You know that Republicans will yell about the evils of partisanship whenever anyone tries to make a connection between the rhetoric of Beck, Limbaugh, etc. and the violence I fear we’re going to see in the months and years ahead. But violent acts are what happen when you create a climate of hate. And it’s long past time for the GOP’s leaders to take a stand against the hate-mongers.

I don't think I've had any great success in predicting politics or social change, nor have I really tried.

[The US] budget is dominated by the retirement programs, Social Security and Medicare - loosely speaking, the post-cold-war federal government is a big pension fund that also happens to have an army.

And when the chickens that didn't hatch come home to roost, we will rue the day when, misled by sloppy accounting and rosy scenarios, we gave away the national nest egg.

I really think that people have to think safety; taking risks for higher yield is a bad idea once you're in late or latish middle age.

The federal government is basically an insurance company with an army.

Unsustainable situations usually go on longer than most economists think possible. But they always end, and when they do, it's often painful.