San Antonio College Library

Examines claims that the Social Security system is on the verge of collapse, and looks at some of the proposals aimed at overhauling the system, including privatization, and allowing the government to invest a portion of the Social Security trust fund in the stock market.

"Presents the case for expanding Social Security, explaining why monthly benefits need to be increased, and why Americans need national paid family leave, sick leave, and long term care protections"--

"Covering six decades through the beginning of the current century, Beland 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. Beland reconstructs the political history of Social Security, describes the impact of subsequent amendments...

Franklin Roosevelt envisioned social security to be the cornerstone 'for the kind of protection America wants' from the financial troubles people faced due to old age and family tragedies. By fulfilling its initial promise, social security has evolved into the nation's largest, costliest, and most successful domestic institution. But the optimistic assumptions that inspired its incremental expansion have dissipated in the face of demographic, political,...

In a book remarkably free of technical or social science jargon, Max J. Skidmore demonstrates exactly why Social Security is not in danger of going bankrupt and proposes a series of incremental adjustments that will allow the system to support future generations even better. Social Security and Its Enemies shows that far from being a system on the verge of collapse, Social Security in fact does exactly what it was created to do keep America's aged...

Publisher Fact Sheet Annotation

Skidmore (political science, U. of Missouri) presents an expanded and updated version of his earlier Social Security and Its Enemies. He describes the political history of the Social Security program and provides detail on how it is structured in order to correct the disinformation of those who seek to destroy it. He argues that not only is Social Security fundamentally sound, but that it can be improved by making its financing, rather than just its...

Beginning with the stock market crash of 1929, Blanche Coll documents the evolution of federal and state government policymaking for welfare and Social Security, our "safety net." As Coll points out, the policies that determine who is "entitled" to aid, how standard dollar amounts are set, child support responsibilities, the equitable fiscal division between state, federal, and local governments, and the resulting impact on the poor - particularly...

"Social protection is fast becoming one of the most important themes in development policy. This collection, now available in paperback, examines the political processes shaping the formulation of social protection policies; compares the key conceptual frameworks available for analysing social protection; and provides a comparative discussion on the policies focused on the poor and the poorest. Drawing on key case studies from Africa, Latin America...