Check Out Economics in the News

My last post in Econ in the News is of a Dave Leonhardt analysis about the Republican proposal for Medicare and the intergenerational politics that underlies the plan. One of the interesting items in it is the magnitude of the subsidy that is in Medicare (the excess of what the typical senior citizen gets in dollar benefits from Medicare less what they've contributed over time via the payroll tax). It is huge. (And note Medicare itself doesn't cover the full health care costs.) Also note that senior citizens vote at a very high rate.