Social Security & The Marginal Tax, Alan Greenspan's Legacy | Bloomberg Money 6/26/2026

Summary

The episode covers retirement anxiety, Social Security reform with a bipartisan proposal to eliminate the payroll tax cap, persistent inflation concerns, and oil-market stability through Strait of Hormuz tensions. Abby Joseph Cohen reflects on Alan Greenspan’s data-driven Fed and warns that equity valuations are priced for perfection. Daniel Skelly of Morgan Stanley recommends buying the recently cheaper MAG 7, adding Financials and Health Care as future AI adopters, favoring dividend growers for income, and rebalancing into Japan. The show also examines Gen Z’s risk-hungry investment behavior amid economic insecurity.

• Bipartisan Social Security proposal would raise marginal tax rates dramatically on high earners, with economic ripple effects.
• Inflation remains sticky with hidden pressures in software and accessories, even as oil declines.
• Abby Joseph Cohen praises Greenspan’s long-term, data-quality focus and says current valuations leave no room for disappointment.
• Daniel Skelly sees MAG 7 as a buy after pullback, paralleling the 1995-1996 tech cycle.
• Skelly also advocates adding Financials and Health Care as AI adopters, and dividend growers for rising cash flow.
• Japan is a rebalancing buy after drifting lower, while crypto remains in a winter ahead of potential improvement next year.
• Gen Z investors are embracing risky bets (options, sports betting, prediction markets) driven by financial nihilism and a sense that regular income can’t achieve the American dream.
• The AI economy is booming but broader economic data may under-capture new growth, while the Fed faces communication and data challenges under incoming chair Kevin Warsh.