Social Security and Its Discontents: Perspectives on Choice

Rating:
Summary: Everyone Should Read this Book.
Review: As with all books written by members of The Cato Institute, this book is well-researched and very well-written. It is also a book that anyone who pays Social Security, receives it or cares about the taxes they pay, should read and read now.

This book has numerous authors. So there are some things that are repeated. That, however, doesn't take away from the content or the excellent information offered in the book.

I was amazed to discover some of the awful truths about Social Security.

For example, quoting from the book:

"Again, compare this with the replacement rates provided under the system of private investment. Assuming that the worker described previously was able to invest the full nondisability portion of his Social Security taxes (10.6 percent of wages), his replacement rate would be an astounding 260 percent of preretirement income! If he invested just 4 percent of wages, he would still have a replacement rate equal to 100 percent of his preretirement income. Social Security provides only 41.6 percent of preretirenent income for average-income workers. Because Social Security has a progressive benefit formula, low income workers do better with a replacement rate of 56.1 percent, still below what is needed. That is especially true since low-income workers lack other forms of retirement income."

AARP and others are against Social Security reform or people owning their own Social Security account. After you read this book, you'll know just how ill-informed AARP and others who oppose privatization really are.

The one thing missing from the book was a chapter on how self-employed people are deeply hurt by the current system. It covered blacks and women and others but failed to address the self-employed. That was the only flaw in an otherwise very important book.

Susanna K. Hutcheson
Executive Creative Director
Powerwriting.com LLC
http://www.powerwriting.com

Rating:
Summary: A scholarly analysis of Social Security's reforms
Review: The society security program is facing fiscal pressures which threaten future retirement benefits for young workers: just four years from now, the first member of baby boomers will become eligible to receive benefits and the number of beneficiaries will rapidly escalate over the next ten years. Michael Tanner provides a scholarly analysis of Social Security's reforms and special challenges, including international the key thinkers of social reforms and the system to provide concrete proposals for reform. It's refreshing to see an in-depth volume which not only poses the usual warnings, but then goes on to offer concrete solutions: Social Security And Its Discontents should not be overlooked.