To describe American Social Security as such a scheme wouldn’t be much of a stretch. For a system with so many complicated facets, advanced accounting and half-truths, there is one absolute fact: Social Security is not taking in enough money to write all the retirement checks it is obligated to write over the next couple of decades.
November 17th, 2010 | Ian Mathias | 0 comments | ContinuedArchive for Ian Mathias
Ian Mathias is the managing editor of the 5 Min. Forecast and Agora Financial's public relations/media coordinator. In the short time Ian has been working for Agora Financial, his writings have been syndicated in several respected media outlets, including Forbes.com, the Associated Press, Yahoo! and MSN Money.
The Really, Really Long Bond
For the time being, income investors are probably better off being owners than lenders. Many solid US companies are paying dividend yields of 2%, 3% and 4%. Short-term corporate bonds, meanwhile, yield next to nothing. The bond market is getting nuttier by the day…
October 15th, 2010 | Ian Mathias | 0 comments | Continued
What’s Really in the Social Security Trust Fund?
“You’re kidding, right?” a Daily Reckoning reader wrote after our briefing from last week: “The End of Social Security As We Know It.” “Are you the only ones who believe in the accounting farces that are the Social Security and Medicare ‘Trust Funds’? Every dollar in both of those funds has been spent by the US Treasury…”
September 30th, 2010 | Ian Mathias | 4 comments | Continued
Opt Out of Social Security
“The Social Security Trust Fund is misnamed. It cannot be trusted, and it is not funded.”-Former US Comptroller General David Walker, July 2010. If David Walker who was essentially the US government’s accountant from 1998-2008 – can make jokes like that about Social Security, we’re in trouble.
September 28th, 2010 | Ian Mathias | 0 comments | Continued
Dodge Taxes Legally… Become Treasury Secretary
In the biggest stock sale of his life, former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson didn’t pay one dollar of capital gains tax.
March 4th, 2010 | Ian Mathias | 0 comments | Continued
Gold Flourishes but Silver is the Real Precious Metal Story of Late
“In general,” says energy and oil expert Byron King, “the precious metals are up because the big-spending politicians in Washington have no respect for the US dollar. Break out the black crepe and armbands of mourning for the US dollar.
June 2nd, 2009 | Ian Mathias | 0 comments | Continued
GM Insolvency Can’t be Run-of-the-mill
GM is owned by wealthy politicians in Washington who, under threat of imprisonment, forced their constituents to finance the deal. Insinuating the public has any control is “Orwellian in the extreme” Addison suggested when we discussed the matter late Friday. Amen.
June 2nd, 2009 | Ian Mathias | 0 comments | Continued
Eurozone Drops GDP Bombs
The eurozone unveiled some nasty economic news early this morning. For starters, Germany dropped its first-quarter 2009 GDP number…
May 18th, 2009 | Ian Mathias | 0 comments | Continued
Dubya’s New Plan to Balance the U.S. Budget
Last week, for no particular reason, I did something I knew would make me cringe. President Bush addressed the United States public after his first cabinet meeting of 2007 and I watched every minute. Regardless of your political stance, it’s hard to disagree that the typical Bush press conference involves some sort of tongue twisting episode [...]
January 12th, 2007 | Ian Mathias | 7 comments | Continued
