[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.

I think Stockman is an interesting sort of amalgam.

Tax cuts were not going to be effective at creating jobs, and the job creation record is lousy.

Social Security is a social insurance program - it is not designed to be the same thing as a 401(k).

Democracy or breakdown in Syria would change the whole Middle East overnight.

Bad ideas flourish because they are in the interest of powerful groups.

I believe in a relatively equal society, supported by institutions that limit extremes of wealth and poverty. I believe in democracy, civil liberties, and the rule of law. That makes me a liberal, and I’m proud of it.