TED VAN DYK: My Unrecognizable Democratic Party. “As a lifelong Democrat, I have a mental picture these days of my president, smiling broadly, at the wheel of a speeding convertible. His passengers are Democratic elected officials and candidates. Ahead of them, concealed by a bend in the road, is a concrete barrier. They didn’t have to take that route. Other Democratic presidents have won bipartisan support for proposals as liberal in their time as some of Mr. Obama’s are now. Why does this administration seem so determined to head toward a potential crash and burn? . . . Mr. Obama was elected in 2008 on the basis of his persona and his pledge to end political and ideological polarization. His apparent everyone-in-it-together idealism was exactly what the country wanted and needed. On taking office, however, the president adopted a my-way-or-the-highway style of governance.”

CLIMATEGATE 3.0 UPDATE: The Hockey Stick, Broken Again.

MADE MORE PRESSING BY WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH CYPRUS: A ‘Europeanization’ Warning at CPAC. “I see America making the same mistakes Britain has made over the past 15 years.”

THE GLOBAL WAR ON SAVINGS: Cyprus’ savers bear brunt of unprecedented bailout. In badly-run countries, people don’t save because savings are just a target for kleptocrats. That causes untold economic harm, but it’s still rational given the incentives. What incentives are governments worldwide creating regarding savings now?

THE ECONOMY IS REALLY IMPROVING: More than 25 percent of Americans raiding 401(k)s to pay bills. “U.S. workers are tapping into nearly a quarter of the $293 billion placed into their retirement savings each year to pay for mortgages, credit cards and other debts, according to a report from financial advisory firm HelloWallet. Those in their 40s are the most frequent raiders, with about one-third using their 401(k)s to pay current bills.”

UPDATE: An amplification on the linked story from reader Kevin Patrick:

The mistake is at the AZ Daily Star (or in the PR that they published for HelloWallet :-) ), not yours, but the excerpt didn’t sound right to me. “Most” Americans don’t have a 401(k), so I looked for the study online. Here’s what the study actually says in the executive summary:

“Over 25 percent of households that use a 401(k) or similar DC plan have used all or some of their savings for non-retirement needs, amounting to over $70 billion in annual withdrawals”

The study says that 40% of American households have access to a 401(k) or similar DC plan, so if 25% of those have used it for non-retirement needs, this is only 10% of American households who have done so. The study itself actually notes, “Yet, as large as those numbers are, DC plans are a marginal contributor to the actual retirement needs of U.S. workers. In fact, DC balances constitute less than 7 percent of the gross asset value owned by all households near retirement.”

You can find the study here.

Not good news certainly, but not nearly as bad as the headline seems. That’s good PR for you!

I’m not sure that it undercuts the main point, which is that people in their 40s, who should be doing reasonably well, are having to dip into retirement to make ends meet.