Social Security: History and Politics from the New Deal to the Privatization Debate

by Daniel Béland

Book Overview

Everyone agrees that Social Security's future is in jeopardy--or is it? Long viewed as the "third rail" of American politics, Social Security is a major political issue, and many experts and politicians would like to restructure this program. But too few of us, young and elderly alike, really understand the origins and workings of this popular program. Daniel B?land answers the call for objective information with a short history that provides context...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0700614044
• ISBN13: 9780700614042
• Release Date: August 2005
• Publisher: University Press of Kansas
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

The Political Story Is Told

This book is a must read for those who are interesting how the U.S. Social Security evolved into its present state, and is indispensible for those interested in understanding the context of current political debates (not only in the US, but in other countires - social security debates in other countries have been influenced by the U.S. system, and vice versa). Beland explains the political origins or social security, and it is clear that in order to understand current social security politics, including recent discussion of privatization, you need to start at the beginning.

The big, "new deal" about Social Security

I bought this book to read for the 70th anniversary of Social Security (Aug. 14), but it came out earlier than expected. It's good to read a social science book that's not full of jargon or boring policy details. The author gets to the point, and he writes clearly--for an academic. The book is really concise, as it covers nearly eight decades of history in less than 200 pages (w/o the notes). It also addresses broad issues, from the role of unions and business interests to Bush's Social Security agenda. But what I really like is that this book is not just about Social Security: it explains how American institutions work, how politicians and think tanks set the policy agenda, and even why the US doesn't have national health insurance! This book didn't change my life but it certainly helped me to understand why (and how) privatization is now such a big deal.