Become a Patron! The other day I got into a very frustrating argument with a popular anonymous Finance Twitter account about the epistemology of 401(k) savings vehicles. The frustration arose from a very specific phrase he used to describe one of the benefits of a Roth 401(k) over a traditional 401(k): "you’re able to contribute more with a Roth 401k." This is such a strange … [Read more...] about Roth 401(k)’s are different, but they’re not special
social security
Bill Cassidy has the worst paid parental leave plan yet
Become a Patron! This morning I hauled myself out of bed early to go down to the American Enterprise Institute and listen to Bill Cassidy discuss the outlines of his plan for paid parental leave. The dervishes at AEI already uploaded the video, so you can take a look for yourself, if you can stand to listen to politicians speak for more than 30 seconds at a time. Bonus: if … [Read more...] about Bill Cassidy has the worst paid parental leave plan yet
Beware Republicans bearing robust debate and compromise
Aparna Mathur is a Resident Scholar, Economic Policy, at the American Enterprise Institute, a libertarian think tank with an excellent kitchen that I periodically visit when I want to save money on lunch or cocktails. If you're ever in DC I strongly recommend visiting their events page to see if you can enjoy one of their catered meals or open bars. Scholar Mathur has … [Read more...] about Beware Republicans bearing robust debate and compromise
There’s no such thing as an “American retirement model”
There's no cliche more beloved by the financial press than the "changing American retirement model." The beauty of the changing American retirement model is that you can use it to prove any point you want: if you want to cut Social Security old age benefits by raising the full retirement age, the changing American retirement model is that people are living and working … [Read more...] about There’s no such thing as an “American retirement model”
Everyone should have access to the federal Thrift Savings Plan, but not for you reason you think
Shortly before his humiliation and expulsion from public life, Florida Senator Marco Rubio resurrected the idea of allowing some non-government employees to invest in the Thrift Savings Plan, which is the federal equivalent of private-sector 401(k) and non-profit 403(b) plans. The proposal got some sympathetic attention from lazy personal finance journalists, and some critical … [Read more...] about Everyone should have access to the federal Thrift Savings Plan, but not for you reason you think