The Real Deal
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The History and Future of Social Security
Sylvester J. Schieber and John B. Shoven
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Format: PaperPrice: $51.00
Will the Social Security system founder as millions of baby boomers enter their retirement years? Is the frightening vision of an impoverished old age a glimpse into the real future for Americans of the next generation? The authors of this book put debates about Social Security reform into historical perspective, consider various reform ideas, and elaborate a proposal to ensure that the system can continue to meet the claims of the retired and the disabled. Sylvester J. Schieber and John B. Shoven, leading experts on retirement issues, set forth a carefully considered plan to change the way we finance Social Security and thereby secure its future viability.
Exploring the history of the Social Security system from its origins during the Depression to its current troubled prospects, Schieber and Shoven analyze the program’s economic structure and introduce the remarkable personalities who influenced its evolution. The authors show how Social Security today differs from the program Franklin D. Roosevelt envisioned and how the shift to pay-as-you-go funding has led to the system’s current problems. Seen in historical context, some reform approaches are revealed as a renewal of attempts to fund Social Security through means that have repeatedly failed. The authors argue for mandatory private retirement savings accounts for workers—a proposal that would lighten retirement security burdens for future generations, avoid tax increases, and preserve the system’s progressivity. This book is essential reading not only for policymakers but for anyone else who wishes to understand what Social Security reform will mean for us as a nation and as individuals.
"In the Real Deal, Professors Schieber and Shoven have given us a serious book about a serious subject—our country's retirement plan. In a sophisticated, scholarly manner, they offer a fresh and equitable solution for the modernization of our Social Security system. This book is good news for everyone."—Charles R. Schwab, Chairman, The Charles Schwab Corporation
"Schieber and Shoven's work exemplifies the axiom that the farther you look back, the farther you can see ahead. In providing thorough analysis and insight into Social Security's history and evolution, readers can come to appreciate the crucial financing dilemmas and problems that have faced our most vital social program since its inception. The authors take this background to discuss the various options for preserving Social Security's achievements and purpose on new foundations that are fiscally sustainable, actuarially sound, economically empowering and generationally equitable. This is a must read for concerned citizen and policy expert alike."—Rick Santorum, U.S. Senator
"There is no more important domestic public policy issue than the future of Social Security. Read The Read Deal and you will be on the front line of the debate. Schieber and Shoven have produced a tour de force that will help shape the future of this most important government program."—Michael J. Boskin, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
"For historical perspective and analytical depth, The Real Deal stands head and shoulders above other recent books on Social Security's future. Cutting through partisan polemics, authors Schieber and Shoven give readers a balanced and lucid account of Social Security's dilemmas as well as a well-crafted plan for modernizing the system for the demands of 21st Century life."—Will Marshall, President, Progressive Policy Institute
"A must-read for concerned citizens and policy experts alike."—Senator Rick Santorum
“There is no more important domestic public policy issue than the future of Social Security. Read The Real Deal and you will be on the front line of the debate. Schieber and Shoven have produced a tour de force that will help shape the future of this most important government program.”—Honorable Michael J. Boskin
“For historical perspective and analytical depth, The Real Deal stands head and shoulders above other recent books on Social Security’s future. Cutting through partisan polemics, authors Schieber and Shoven give readers a balanced and lucid account of Social Security’s dilemmas along with a well-crafted plan for modernizing the system for the demands of twenty-first century life.”—Will Marshall, president, Progressive Policy Institute
“In The Real Deal, Schieber and Shoven have given us a serious book about a serious subject—our country’s retirement plan. In a sophisticated, scholarly manner, they offer a fresh and equitable solution for the modernization of our Social Security system. This book is good news for everyone.”—Charles R. Schwab, chairman, Charles Schwab Corporation
“This book sheds a whole new light on the current system and presents a reform proposal that is understandable and responsible.”—Stephen P. Zeldes, Columbia Business School
"This book is a wonderful primer on these issues. . . . This is an excellent book that anyone interested in understanding the Social Security system and its future should read."—Library Journal
"This year alone—and not even considering countless magazine and newspaper articles—more than 200 publications have been devoted to the topic of social security. . . . For those who have been unable to keep up with the deluge, Schieber and Shoven provide the opportunity to catch up. . . . The two experts clarify the debate by putting arguments about social security in historical perspective."—Booklist
"The Real Deal is an engaging account of how the Social Security system reached a point of long-term imbalance and what can be done to correct the situation. . . . Reading this book will help investment advisors to understand the debate and to assess how different reform options might affect their clients and their business. Investing the time needed to read The Real Deal is likely to yield handsome returns to an informed consultant."—James M. Poterba, The Journal of Investment Consulting
“Schieber and Shoven provide a detailed history of the passage of the Social Security Act of 1935 and . . . an objective, historical analysis of the factors leading to the current ‘crisis.’ . . . While much of the literature tends to be technical, based on actuarial projections and alternative assumptions, this book is both readable and entertaining.”—Choice
Publication Date: September 10, 1999
61 b/w illus.
