The Generational Equity Debate / Edition 1

by John Williamson, Diane Watts-Roy, Eric Kingston

Overview

As the ranks of the elderly continue to swell and their social welfare becomes a complex and contentious policy issue, how will the United States balance the conflicting demographic and economic demands of providing for its older citizens—especially in light of the anticipated economic burden of the baby boom generation's impending retirement? These problems place the destiny of Social Security and health care at the epicenter of political discussion and debate, making a balanced perspective on these issues essential—particularly as the lives of millions of future Americans will be affected. The Generational Equity Debate offers social workers, policy analysts, political scientists, and sociologists, as well as general readers concerned about the fate of the elderly, a complete range of viewpoints on this vital subject.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231112857
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	05/12/1999
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.03(w) x 8.99(h) x 0.67(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

John B. Williamson is professor of sociology at Boston College, and has written extensively in the areas of aging policy and politics. He is the author or coauthor of fifteen books, including Aging and Public Policy and The Politics of Aging.Diane M. Watts-Roy, former director of the Alzheimer's Respite Program in LaGrange, Kentucky, is currently a doctoral student in sociology at Boston College.Eric R. Kingson, a professor of social work at Syracuse University, is the author or coauthor of five books on the economic, social, and political consequences of population aging.

Table of Contents

Part I Introduction
1 Framing the Generational Equity Debate, by John B. Williamson and Diane Watts-Roy
Part II The Generational Equity Frame
2 How Will America Pay for the Retirement of the Baby Boom Generation?, by Peter G. Peterson
3 Generational Equity and the Birth of a Revolutionary Class, by Lester C. Thurow
4 Generational Justice and Generational Accounting, by Jagadeesh Gokhale and Laurence J. Kotlikoff
5 Care for the Elderly: What About Our Children?, by Richard D. Lamm
6 Age-Based Rationing of Medical Care, by Daniel Callahan
Part III The Generational Interdependence Frame
7 America Can Afford to Grow Old, by Alicia H. Munnell
8 Social Security and the Myth of the Entitlement "Crisis", by Jill Quadagno
9 Scapegoating the Old: Intergenerational Equity and Age-Based Health Care Rationing, by Robert H. Binstock
10 Social Security and the Politics of Generational Conflict, by Theodore Marmor, Fay Lomax Cook, and Stephen Scher
11 Why Privatizing Social Security is a Bad Idea, by Eric R. Kingson and John B. Williamson
Part IV Voices from Generation X
12 Third Millennium Declaration
Third Millennium
13 Agenda 2000
2030 Center

What People are Saying About This

Vern L. Bengtson

This book should be required reading for Generation X'ers who worry that Social Security won't 'be there' when they retire--and for politicians and financiers who worry that we can't afford an aging society. It gives both sides of the argument in a factual, rational presentation for policymakers engaged in restructuring Social Security for the 21st century.

— Vern L. Bengtson, author of The Changing Contract Across Generations

Fernando Torres-Gil

The authors are to be commended for providing a framework that helps all of us understand the complex issues surrounding what are often politicized debates about how best to respond to an aging society. This book makes an invaluable contribution and gives all sides an honest, fair, and open forum to explain their positions.

— Fernando Torres-Gil, Director, UCLA Center for Policy Research on Aging

Editorial Reviews

This book should be required reading for Generation X'ers who worry that Social Security won't 'be there' when they retire—and for politicians and financiers who worry that we can't afford an aging society. It gives both sides of the argument in a factual, rational presentation for policymakers engaged in restructuring Social Security for the 21st century.

Vern L. Bengtson

At long last we have a book that truly presents a balanced analysis of the generational equity debates. The growing public anxieties about the future of Social Security and Medicare and the many proposals to dramatically alter those programs necessitates a more reasoned and objective discourse, before we make drastic decisions fraught with unforeseen consequences. This is the right book, at the right time, and on the right subject. The authors are to be commended for providing a framework that helps all of us understand the complex issues surrounding what are often politicized debates about how best to respond to an aging society. This book makes an invaluable contribution and gives all sides an honest, fair, and open forum to explain their positions and thus gives readers an important opportunity to make up their own minds on a subject that will affect us all.

Fernando Torres-Gil

Two original and 11 reprinted essays examine the concept that each generation should provide for its own retirement, rather than provide for the previous generation and be provided for by the next. The movement for generational equity is fueled by baby boomers irritated at high taxes to support their parents at a level they do not expect to enjoy at their own retirement, and the fears of younger workers that the population bubble will overwhelm them when it retires. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknew.com)

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