Economics, etc.

Funding problems facing Utah state pension plans for public employees

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Vijay Mathur

In my previous blog on March 28, I discussed, in general, Defined Benefit Plans (DBP) and Defined Contribution Plans (DCP), 401(k) type plans. The state changed its pension system for employees hired on and after 2011. It closed DBP for … Read More

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Funding issues, Hybrid plans, Public employees, Utah Retirement System | Leave a comment

A simple explanation for the state pension plan

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Vijay Mathur

Numerous state pension systems are underfunded, i.e., the systems do not have enough assets to meet their pension liabilities. There are two types of systems. Traditionally the most common pension plans were defined benefit plans (DBP). A typical pension in … Read More

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Asset accumulation, Defined benefit plan, Defined contribution plan, State pension plans, Utah | 2 Comments

Is minimum wage increase at this time harmful to the economy?

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Vijay Mathur

The last time the federal minimum wage was raised to $7.25 to all covered and non-exempt workers was in 2009. Given the current average hourly wage of $20 President Obama is proposing a moderate hourly minimum wage increase of $9 … Read More

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Efficiency wage, Minimum wage, President Obama, U.S. economy | Leave a comment

Immigration is again on the front burner

Posted on February 7, 2013 by Vijay Mathur

We have made some progress on the issue of immigration, as evidenced by the bipartisan framework for reform announced by eight Senators, four Democrats and four Republicans. The compromise has four basic elements. First, it creates a path to citizenship … Read More

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Immigration, Labor | 1 Comment

Utah’s poor quality public education reflects its value system

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Vijay Mathur

I am sure if you ask Utah’s political leaders about the quality of education, they will most likely say that we provide good quality education with less spending than other states. However, the recent school rating’s report by Education Week, … Read More

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Education, Funding priorities, Poor academic standards, Utah Education System, Values | 1 Comment

Bogus arguments against gun control

Posted on December 26, 2012 by Vijay Mathur

The recent mass killing at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut has once again ignited the gun debate, with the same old for and against arguments. In past such mass killings, the same bogus arguments were made against gun … Read More

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Gun control, NRA, Sandy Hook Massacre, U.S. Supreme Court | 2 Comments

More inflation at this time may be beneficial to the economy

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Vijay Mathur

Most Americans including politicians, media pundits, conservative economists and policy makers are averse to inflation (increase in prices). In general this attitude makes sense. In fact, in 1970 public opinion considered inflation as the greatest threat to the economy, and … Read More

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged "End the Depression Now", Consumption tax, Inflation, Juan Pablo Nicolini, Liquidity trap, Paul Krugman, U.S. economy | Leave a comment

Implications for the economy due to decline in household formation

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Vijay Mathur

Recently in the publication Economic Commentary, August 23, 2012, of the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank, Timothy Dune wrote an article on the decline of household formation in general and of young adults in particular due to the recent Great Recession. … Read More

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Economic Commentary, Economy, Household formation, Mitt Romney, Paul Krugman, Timothy Dune | Leave a comment

A proposal for reforming federal taxes

Posted on September 24, 2012 by Vijay Mathur

There is a constant debate between the Democrats and Republicans about Federal taxes and programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Recently at a private fundraising event, a secretly taped video highlighted Mr. Romney’s views about taxes, entitlements and … Read More

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Federal income tax, Tax reform | 3 Comments

Romney’s tax plan worsens income and wealth distribution

Posted on August 24, 2012 by Vijay Mathur

It seems that history is repeating itself when we notice in the current political season the wealthy are pushing for more concentration of power, income and wealth, and most Republican politicians are being used as accomplices in this effort. As … Read More