Month: November 2022

Political Insights for the 2022 Midterms

I find writing this column every two years on or near election day cathartic. I have never seen this much hype and so many unforced errors on both sides. My resolution after clicking publish is to stay off cable news for a long time.

Some political insights – November 7, 2022

I find writing this column every two years on or near election day cathartic.  I have never seen this much hype and so many unforced errors on both sides.  My resolution after clicking publish is to stay off cable news for a long time.

Some insights:

The analysis on TV seems more motivated by campaign goals than data.  Republicans are talking up surprise victories in senate races in New Hampshire, Colorado, Washington, even though Senate races in North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Ohio are far closer. Republicans are exciting their voters to the poll.  Democrats are scaring their voters to the poll.   The Democrats may overperform in the Senate because they have good candidates in NC and OH and WI and NV are reasonably close.

Wisconsin should have been an easy pick up for the Democrats because the Republican candidate is a certifiable crazy. However, their 35-year-old nominee has not been able to address concerns about crime that were highlighted by unrest and vandalism in Kenosha.  

My methods when analyzing elections in Wisconsin is to compare them to races in the adjacent state of Iowa.  The states almost always vote for the same presidential candidate.  The 2016 poll numbers in Iowa suggested to me that Wisconsin could turn red and it did.  This year it is highly possible that the moderate Senate candidate in Iowa will overperform and the more liberal Democrat in Wisconsin will underperform, and the Democrats will lose both races. I expect Evers to win the governor’s race but could be wrong. 

The Democrats are highly dependent on the black vote and the party has nominated several black candidates in states that are overwhelmingly white.   The Democrat’s candidate for governor in Iowa, Deidre DeJear, an extremely young black woman with no experience in government had no opposition in the primary. She is 20 points behind and is not helping the Senate race.  The initial competition to Barnes. Demings, and Beasley was also non-existent or dropped out prior to the primary.  Republicans have tougher intra-squad games, which helps them in the regular season. 

Splits between the Senate and gubernatorial outcomes in several states including, PA, AZ, WI, OH are possible.  This should undercut Republican claims of rigged elections.

Voters in both parties are having buyers’ remorse in PA.  Fetterman should have been transparent about his health and Oz is not a smart wizard.  I personally could never vote for Oz and would vote for Fetterman if I lived in Pa.  However, an independent who sides with Republicans on some issues and wants robust discussion of debates could conclude that Fetterman, due to his health would be a rubberstamp.  The Democrats should have examined Fetterman’s health after the stroke, I believe in May prior to the primary and put in a pinch hitter.

Democrats may lose the House.  I hope it is close. Because centrist could unite and elect a centrist speaker.  Go here for a discussion of why the House is important.

Trump could be the big loser if Republicans underperform and if the most Trump-friendly candidates lose.

Concluding Thoughts:  The Democrats central message is you must vote for the Democrats because the Republicans don’t believe in democracy and a Republican victory will lead to dictatorship.  Well, if true, we have no choice and Democracy is already gone or on life support.

 Eventually, the Republicans will win a cycle.   If the Gambler’s Ruin Problem describes payouts dictatorship is inevitable. 

 Hard to see how Biden wins reelection in 2024 if Trump is gone and 2024 becomes a change election.  Trump may run to freeze the Democratic field.

Authors Note:  David Bernstein, a retired economist has written several papers advocating for innovative centrist policy solutions.

The kindle book Defying Magnets:  Centrist Policies in a Polarized World has essays on policies student debt, retirement savings and health care.

The paper A 2024 Health Care Proposal provides solutions to health care problems that are not currently under consideration.

The proposals in Alternatives to the Biden Student Debt Plan are less expensive to taxpayers than the Biden student loan proposals.  The reforms presented here provide better incentives and reductions for future students while the Biden debt-relief proposal offers a one-time improvement for current debtors.

2024 Economic Issues: The Case for Expanding and Improving Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs)

Workers without access to firm-sponsored 401(k) plans often do not save enough for retirement. Insufficient retirement savings caused by lack of access to 401(k) plans could be more effectively reduced by expanding and improving Individual Retirement accounts (IRAs) instead of expanding the use of 401(k) plans.

Introduction:   A recent GAO study found that most retirees and workers approaching retirement have limited financial resources.  Many people start their careers with substantial student debt and for a variety of reasons overspend and fail to save enough for retirement.    

Part of the disparity in retirement savings stems from lack of access to firm-sponsored 401(k) plans, which allow for much greater retirement saving than IRAs.  Part of the shortfall in retirement savings stems from the common practice of workers spending savings in retirement plans prior to retirement.  

The most effective way to reduce disparities in retirement wealth is to expand and improve Individual Retirement Accounts.  The approach outlined here differs sharply from the proposals in Secure Act 2.0, which favor expansion of 401(k) plans.  The proposed improvements to IRAs include a new tax credit, a mechanism for simultaneous contributions to traditional and Roth IRA accounts, increases in the allowable annual contribution, and alterations in rules governing distributions prior to age 59 ½.   Specific policy changes that should be implemented include:

  • A tax credit for contributions of 20 percent of contributions to an IRA.
  • Allow employers to make employer contributions to IRAs instead of a 401(K) plan.
  • A new rule allocating part of the IRA contribution to a traditional IRA and part to a Roth IRA.  (Eighty percent of employee contributions would go to the Roth account. Twenty percent of employee contributions and all employer contributions would be allocated to the traditional account.)
  • Prohibit all disbursements from the traditional account until the account holder reaches retirement age.
  • Increase the allowable annual contribution to an IRA to the current contribution limit for 401(k) plans.
  • Allow automatic contributions to IRAs and opt-out rules like the automatic enrollment and opt-out rules currently applied to 401(k) plans.

Comments:

Comment One:  The use of a tax credit instead of a tax deduction favors low-income households with lower marginal tax rates.  These household often have the most difficulty saving for retirement.

Comment Two: The new IRA contribution rules allow for the benefits of both Roth and traditional accounts.  The contribution to the Roth account reduces taxes in retirement.  The contribution to the traditional account reduces current-year taxes.  The plan described here would provide benefits comparable to benefits received from a Roth 401(k) where the employer match is allocated to a traditional 401(K) and employee contributions are allocated to the Roth component of the plan.  Many firms do not offer a 401(K) plan, do not offer a Roth 401(k), or do not match employer contributions.  The new rules would allow all workers to allocate funds to both traditional and Roth plans, regardless of what their firm offers.

Comment Three:  Current tax law allows for unlimited disbursements from retirement accounts subject to tax and penalty.  The rules governing penalty and tax on disbursements differ for traditional and Roth accounts, however, in both cases taxpayers are allowed to withdraw the entire balance of their retirement account prior to retirement.  This often happens when workers leave a job and take a disbursement rather than maintain their retirement account or roll over funds into an IRA.  The new rule requires the amount of the IRA contribution equal to the tax credit and the amount of the contribution received from the employer remain in a traditional account until age 59 ½.  Call this the George Bailey rule after the banker in A Wonderful Life who refused to close people’s accounts during a rush on the bank.

Comment Four:   Some people may be more receptive to contributing to a 401(k) plan instead of an IRA because some firms allow 401(K) owners to borrow from the plan.  Loans from IRAs are not allowed. However, contributions to a Roth IRA can be withdrawn without penalty or tax at any time.  The combination of a tax credit and early use of funds contributed to ithe Roth component of the new IRA should facilitate contributions by people with limited cash flow for emergencies.

Comment Five:  Current IRA contribution limits are substantially lower than current 401(k) contribution limits.  This proposal eliminates this disparity.  

Comment Six:  The IRS allows firms to automatically enroll employees into the firm-sponsored 401(k) plan and allow employees to opt out if they do not want to contribute.   Vanguard has found that automatic enrollment into 401(K) plans has the potential to substantially increase 401(k) participation.  Automatic enrollment into IRAs could have a similar effect, especially when combined with a new tax credit for IRA contributions and other proposed enhancements to IRAs.

Comment Seven:  Congress is currently considering the Secure Act 2.0, which would expand the use of 401() plans and create an incentive for 401(k) contributions for people who are currently prioritizing student debt repayment over retirement saving.  Even if the Secure Act 2.0 is enacted many small firms would still not offer a 401(k) plan, due to limited resources. For example, the Secure Act 2.0 would do little to increase retirement savings for people working at multiple part-time jobs.  The tax credit for IRA contributions described here would be available for all workers.  The new rules governing early distributions from IRAs would better balance the need for all workers to save for retirement while reducing debt and preparing for emergencies.

Authors Note:  David Bernstein, a retired economist has written several papers advocating for innovative centrist policy solutions.

The kindle book Defying Magnets:  Centrist Policies in a Polarized World has essays on policies student debt, retirement savings and health care.

The paper A 2024 Health Care Proposal provides solutions to health care problems that are not currently under consideration.

The proposals in Alternatives to the Biden Student Debt Plan are less expensive to taxpayers than the Biden student loan proposals.  The reforms presented here provide better incentives and reductions for future students while the Biden debt-relief proposal offers a one-time improvement for current debtors.