George Washington law professor and economist Neil H. Buchanan discusses a topic that is gaining traction among Democrats in Congress and across the country—the suggestion that retirement benefits paid by Social Security be increased.
George Washington law professor and economist Neil H. Buchanan debunks some of the Social Security myths spread by many conservative politicians. Specifically, Buchanan makes the following arguments: (1) Social Security is not a Ponzi scheme, (2) Demographics will not overwhelm social security, (3) the Social Security trust fund is more than simply “worthless paper” and we are not better off investing it on our own, and (4) Social Security will not go broke in the coming decades.
In this second of a two-part series of columns, George Washington law professor and economist Neil Buchanan explains how the German-led policy regime is likely to hurt not just Greece’s people but also people elsewhere in the world. Buchanan also describes how the arguments from German policymakers amounts to blaming the victims of the very policies they imposed upon the Greeks.
In this first of a two-part series of columns, George Washington law professor and economist Neil Buchanan explains why the situation in Greece is economically simple but politically nasty.
George Washington law professor and economist Neil Buchanan shares some good news about the living standards of recent retirees and argues that this news should serve as a reminder that there is a way to allow large numbers of people to go through their working lives, and then to live modest, comfortable retirements.
George Washington law professor and economist Neil Buchanan dissects former Florida governor Jeb Bush's statements regarding raising the age of retirement and Social Security.
George Washington law professor and economist Neil Buchanan analyzes the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Comptroller of the Treasury of Maryland v. Wynne, a case dealing with the limitations on states’ tax systems implied by the dormant Commerce Clause.
George Washington law professor and economist Neil Buchanan describes how the paranoid style, first ascribed to politics by Richard J. Hofstadter in 1964, fits the current state of political affairs in the United States.
George Washington law professor and economist Neil Buchanan continues his discussion of the Republican assault on the Internal Revenue Service. Buchanan describes two aspects of a report recently published by the Republican staff of the House Ways & Means Committee that show Republicans are punishing IRS employees who have nothing to do with the supposed problems at the agency. Buchanan then goes on to describe what an honest attempt to reform the IRS would look like.
George Washington law professor and economist Neil Buchanan evaluates a recent report issued by the majority staff on the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee. Buchanan argues that the report illustrates Republicans’ attempts to claim not only that the IRS’s mistakes are entirely unconnected to its shrinking budget, but also that the IRS is consciously trying to make matters worse.
George Washington law professor Neil Buchanan describes Republicans’ persistent technique of undercutting, then blaming, the IRS for the nation’s tax woes.
George Washington law professor and economist Neil Buchanan discusses the debt ceiling law and explains why it must be repealed entirely.
George Washington law professor Neil Buchanan contends that Republicans’ use of the debt ceiling against President Obama in an attempt to achieve their policy goals could backfire and lead to an increase in taxes on the rich.
George Washington law professor and economist Neil Buchanan explains why education of its citizens, while critically important, is not the only factor in securing this country’s greatness.
George Washington University law professor and economist Neil Buchanan discusses what we should expect from the people whom we hire to teach our children and dispels the notion of the “superstar” teacher.
George Washington University law professor and economist Neil Buchanan discusses the importance of civilian leadership of law enforcement and describes the dangers of an “us-against-them” mentality among law enforcement officers.
George Washington law professor and economist Neil Buchanan describes the starkly different political responses to the revelation of wrongdoing by the IRS earlier this year, and the more recent Senate Intelligence Committee’s “torture report.” Buchanan argues that this contrast illustrates how politicians too often overreact to non-news yet refuse to respond to truly horrifying news.
George Washington law professor and economist Neil Buchanan argues that Republicans in Congress have effectively used budget issues to set a trap to impeach the President, but that they might well regret setting that trap.
George Washington University law professor and economist Neil Buchanan explains why recent events detracting from the Affordable Care Act might lead to serious consideration of a single-payer health care system. Buchanan includes in his discussion the Supreme Court’s recent decision in NFIB v. Sebelius, a careless statement by economist Jonathan Gruber, and the upcoming challenge of it before the Supreme Court, King v. Burwell.
George Washington University law professor and economist Neil Buchanan argues that anti-government ideologues deny facts in order to support their theories of the economy.
