The usual story about the pension shift is that coverage collapsed. It didn't. Participation hit its highest level since 2010 and increased across the whole income distribution — while the mean balance for the bottom half of earners fell, during a stock market boom.
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Political ScienceMarch 14, 20269 min readEvergreen
Both figures are published, peer-reviewed, and about the United States. They differ by an order of magnitude because they answer different questions — and the study that produced the smaller number also found where the money actually goes.
evidencefiscal policypolitical economypublic health
Two official figures for the same year differ by five percentage points, and each side quotes the one that suits it. The more interesting number is that Tamil Nadu collects 10.4% of GSDP in revenue where a median state collects 19.9% — and has pushed subsidies from roughly 8% of spending to 37% in four years.
