Social Security Reform: Legal Analysis of Social Security Benefit Entitlement Issues

[Excerpt] Calculations indicating that the current Social Security program will not be financially sustainable in the long run under the present statutory scheme have fueled the current debate regarding Social Security reform. This report addresses selected legal issues that may be raised regarding entitlement to Social Security benefits as Congress considers possible changes to the Social Security program in view of projected long-range shortfalls in the Social Security Trust Funds. Social Security benefits are administered pursuant to Title II of the Social Security Act, known as the Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program. Title II is part of a larger social insurance program in which Congress uses its power to tax and spend for the general welfare to promote the social goals of aiding the aged, survivors of workers, disabled persons, and persons of limited means. Beneficiaries under Title II have a legal entitlement to receive Social Security benefits as set forth by the Social Security Act and as administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA), an independent agency in the executive branch. An individual’s right to Social Security benefits is in a sense “earned,” since there is a general relationship between OASDI benefits and wages earned and the tax paid thereon. However, benefits are not directly measured by the amount of payments made through the years into the system. Thus, the fact that Social Security benefits are financed by taxes on an employee’s wages does not provide a limit on Congress’s power to fix the levels of benefits under the Social Security Act, or the conditions upon which they may be paid

The effect on inequality of changing one or two incomes

We examine the effect on inequality of increasing one income, and show that for two wide classes of indices a benchmark income level or position exists, dividing upper from lower incomes, such that if a lower income is raised, inequality falls, and if an upper income is raised, inequality rises. We provide a condition on the inequality orderings implicit in two inequality indices under which the one has a lower benchmark than the other for all unequal income distributions. We go on to examine the effect on the same indices of simultaneously increasing one income and decreasing another higher up the distribution, deriving results which quantify the extent of the 'bucket leak' which can be tolerated without negating the beneficial inequality effect of the transfer. Our results have implications for the inequality impacts of different income growth patterns, and of redistributive programmes (leaky or not), which are briefly discussed. Keywords: inequality index, inequality ordering, leaky bucket.

Determination of rotation periods in solar-like stars with irregular sampling: the Gaia case

We present a study on the determination of rotation periods (P) of solar-like stars from the photometric irregular time-sampling of the ESA Gaia mission, currently scheduled for launch in 2013, taking into account its dependence on ecliptic coordinates. We examine the case of solar-twins as well as thousands of synthetic time-series of solar-like stars rotating faster than the Sun. In the case of solar twins we assume that the Gaia unfiltered photometric passband G will mimic the variability of the total solar irradiance (TSI) as measured by the VIRGO experiment. For stars rotating faster than the Sun, light-curves are simulated using synthetic spectra for the quiet atmosphere, the spots, and the faculae combined by applying semi-empirical relationships relating the level of photospheric magnetic activity to the stellar rotation and the Gaia instrumental response. The capabilities of the Deeming, Lomb-Scargle, and Phase Dispersion Minimisation methods in recovering the correct rotation periods are tested and compared. The false alarm probability (FAP) is computed using Monte Carlo simulations and compared with analytical formulae. The Gaia scanning law makes the rate of correct detection of rotation periods strongly dependent on the ecliptic latitude (beta). We find that for P ~ 1 d, the rate of correct detection increases with ecliptic latitude from 20-30 per cent at beta ~ 0{\deg} to a peak of 70 per cent at beta=45{\deg}, then it abruptly falls below 10 per cent at beta > 45{\deg}. For P > 5 d, the rate of correct detection is quite low and for solar twins is only 5 per cent on average.Comment: 12 pages, 18 figures, accepted by MNRA

Measuring stellar differential rotation with high-precision space-borne photometry

We introduce a method of measuring a lower limit to the amplitude of surface differential rotation from high-precision, evenly sampled photometric time series. It is applied to main-sequence late-type stars whose optical flux modulation is dominated by starspots. An autocorrelation of the time series was used to select stars that allow an accurate determination of starspot rotation periods. A simple two-spot model was applied together with a Bayesian information criterion to preliminarily select intervals of the time series showing evidence of differential rotation with starspots of almost constant area. Finally, the significance of the differential rotation detection and a measurement of its amplitude and uncertainty were obtained by an a posteriori Bayesian analysis based on a Monte Carlo Markov Chain approach. We applied our method to the Sun and eight other stars for which previous spot modelling had been performed to compare our results with previous ones. We find that autocorrelation is a simple method for selecting stars with a coherent rotational signal that is a prerequisite for successfully measuring differential rotation through spot modelling. For a proper Monte Carlo Markov Chain analysis, it is necessary to take the strong correlations among different parameters that exist in spot modelling into account. For the planet-hosting star Kepler-30, we derive a lower limit to the relative amplitude of the differential rotation of \Delta P / P = 0.0523 \pm 0.0016. We confirm that the Sun as a star in the optical passband is not suitable for measuring differential rotation owing to the rapid evolution of its photospheric active regions. In general, our method performs well in comparison to more sophisticated and time-consuming approaches.Comment: Accepted to Astronomy and Astrophysics, 15 pages, 13 figures, 4 tables and an Appendi

Some Effects of the Aliend Land Act in Washington

Legislation restricting the ownership of land by aliens in the State of Washington, has given rise to many interesting questions of law. The Supreme Court of the State, beginning with the Oregon Mortgage Co. v. Carstens case in 1896, and presently ending with the Ying v. Kay cases in 1933, has had manifold opportunities to answer a great portion of the perplexing problems that have arisen under the Alien Land laws. However, there remain many questions as yet undecided, and it is the purpose of this article to not only epitomize the conclusions already adjudicated, but also predict some probable results to situations which may arise in the future

Photospheric activity, rotation and magnetic interaction in LHS 6343 A

Context. The Kepler mission has recently discovered a brown dwarf companion transiting one member of the M4V+M5V visual binary system LHS 6343 AB with an orbital period of 12.71 days. Aims. The particular interest of this transiting system lies in the synchronicity between the transits of the brown dwarf C component and the main modulation observed in the light curve, which is assumed to be caused by rotating starspots on the A component. We model the activity of this star by deriving maps of the active regions that allow us to study stellar rotation and the possible interaction with the brown dwarf companion. Methods. An average transit profile was derived, and the photometric perturbations due to spots occulted during transits are removed to derive more precise transit parameters. We applied a maximum entropy spot model to fit the out-of-transit optical modulation as observed by Kepler during an uninterrupted interval of 500 days. It assumes that stellar active regions consist of cool spots and bright faculae whose visibility is modulated by stellar rotation. Results. Thanks to the extended photometric time series, we refine the determination of the transit parameters and find evidence of spots that are occulted by the brown dwarf during its transits. The modelling of the out-of-transit light curve of LHS 6343 A reveals several starspots rotating with a slightly longer period than the orbital period of the brown dwarf, i.e., 13.13 +- 0.02 days. No signature attributable to differential rotation is observed. We find evidence of a persistent active longitude on the M dwarf preceding the sub- companion point by 100 deg and lasting for at least 500 days. This can be relevant for understanding how magnetic interaction works in low-mass binary and star-planet systems.Comment: 14 pages, 16 figure

Geographic Variation in the Pollination Biology of Passiflora lutea (Passifloraceae)

Like most species of Passiflora, P. lutea is reported to produce one-day flowers with complicated floral movements and requires deposition of non-self pollen for fruit production. Medium sized bees are the most likely pollinators in central Texas. We report on a series of observations and experimental manipulations that compare the reproductive biology of P. lutea in central Arkansas to that reported previously from plants about 800 km distant in central Texas. We observed floral movements and floral visitors, compared fruit production of flowers available to pollinators versus flowers from which pollinators were excluded, and compared fruit production of flowers that were hand-pollinated with self pollen versus flowers that were hand-pollinated with non-self pollen. Floral movements were similar to those of other Passiflora, with flowers opening for one day and styles that usually deflexed to a level below the anthers, presumably facilitating cross-pollination. Some flowers (20%) had styles that did not fully deflex. Movement of floral parts of plants in central Arkansas occurred slightly earlier than in plants in central Texas. Unlike what was observed in a small sample in Texas, we observed a low level of self-compatibility in P. lutea. In contrast to the medium sized bees that were the important pollinators in central Texas, Anthemurgus passiflorae, a small specialized andrenid bee that only forages on P. lutea, was likely the most important pollinator in central Arkansas. Finally, fruit set of plants in central Arkansas was much higher than that reported for plants in central Texas. Thus, this species varies geographically in its reproductive biology