Boomers Gotta Boom, Grifters Gotta Grift

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Chris Stirewalt writes movingly (as judged by your Baby Boom Blogger) Of Gifts and Grifts.

Longtime readers will know my bugaboo about the arrogance of apocalypticism, but for those who have never been subjected, I’ll recapitulate it quickly: The members of every civilization, every generation, every graduating class, etc., are prone to believe that they represent the pinnacle of achievement and are the product of a refining evolutionary process. The bad part about feeling like the culmination of history is that history will go on after you are gone, so the same arrogance that causes us to believe that we are the greatest ever, also requires that we think that we are close to the end.

Some baby boomers who once proclaimed that the Age of Aquarius was dawning now make ominous predictions about the future that awaits the world after their passing. This is partly their regret that they did not achieve “golden living dreams of visions, mystic crystal revelation, and the mind’s true liberation,” but mostly just life stuff. When they were annoying their parents with that flummery 50 years ago, the folks now in their 70s had little idea how hard it would be to just live a good and happy life. Looking back at their own struggles and hearing the flummery of young people today, they may conclude that the world is about to spin off its axis. Such is the condign punishment for many headstrong generations.

Stirewalt is referencing the song "Aquarius" from the 1967 musical, Hair. Which was a thing back then. But my favorite is the wimp-rock band, the Association leading off 1967's groundbreaking Monterey International Pop Festival with their song "Enter the Young". Lyrics here, yet another example of our generation's premature self-admiration.

Briefly noted:

  • Speaking of Boomerdom, we have started to pay attention to Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from our 401(k)'s, our 403(b)'s, and our (traditional/SEP/SIMPLE) IRA's. (Is that enough acronyms for ya?) Allison Schrager looks at how the changes to the rules in the recent Omnibus nightmare ("Secure 2.0") are making what we laughingly call the "retirement system" Unsecure.

    The bill does have some good things. It increases retirement-account participation by making it more attractive for small employers to offer benefits; the administrative costs for small plans can make it too expensive for many businesses. The bill will also give part-time employees access to their workplace 401(k) plans. It also requires automatic enrollment in plans, a practice shown to increase participation.

    But the bill’s provision to delay the age when retirees must take money out of the accounts is galling. Beginning at age 72 (the bill increases it to 73 next year), retirees must take Required Minimum Drawdowns (RMDs) each year and pay taxes on the withdrawal. Pre-tax accounts like 401(k)s or 403(b)s are tax deferred, and RMDs are how the government ensures that people eventually pay that tax, especially wealthier people, who often have other forms of savings that fund their retirement. Secure 2.0 increases the age at which retirees must start taking RMDs to 75 over the next decade, after it has already been inching up over the years.

    Schrager notes that people justified the change by "people living and working longer". But notes that insight does not apply to Social Security. Because that would be "gutting the program".

  • Dan Mitchell uses recent disclosures to advocate for reform. Specifically, Trump’s Tax Returns and the Flat Tax.

    I applauded when Joe Biden used clever tax strategies to reduce his (apparently unpatriotic) tax bill to the IRS. I also applauded when Bill and Hillary Clinton engaged in clever tax avoidance, as well as John Kerry and Gov. Pritzker of Illinois.

    In the spirit of bipartisanship, I also applaud when Donald Trump does the same thing, and that part of what we’re going to discuss today.

    Dan (I call him Dan) shows how things Might Have Been (and Could Be) different under a flat tax for individuals and businesses. Including "Form 1" and "Form 2" from a long-ago proposal.

  • Patrick Carroll writes at FEE about how The Biden Administration Is Banning Low-Cost Appliances—and Bragging about It.

    It’s easy to get preoccupied with the big flashy things the government does, but sometimes it’s the small mundane things that really hurt. In 2022, one of those small things was stricter energy-efficiency standards.

    On December 19, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced its latest action on this front—an initiative to increase minimum efficiency requirements for lightbulbs.

    Carroll looks at the "highlights" of the 110 "actions" Uncle Stupid took in 2022 to remove your choices when buying things that use (or are made available by expending) energy. So, to a first approximation: everything.

    But the direct effect is bad enough for an allegedly free country:

    In other words, by establishing minimum efficiency standards, the government is effectively banning low-cost appliances, appliances that people would have preferred, as evidenced by the fact that it takes a law to stop people from buying them.

  • I'm open-minded on the desirability of the Federal Reserve Bank, but Keith Bessette is not. He writes on the 109th Anniversary of the Downfall of the Dollar. And I'll just quote the tiniest bit:

    The Federal Reserve is not federal, nor is it a reserve.

    <voice imitation="linda_richman">Discuss</voice>.


Last Modified 2024-01-15 5:22 AM EDT