Social Security: The Phony Crisis Book + PRICE WATCH * Amazon pricing is not included in price watch

Social Security: The Phony Crisis Book

The sky isn't falling on Social Security, say economists Dean Baker and Mark Weisbrot in this readable but sophisticated defense of America's popular government-run retirement program. The public suspects Social Security won't be solvent in the 21st century, they continue, because of "an avalanche of misinformation, disinformation, and powerful political and financial interests." The authors are both liberal economists, and they believe that the privatization of Social Security favored by many libertarians and younger Americans would involve great risk and possibly destroy a system of entitlements that has rescued millions of retirees from spending their golden years in poverty. Although they admit the stock market has averaged a 7 percent rate of return over the last 75 years--much higher than anything Social Security can claim--there is no way to predict what will happen in the future; mandatory private investment programs favored by many free-market reformers therefore offer false promises. Only Social Security, say Baker and Weisbrot, provides a guarantee of income for the elderly. Along the way, Social Security: The Phony Crisis discusses the history of Social Security and evaluates several of the reform proposals now on the table in Washington. A constant drumbeat in favor of the status quo will guarantee this book's popularity among liberals. --John J. Miller Read More

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  • Product Description

    Is it true that the Social Security system is in serious trouble and must be repaired? As baby boomers begin to retire, will they inevitably, by force of their sheer numbers, bankrupt the system? Is Social Security a big Ponzi scheme that will leave future generations with little to show for their lifetime of contributions? Is the only way to solve the Social Security crisis through radical changes like privatization or bolstering it with massive new taxes?

    According to the authors of this important new study, the answer to these questions is a resounding no. In Social Security: The Phony Crisis, economists Dean Baker and Mark Weisbrot argue that there is no economic, demographic, or actuarial basis for the widespread belief that the program needs to be fixed.

    As the authors emphasize, there is virtually no disagreement about the facts of Social Security's finances, or even the projections for its future. Rather, the Social Security debate has been foundering on misconceptions, confusion, and lack of agreement on the meaning of crucial terms.

    The authors also take on related issues: that privatization would help save Social Security, that America has a pressing need to increase its national savings, and that future generations will suffer from the costs--especially for health care--of supporting a growing elderly population.

    As New York Times columnist Fred Brock recently wrote, "So-called reform of the Social Security system is looking more and more like a solution in search of a problem." In this accessible and insightful work, Baker and Weisbrot seek to cut through some of the myths and fallacies surrounding this crucial policy issue.

  • 0226035441
  • 9780226035444
  • D Baker
  • 3 December 1999
  • Chicago University Press
  • Hardcover (Book)
  • 199
  • illustrated edition
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