Putting Our House in Order: A Guide to Social Security and Health Care Reform
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- 12,99 €
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- 12,99 €
Publisher Description
A former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and an eminent economist tackle the biggest social issue of our time.
Of all the issues swirling around the 2008 election, the staggering projected costs for the upkeep of America's largest entitlement programs—Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid—loom with gathering intensity. Government revenues alone cannot solve the problem, but a solution must be found. In this book George P. Shultz and John B. Shoven take a practical—and optimistic—look at the issues at hand, offering an agenda for reform that will make these essential programs solvent. Drawing on a trove of original research, they take stock of the current situation, consider plans on offer from major thinkers in the field, and chart a course toward a system that provides income for the elderly and universal access to health care in ways that are fiscally sound. This book is a must-read for anyone looking to make an informed decision about the country's future.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Former secretary of state Shultz and Stanford economics professor Shoven offer an agenda to reform Social Security and health care in a useful but abstruse primer meant to clarify some of the most pressing issues in the upcoming election. Shultz and Shoven offer an overly optimistic assessment of the economy's health and warn of the "Iceberg Ahead": the "staggering projected costs" of Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare. The authors boil the crisis down to the simple fact that, "in demographic terms, we are retiring earlier and living longer." Government revenues alone cannot meet the needs of the increasing costs of health care, a longer life span and a growing cadre of those retiring at 62. Shultz and Shoven acknowledge that reforms in entitlement programs are notoriously difficult to implement, but "inaction is not an option," and reforms should have been in place 10 years ago. To keep Social Security and health care from buckling under their prohibitive costs, the authors suggest a series of reforms, chief among them measures to encourage older Americans to continue participating in the labor force. The proposals in this "citizen's guide" are undeniably convincing, yet their presentation might prove too dense and difficult foranyone but the most dedicated political enthusiast.
