Paul Krugman is usually right up to the minute. But the main point of his latest piece, namely, that the US Republicans have backed away from using the term “privatization” to describe their plans for Social Security individual accounts, was in Salon’s Spinsanity back in June.

And the kicker for his column is this para:
“And what’s the name of the Cato project to promote personal accounts? Why, the Project on Social Security Privatization, of course.”

In fact, as was reported in this blog, back in July, the Cato Institute has followed the Republican party line, and changed the name to Project on Social Security Choice. Of course, it will be a bit embarrassing for them to write in with a correction, since it simply underlines the main point.

For those interested in an economic analysis of some of the key issues, look out for September’s American Economic Review, which will include an article by me and Simon Grant.