Overview
Since its establishment, Social Security has become the financial linchpin of American retirement. Yet demographic trends--longer lifespans and declining birthrates--mean that this popular program now pays more in benefits than it collects in revenue. Without reforms, eighty-three million Americans will face an immediate benefit cut of twenty percent in 2034. How did we get here and what is the solution? In Fixing Social Security, R. Douglas Arnold explores the historical role that Social Security has played in American politics, why Congress has done nothing to fix its insolvency problem for three decades, and what legislators can do to save it. What options do legislators have as the program nears the precipice? They can raise taxes, as they did in 1977, cut benefits, as they did in 1983, or reinvent the program, as they attempted in 2005. Unfortunately, every option would impose costs, and legislators are reluctant to act, fearing electoral retribution. Arnold investigates why politicians designed the system as they did and how between 1935 and 1983 they allocated--and reallocated--costs and benefits among workers, employers, and beneficiaries. He also examines public support for the program, and why Democratic and Republican representatives, once political allies in expanding Social Security, have become so deeply polarized about fixing it.
Full Product Details
Author: R Douglas Arnold ,
Graham Rowat
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Imprint: Tantor Audio
Edition: Library Edition
ISBN: 9798212065412
Publication Date: 12 April 2022
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Audio
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Author Information
R. Douglas Arnold is the William Church Osborn Professor of Public Affairs Emeritus at Princeton University. His books include Congress, the Press, and Political Accountability, The Logic of Congressional Action, and Framing the Social Security Debate. Graham Rowat is an award-winning narrator who has appeared in numerous television shows and stage productions. He has had roles on Broadway in Meteor Shower, Sunset Boulevard, Mamma Mia, Guys and Dolls, LoveMusik, Dracula, and Beauty and the Beast, and his Off-Broadway credits include The Blue Flower (Second Stage) and The Boys in the Band (Transport Group). Nationally, he has appeared in productions of White Christmas and Les Miserables, and his regional credits include Arsenic and Old Lace, Constellations (Berkshire Theatre Festival), and A Funny Thing . . . Forum (Two River Theater, Williamstown Theatre Festival). His television credits include Elementary and The Good Wife.
