Economics Questions

Re: CPI and Social Security

cognitivist — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 04:15:48 GMT

Bogart:
I guess we are back to words don't mean what words mean at the times they meant what they mean thing again.

If a Marxist promotes free-markets but considers himself a Marxist, is he still a Marxist? Is it still "socialism" if it promotes free-markets instead of centralization and tyranny?

What if something that claims to be against the common welfare, actually promotes it?

Ah, the precepts of politics.

Re: CPI and Social Security

Laotzu del Zinn — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 03:59:21 GMT

"With respect to the words general welfare, I have always regarded them as qualified by the detail of powers connected with them. To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character which there is a host of proofs was not contemplated by its creators." James Madison, Letter to James Robertson, April 20, 1831

The word "welfare" itself meant the same thing then that it does now. It is just in governments nature to grow, and promoting welfare in a constitutional sense went from paying govt debts and protecting trade routes, to what we see welfare as now.

Re: CPI and Social Security

Bogart — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 03:23:15 GMT

Oh I understand, all that 9 people in Washington DC need do is redefine words from what they meant at the time they were used so the Constitution can say anything and be the end all to all people.

I have one little issue and that is Congress has the power to make a Ponzi scheme ilegal. So how can Congress declare the largest Ponzi Scheme every created: anti-Social non-Security as being legal? I guess we are back to words don't mean what words mean at the times they meant what they mean thing again.

Re: CPI and Social Security

Laotzu del Zinn — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 02:27:31 GMT

http://www.usconstitution.net/xconst_A1Sec8.html

There's nothing illegal about it. Perhaps the founders should have been more specific when they said welfare but.. just sayin.

Re: CPI and Social Security

Bogart — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 22:42:45 GMT

the appropriate level of this and any other expenditure of the US central government outside those specific powers listed in Article 1 section 8 of the constitution is zero.

Now that having been said, the CPI sucks as a measure of inflation. So does the PPI, well what is left? Nothing. So the CPI is as good as any in determining increases in government welfare payments. The funny part of the CPI is that it is such a like that government said it was negative last year so social security paid less than the year before to individuals but more in total as the ponzi scheme that government is protecting you from that is actually the largest one to ever exist is unravelling.

Re: CPI and Social Security

Sieben — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 17:06:45 GMT

Idk if you don't have supply and demand you're kind of screwed. Obviously in the case of wages, and therefore in the case of pensions (social security)

Alternatively you can follow this matlab code:

if get(handles.socialsecurityfund,'stolen')==1

for i =1:length(ssrecipients)

socialsecuritypayments(i)=0;

end

CPI and Social Security

cognitivist — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 17:01:30 GMT

What would be a better (or best?) market econometric rather than CPI to gauge the appropriate level of Social Security expenditures?