The Future of the Safety Net: Social Insurance and Employee Benefits / Edition 1

by Sheldon Friedman, David Jacobs

Overview

Social insurance and employee benefits are key elements of society's safety net for workers. Social Security, although popular and successful, is under attack by critics who advocate privatization and benefit cuts. In health care, the United States has charted a course unique in the industrial world: 110 years after the debut of national health insurance in Europe, the US still lacks comprehensive coverage, spends a higher proportion of its gross domestic product on medical care than any other nation, and fails to insure 44 million people. The U.S. safety net relies heavily on job-related coverage, which has imposed a major burden on collective bargaining. With competitive pressures causing many employers to cut benefits and shift costs and risks to workers, private employee benefits have been weakened just when the public safety net is being challenged. What, then, does the future hold for social insurance and employee benefits? In The Future of the Safety Net, leading experts address key aspects of this crucial question.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780913447819
Publisher:	Labor and Employment Research Association
Publication date:	12/15/2001
Series:	LERA Research Volume
Edition description:	1ST
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

David Jacobs is Associate Professor of Management at Morgan State University.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1	Introduction and Overview	1
Chapter 2	Programs without Alternative: Public Pensions in the OECD	15
Chapter 3	Diverting the Old-Age Crisis: International Projections of Living Standards	73
Chapter 4	Social Security: A True Family Value	101
Chapter 5	Issues in Social Security Reform	119
Chapter 6	The State of Private Pensions	139
Chapter 7	Rising Expectations: Women, Retirement Security, and Private Pensions	165
Chapter 8	Prospects for National Health Insurance in the United States	187
Chapter 9	Medicare: Past, Present, and Future	201
Chapter 10	Contingent Workers: Health and Pension Security	225
Chapter 11	Benefits for Same-Sex Partners	239
	About the Contributors	261