Editorial Review:

While everyone agrees that Social Security is a vital and necessary government program, there have been widely divergent plans for reforming it. Peter A. Diamond and Peter R. Orszag, two of the nation's foremost economists, propose a reform plan that would rescue the program both from its projected financial problems and from those who would destroy the program in order to save it. Since the publication of the first edition of this book in 2004, the Social Security debate has moved to the center of the domestic policy agenda. In this updated edition of Saving Social Security, the authors analyze the Bush Administration's proposal for individual accounts and discuss the so-called "price indexing" proposal to restore long-term solvency through changing how initial benefits would be calculated. Saving Social Security is essential reading for policymakers involved in reform, analysts, students, and all those interested in the fate of this safeguard of American lives.

Customer Reviews:

Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0

Should we keep Social Security limping along?:

The authors do a passable job of explaining how Social Security has gotten to where it is.
Unfortunately, they never discuss what Social Security is.
Social Security is an intergenerational welfare program. Money is taken from the young, and given to retirees.
We can "Save Social Security" - by increasing taxes, reducing benefits, and using all sorts of accounting tricks.
But should we?
Retirees are living in comfort - while young people are being paid less and are struggling to... more info

Only Balanced on the High End:

First, the good things. This text gives a general understanding of how the 75-year projection has gone from on-balance in 1983 to off-balance in 2003, it provides many examples of possible errors in the system, and it gives good recommendations to the current system to enhance the ability of Social Security to remain in balance once it has been restored, namely things like adjusting retiree benefits for changes in expected life span over and above projected changes and including a universal legacy charge... more info

A highly recommended ray of hope:

Written by the chair of the board of the National Academy of Social Insurance and a former special assistant to the president for economic policy during the Clinton administration, Saving Social Security: A Balanced Approach Proposes a reform plan for America's social security system that would save it from both its financial problems and those who would do away with it. Focusing on means that promote long-term balance and sustainable solvency, while protecting the program's benefits for the disabled, low... more info

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