Aging Nation: The Economics and Politics of Growing Older in America » (New Edition)

James H. Schulz is a professor emeritus of economics at Brandeis University and the former president of the Gerontological Society of America. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Kleemier Award for outstanding research in the field of aging. Robert H. Binstock is a professor of aging, health, and society at Case Western Reserve University. He has served as director of a White House Task Force on older Americans and is the coeditor of Dementia and Aging: Ethics, Values, and Policy Choices, The Future of Long-Term Care: Social and Policy Issues, and The Lost Art of Caring: A Challenge to Health Professionals, Families, Communities, and Society, all published by Johns Hopkins.

With the impending retirement of some 76 million Baby Boomers, understanding the economic, political, and social issues related to the aging population is paramount. If the doom-and-gloomers have their way, the elderly will be put out to pasture, with inadequate health care and financial resources, and a crumbling social welfare system. In Aging Nation, renowed experts in the field, James Schulz and Robert Binstock, agree that there is considerable cause for concern, but with a variety of sound policies and programs in place and smart individual choices, the elderly can prosper, and a demographic tsunami is not inevitable. Drawing from the most current data, the authors provide in-depth analysis of the nation's evolving private and public policies on retirement, faltering employer pensions, health care, workplace conditions, and entitlement programs, and consider such timely issues as poverty among the elderly, rejoining the workforce after retirement, Social Security and health care reform, and the rise of the elderly as a powerful political force. Dispelling popular myths and misconceptions that are perpetrated by politicians and pundits alike, they provide a comprehensive and balanced assessment of the issues and their impact on everyone, old and young.

Deserving poor or greedy geezers? The debate rages on. In a period of huge government deficits and the impending retirement of some 76 million Baby Boomers, understanding the economic, political, and social issues related to the aging population is paramount. The policy debates have never been more contentious; they range from deciding who should receive limited subsidized housing and medical services to the ongoing battle over saving Social Security and other entitlement programs. If the doom-and-gloomers have their way, the elderly will be put out to pasture, with inadequate health care and financial resources, and a crumbling social welfare infrastructure that will implode under the strain of intergenerational conflict. This book debunks most aging crises put forth by merchants of doom and offers a new policy focus for our nation.

In Aging Nation, renowned experts in the field, James Schulz and Robert Binstock, agree that there is considerable cause for concern, but with a variety of sound policies and programs in place and smart individual choices, the elderly can prosper, and a demographic tsunami is not inevitable. Drawing from the most current data, the authors provide in-depth analysis of the nation's evolving private and public policies on retirement, faltering employer pensions, health care, workplace conditions, and entitlement programs, and consider such timely issues as poverty among the elderly, rejoining the workforce after retirement, Social Security and health care reform, and the rise of the elderly as a powerful political force. Dispelling popular myths and misconceptions that are perpetrated by politicians and pundits alike, they provide a comprehensive and balanced assessment of these issues and their impact on everyone, old and young.

Preface to the Paperback Edition     vii
Baby Boomers and the Merchants of Doom     1
The Phony Threat of Population Aging     25
The Search for Security with Dignity     43
Dealing with Risk     65
The Company Pension: Altruism or Self-Interest?     87
The Pension Lottery: Personal Pension Accounts     111
To Work or Not to Work: That Is the Question     137
Health and Longevity: What Lies Ahead?     171
A Gerontocracy? The Politics of Aging     201
Framing the Issues for an Aging Nation     223
Notes     237
Index     271