Assorted links

1) The New Yorker interview with Richard Thaler.

2) London’s mayor wants to start a recycling bank program that gives people shopping vouchers for their recyclables.

3) Another plug this past weekend for the automatic tax return. California says it costs $2.59 to process a paper return, but only 34 cents to process its version of the automatic tax return, ReadyReturn. The makers of Turbo Tax have been trying to end the program, most recently this fall.

4) Calorie postings at Starbucks led to lower calorie consumption by six percent–except around the holidays. Hat tip: Farnam Street.

5) Will Obama mention the automatic IRA in his State of the Union speech Wednesday?

Congress takes up the Nudge bill

Mark Iwry and David John of the Retirement Security Project testified before the Senate Special Committee on Aging today about the benefits of automatic enrollment in retirement plans. CQ Politics says the idea is gaining momentum in Congress.

Sens. Jeff Bingaman (Democrat-New Mexico) and Gordon Smith (Republican-Oregon) have sponsored a proposal (aka. the Nudge bill) to provide for Automatic Individual Retirement Accountss, based on the Retirement Security Project proposal. The bill, which has died in the last two Congresses, allows small employers who do not offer employee retirement plans to allow eligible employees to receive an IRA automatically. Follow the Senate bill (S. 1141) here and vote in the internet poll about it. Who are the 71 percent of internet voters against this bill?

Five Senators are co-sponsoring the automatic IRA bill.
Robert Casey (Democrat-Pennsylvania)
Thomas Harkin (Democrat-Iowa)
John Kerry (Democrat-Massachusetts)
Barbara Mikulski [Democrat-Maryland]
Sen. Olympia Snowe [Republican-Maine]

Twenty three House members and one Resident Commissioner are co-sponsoring the House version of the bill.
Neil Abercrombie (Democrat-Hawaii)
Jason Altmire (Democrat-Pennsylvania)
Brian Baird (Democrat-Washington)
Earl Blumenauer (Democrat-Oregon)
Joseph Crowley (Democrat-New York)
Artur Davis (Democrat-Alabama)
Rahm Emanuel (Democrat-Illinois)
Philip English (Republican-Pennsylvania)
Resident Commissioner Luis Fortuño (Republican-Puerto Rico)
Paul Hodes (Democrat-New Hampshire)
Darrell Issa (Republican-California)
Eddie Johnson (Democrat-Texas)
Henry Johnson (Democrat-Georgia)
John Larson (Democrat-Connecticut)
John Lewis (Democrat-Georgia)
Daniel Lipinski (Democrat-Illinois)
Zoe Lofgren (Democrat-California)
Carolyn Maloney (Democrat-New York)
Carolyn McCarthy (Democrat-New York)
James McDermott (Democrat-Washington)
James McGovern (Democrat-Massachusetts)
Linda Sánchez (Democrat-California)
Allyson Schwartz (Democrat-Pennsylvania)
Christopher Van Hollen (Democrat-Maryland)

A strategy for retirement saving that shatters conventional wisdom

Market Movers links to an intriguing paper from Ian Ayres and Barry Nalebuff, both from Yale, that recommends twenty-somethings plan for retirement by borrowing money to invest in the stock market. Leverage up to buy stocks? Yes. They write:

Continue reading the post here.