent of GDP today to almost 13 percent of GDP by 2030. Already, the two programs consume over a third of the federal budget. The total present value of costs that will exceed earmarked revenues of Social Security and Medicare over the next 75 years is $41 trillion, or, as the Government Accountability Office points out, a debt burden of $135,000 for every man, woman, and child in America. If… more

Tough Tax Questions for Presidential Candidates

Ron Tang — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

The current crop of Presidential candidates sound a lot like they did in prior years with promises of new targeted tax breaks, loophole closures, increased taxes on the rich and new spending programs. Have the candidates not read the doom and gloom budget reports from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and others?

The fiscal agenda for the next President and Congress must include some very difficult decisions that go beyond just tweaking the tax system. Below, we’ll look closer at some key fiscal issues that have tax implications. Questions are posed that could help gauge how… more

Steven Hill's NYT Letter to the Editor Regarding Krugman Column, Europe's Social Contract

adminn — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 11:22:00 -0500

New America in the News:

Paul Krugman calls Europe the "comeback continent" because of its resurging economy, yet repeats another stereotype -- Americans pay less in taxes than Europeans. The situation actually is more complex.

For their taxes, Europeans receive many benefits for which most Americans must pay additional fees and payments out of pocket. Many Americans, if they have health care at all, are paying for escalating premiums and deductibles. Other Americans are saving $100,000 for each of their children's college education, yet European children attend for free or nearly free.

Millions of Americans are scraping to save the amount they will need for retirement beyond Social Security, but the European retirement system is much more generous. Many Americans pay extra for child care, or self-finance their own sick leave or parental leave after a birth, but Europeans receive all of these (and more) from their taxes.

When all these differences are added up, it turns out that many Americans are paying out as much as Europeans -- we just receive a lot less for our money. The "overtaxed European" is another stereotype used to scare Americans away from the European model, so it's unfortunate that Mr. Krugman reinforced that stereotype.

Steven Hill
San Francisco

Universal 401(k): A Retirement Saving Plan for Every Worker

Next Social Contract — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 16:24:00 -0500

Five Myths About Sick Old Europe

Articles — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 04:22:00 -0400

In the global economy, today's winners can become tomorrow's losers in a twinkling, and vice versa. Not so long ago, American pundits and economic analysts were snidely touting U.S. economic superiority to the "sick old man" of Europe. What a difference a few months can make. Today, with the stock market jittery over Iraq, the mortgage crisis, huge budget and trade deficits, and declining growth in productivity, investors are wringing their hands about the U.S. economy. Meanwhile, analysts point to the roaring economies of China and India as the only bright spots on the global horizon.

But what about… more

The Problem with GM's UAW Deal

Articles — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 13:13:00 -0400

In 1946, Peter Drucker’s intimate, multiyear examination of General Motors (GM), Concept of the Corporation, was published. GM hated it.

Drucker’s take -- that the then-wildly-successful automaker might want to reexamine a host of long-standing policies on customer relations, dealer relations, employee relations, and more -- was viewed from inside the corporation as hypercritical. GM’s revered chairman, Alfred Sloan, was so upset about the book that he "simply treated it as if it did not exist," Drucker later recalled, "never mentioning it and never allowing it to be mentioned in his presence."

The United Auto Workers didn’t exactly embrace Drucker’s thinking either.… more

Leif Wellington Haase

Operations — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 04:33:00 -0400

Director, California ProgramLeif Wellington Haase is Director of New America’s California Program, which aims to improve the state’s public debate by sponsoring a wide range of research, writing, and events on issues of critical importance to the future of California. His primary responsibilities include promoting the work of New America’s programs and fellows in California, launching new policy initiatives in California, organizing high-profile public events throughout the state, and forging strategic partnerships with other California-based policy organizations.Mr. Haase previously served as Senior Program Officer and Health Care Fellow at The Century Foundation, a public policy research organization based in New… more

Maya MacGuineas in TIME Magazine on Productive Aging

Communications — Thu, 10 May 2007 12:35:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Making the most of our retirement-age population has become a hot issue in Washington, where for the past 75 years federal policy has been designed around easing folks who are past 50 out of the workforce rather than enticing them to stay in it. If you're reaching that age now, however, you're headed for a whole new reality.

Everyone knows the fiscal pickle we're in: baby boomers are about to retire and tap Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits. To make good on the promises of these programs, the government may have to go much deeper into debt or increase the tax burden up to twofold on those still working. The math is suffocating. Something has to give.

Inside the Beltway, one answer is increasingly heard: let's get a continuing economic contribution from folks after their primary career has ended and before they start draining the system's pension and health-care assets. That's bad news if you're looking forward to a kick-up-your-heels early retirement; the financial and cultural support for a purely leisure-filled later life is drying up. But if you crave opportunities for a flexible job that you will enjoy or volunteer work that makes use of your skills and speaks to your heart, then what's good for the federal budget may be good for you too.

The whole idea of productive aging--getting an economic return on the accumulated knowledge and skills of what might be called the young old--has political steam and will probably surface on the presidential trail next year. "There are candidates on both sides giving this a lot of thought," says Maya MacGuineas, fiscal-policy director at the New America Foundation, a think tank that promotes new ideas...

For the complete article, please visit the TIME Magazine website.