The article argues that recent executive overreach and politicization have severely undermined established norms of U.S. civil-military relations. To restore professional standards, the incoming Congress must actively exercise its oversight powers, moving beyond mere criticism to demanding transparency in defense policy and personnel decisions. Key reforms include enforcing meritocratic promotion processes, requiring documented justification for senior officer removals, and preventing the partisan use of the military. These actions are crucial for bolstering public trust and ensuring the military remains a nonpartisan instrument of civilian control.
Rethinking safe harbor for employer matching rules
English Summary
The Brookings report argues that current safe harbor matching formulas for employer-sponsored retirement plans are poorly designed, creating a 'lock-in' effect that concentrates benefits among high-saving employees and fails to incentivize participation among others. The key evidence shows that the high initial match rates subsidize savings that would occur regardless, diminishing the marginal incentive for workers to save more. To address these inefficiencies and promote equitable savings, the authors propose reforming the formulas to incorporate a non-elective employer contribution—guaranteeing a minimum benefit for all eligible workers—paired with a less steep, more extended matching rate.
中文摘要
布魯金斯智庫的報告指出，目前雇主贊助退休金計劃的「安全港匹配公式」（safe harbor matching formulas）設計不良，造成了「鎖定效應」（lock-in effect）。這種效應導致福利集中於高儲蓄員工，而未能激勵其他員工參與儲蓄。關鍵證據顯示，過高的初始匹配率實質上補貼了那些無論如何都會發生的儲蓄，從而削弱了工人們增加儲蓄的邊際激勵。為了解決這些效率低下的問題並促進公平的儲蓄，作者們建議改革這些公式，納入「非選擇性雇主供款」（non-elective employer contribution）——即確保所有符合資格的員工都能獲得最低福利——並搭配一個較不陡峭、更為延展的匹配率。
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