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

by Friedman, Sheldon; Jacobs, David

• ISBN13: 9780913447819
• ISBN10: 0913447811
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-11-01
• Publisher: Cornell Univ Pr

Summary

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.

Table of Contents

Introduction and Overview	1	(14)
Sheldon Friedman
David C. Jacobs
Programs without Alternative: Public Pensions in the OECD	15	(58)
Christian E. Weller
Diverting the Old-Age Crisis: International Projections of Living Standards	73	(28)
Dean Baker
Social Security: A True Family Value	101	(18)
Valerie Rawlston
William Spriggs
Issues in Social Security Reform	119	(20)
Peter Diamond
The State of Private Pensions	139	(26)
Dallas L. Salisbury
Rising Expectations: Women, Retirement Security, and Private Pensions	165	(22)
Teresa Ghilarducci
Prospects for National Health Insurance in the United States	187	(14)
David C. Jacobs
Medicare: Past, Present, and Future	201	(24)
Edith Rasell
Contingent Workers: Health and Pension Security	225	(14)
Helene J. Jorgensen
Robert E. McGarrah, Jr.
Benefits for Same-Sex Partners	239	(22)
Nancy J. Sedmak
About the Contributors	261