Prices: Books

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  Social Security: More, Not Less

  As baby boomers retire over the next three decades, some claim they will break the bank of the Social Security system. These fears of insolvency have generated a wide range of reform proposals, some of which would transform the current program drastically. Robert Eisner, however, argues that many of the proposed reforms would undermine Social Security's continuing success in dramatically alleviating poverty among the elderly. In this clearly written, provocative report, Eisner rejects the most alarmist views about the solvency of Social Security and provides a blueprint for keeping the system strong and fair. He makes the case that projections about the future of the program are overly pessimistic and that, even if borne out, minor adjustments in tax and benefit levels could keep the system functioning effectively. Eisner suggests that the system could be made more efficient and fair by paying benefits out of general income taxes instead of current payroll taxes. Because income taxes are relatively progressive, taxing earnings from sources other than wages, a greater share of Social Security's financing burden would thus be shifted to those who can better afford it. In addition, Eisner proposes supplementing the current system by offering workers the opportunity to make additional tax-deductible Social Security contributions, which would provide them with larger benefits upon retirement. Workers would have the option of directing their supplementary accounts toward an indexed, passively managed stock fund, or Treasury securities paying a somewhat higher rate than those held in the Social Security trust fund. The main purpose of the accounts would be to increase what are currently lowlevels of both national and household savings.

  $54.25

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  Social Security: History and Politics from the New Deal to the Privatization Debate (Studies in Government and Public Policy)

  Everyone agrees that Social Security's future is in jeopardy-or is it? Long viewed as the "third rail" of American politics, Social Security is a major political issue, and many experts and politicians would like to restructure this program. But too few of us, young and elderly alike, really understand the origins and workings of this popular program. Daniel Béland answers the call for objective information with a short history that provides context and clarity for the current debates. Covering six decades through the beginning of the current century, Béland chronicles how Social Security and the controversy surrounding its solvency have evolved, offering along the way new insights into its past, present, and future. His balanced perspective will help readers understand and evaluate partisan arguments on both sides of the issue. Béland reconstructs the political history of Social Security, describes the impact of subsequent amendments to the original act, and offers comparative insights from other countries that can improve our understanding of the debate. He focuses particularly on the relationship between ideas and institutions in policymaking to examine the impact of gender and race on Social Security politics; and he shows that gender has had a more direct impact on Social Security development-especially regarding spousal benefits-and is more important in understanding the politics of reform than has often been understood. In assessing how Social Security has been sold to the public, Béland reveals how the 1935 act resulted in part from its link with the traditional American belief in the values associated with hard work and self-reliance, while surreptitiously providing some economic security for the impoverished. Today's privatizers argue for changing from a guaranteed benefit to a defined contribution program, seeking to reclaim from liberals the rhetoric about American values in order to alter the very nature of Social Security-effectually turning discourse centered on personal and collective gain against the institutional legacy of the New Deal. Succinct and illuminating, Béland's work provides concerned citizens with a thoughtful exploration of how the politics of Social Security evolved, while offering scholars new theoretical insights about the welfare state and the role of ideas and institutions in policymaking.

  $52.96

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  Social Security: A Fresh Look at Policy Alternatives

  Many of us suspect that Social Security faces eventual bankruptcy. But the government projects its future finances using long outdated methods. Employing a more up-to-date approach, Jagadeesh Gokhale here argues that the program faces insolvency far sooner than previously thought. To assess Social Security’s fate more accurately under current and alternative policies, Gokhale constructs a detailed simulation of the forces shaping American demographics and the economy to project their future evolution. He then uses this simulation to analyze six prominent Social Security reform packages—two liberal, two centrist, and two conservative—to demonstrate how far they would restore the program’s financial health and which population groups would be helped or hurt in the process. Arguments over Social Security have raged for decades, but they have taken place in a relative informational vacuum; Social Security provides the necessary bedrock of analysis that will prove vital for anyone with a stake in this important debate.

  $44.01