The Battle for Social Security: From FDR’s Vision To Bush’s Gamble
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This is really an unfortunate book. It reminds one of those “town hall” events that the White House orchestrated for the foolish “60 stops in 60 days” tour during which President Bush tried to sell his Social Security reform plan to the American public. Like those events, this book is shallow and polemical. Altman divides the history of Social Security policy makers into the good (those who would never think to question or challenge any aspect of the program) and the bad (those who either oppose the program or so much as question any aspect of it). She devotes not a single chapter — no, not even so much as a page or a sentence — to a cricital examination of her own preconceptions or to any attempt to understand in a thoughtful manner the positions of those who have critically examined various aspects of the program over the years. This book is a catechism for Altman and the like-minded; there is no serious analysis anywhere within these pages.
For many of us who do not favor individual accounts but who worry about the long-term solvency of the program, this book really is a disappointment; I recommend Diamond and Orszag’s Saving Social Security instead. For those interested in a detached, scholarly account of Social Security’s early years, I recommend Achenbaum’s Social Security: Visions and Revisions. For those who just want a thoughtful analysis of the issues at play in the current policy debate over Social Security, perhaps the best of all is Daniel Shaviro’s Making Sense of Social Security Reform. Anything but Altman’s book.
Rating: 1 / 5
Social Security isn’t a topic that is covered in great detail in college, and I was reading in another book about how many issues there are currently with Social Security so I thought it might be a subject worth researching. I’m in my mid 20′s and I didn’t know anything about Social Security before I read this book except there was a portion of my paycheck that funded the program. I wanted a book that was going to cover the program from start to end and ultimately my curiosity about the history and current issues of Social Security led me to reading this book. This book helped me accomplish that goal and actually had me thinking about the current debates of privatization with SS by the time I finished it.
On the Chapter about the ideal way to strengthen SS, I completely agree that privatization of SS (that Bush supports) is not the way to lead the program. Honestly, I don’t think there would be much difference between a personal SS program, a 401K or an IRA, so I hope the government elects to stick with the current “social” system and doesn’t try an “modernize” the program. I do feel many people my age will support privatization because of the uncertainty of SS being around when our generation retires. Apparently, a majority of young adults assume that if SS becomes individualized, the government will be able to pay their benefits when they retire. The author gives great facts about how it will cost much more to privatize SS, and there is an easier way to solve the issue. No, I won’t ruin the ending for you, but I will say the problem can be resolved easier than you think it will be when you are reading the book.
Although I do not have much interest in politics or law, that would be my only criticism of this book. It goes into great details about getting certain amendments passed, which includes the final voting numbers by Congress, Senate, etc. These were the portions of the book that lost my interest. However, the history of the program is very interesting as it was really intriguing reading how all these presidents fought to evolve this social insurance program.
I probably wouldn’t have rated this book so high if I’d had more in depth knowledge about Social Security previously, but I wanted the history of the program as well as the current issues and that’s what this book was all about. In conclusion, if you want a detailed history of Social Security, then this book is for you. However, if you aren’t that interested in the evolution of the program and want more information about current issues, then you should try a different book.
Rating: 5 / 5
I heard this author say in an interview that she had set out to write a history of Social Security that would be a “page turner”. It made me very curious. Despite being generally interested in public policy and having worked briefly for the Social Security Administration myself many years ago, my mental response to her stated goal was, “There’s no way!”
But Nancy Altman actually did it, against all odds. Apparently all it required was her encyclopedic knowledge of social security and its history, combined with writing skills that could support a popular whodunit and seasoned with her commitment to well-reasoned social policy. From her first page, she engages readers with the “torn from the headlines” reality of the role of social security for dependents of our countrymen killed on 9/11.
This book would be fascinating to you if you’re interested in how legislation gets passed (or doesn’t get passed) and how public policy is made, whether or not you ever thought of social security before as a hot topic.
Rating: 5 / 5
The Battle For Social Security is both a significant history book and a critically important discussion of one of the most important issues facing our country today. As a baby boomer, I have had numerous discussions with friends who are fearful of what they will live on during retirement. (Often the fear is whether or not they will actually be able to retire.) Though we’ve all been forewarned to save for our retirement, for many, Social Security will be the primary source of income. This is particularly true in light of the current crisis in private pensions. The Battle For Social Security clearly explains the importance of Social Security and why it must not be changed by a move to private accounts. (If people want private accounts, they already have the option of IRA’s and 401(k)’s.) Social Security affects virtually every American, and I want everyone I know to read The Battle For Social Security. That’s why it’s my gift to family and friends this Christmas!
Rating: 5 / 5
In The Battle For Social Security, Nancy Altman demontrates that the “eventual Social Security shortfall” that the Bushies are yammering about is simply the result of the fact that we do not currently collect taxes from earners above an annually adjusted ceiling which is currently $90,000.00. This $90,000.00 cutoff is literally starving the Social Security system. If this arbitrary tax cut to those who earn more than $90,000.00 were eliminated, so would the projected Social Security actuarial shortfall. In other words the so-called “Social Security crisis” is all about preserving another tax cut for the wealthy.
Rating: 5 / 5
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