Daniel Amerman's Blog

By Daniel Amerman – The United States national debt is currently about $20 trillion, and the federal government is paying some of the lowest interest rates in history on that debt. The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates four times...

For decades we have known that the time would come when Social Security & Medicare costs would begin a rapid and explosive growth upwards. That time is no longer the distant future - but something that will take place next year...

The California Public Employees Retirement System is the largest public pension in the United States. It is considered to be the bellwether for pensions nationwide, and among the most sophisticated of long-term investors.

Europe is changing by the hour and the day at this point. In this analysis, I'm going to take a quick look at critical events that have happened in Italy in the last day or so, and how they relate to my recent Video Guide to Bail-Ins series. I will be using three current Bloomberg articles that...

Riding a tiger is one thing. But getting off the tiger, without that tiger then whirling around and consuming you – now that is another thing altogether. A short non-econospeak translation of the results of...

There are two ways a nation can use economic growth to reduce budget deficits. The first method is to participate in economic growth, with a growing economy increasing tax collections. A second method is to raise taxes so drastically that they consume all economic growth.

It can be difficult to completely avoid a $5 trillion elephant in the middle of one's own living room. In an ironic twist, millions of people who are investing for retirement specifically to escape from dependence on Social Security may find that no matter where in the room they go — that elephant is still there.

The very common belief that it must be one or the other — either inflation or deflation — is one of the myths that we will explore.

By executive order of the President of the United States, as announced in the State of the Union address, there is now a new type of tax-advantaged retirement account.

For the first time since the end of World War II, the total US federal debt now equals 100% of the size the US economy. But while that is obviously a situation of great concern, it may not be the worst of the danger.