veterans benefits
The 12th edition is completely updated to provide the latest information: Learn about "Medicare Part D," which now provides coverage for outpatient prescription drug costs -- understand what it covers, how to apply for it, and how to use it. You'll also find the latest on Medicare, Medicare HMOs and other managed care plans, as well as the 12 types of medigap health plans.
This plain-English book is a must-have for anyone age 60 or over, and anyone who helps care for an elder.
Customer Reviews:
Mechanics are solid opinions are very left-wing .......2007-10-22
This book is a very good reference for how these two very important entitlement programs work in as much as the text sticks to that objective. The authors could not resist intermingling a very biased and at times deceptive opinion into the text. The book bashes social security privatization from the point of view that only government can be trusted to handle a person's pension and that private citizens will only be taken advantage of if ever allowed to invest their own money into greedy corporations - what does this have to do with the text's stated purpose. The same approach was taken of Medicare Prescription D which is referred to as a huge corporate giveaway to the pharmaceuticals because the Medicare Administration was not allowed to "negotiate" prices. The latter is quite deceptive as the government does not ever negotiate prices with the private sector; it regulates prices. Can anyone deny that many doctors refuse accepting medicare-only patients because the prices set by Medicare do not reflect market rates for services? Can anyone deny that Medicare has oft times set prices for services based on budgetary constraints as opposed to seeking the best quality service? These authors certainly can. They also bashed Medicare Prescription D while at the same time having to acknowledge it is very successful but only "for the short run" as they say because in the end the profit motivated pharmaceuticals will raise their prices over time at the expense of seniors. This "government is all good and private sector is all bad lingo" is irrelevant to understanding how the programs themselves work as currently defined. Such commentary belongs in another text devoted to socialist propaganda. My objective as a 42-year old is to understand the entitlements to aid my retiring parents as best I can.
An outstanding, basic reference suitable for any public library........2007-09-02
he 12th edition of Attorney Joseph Matthews with Dorothy Matthews Berman's SOCIAL SECURITY, MEDICARE & GOVERNMENT PENSIONS: GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR RETIREMENT AND MEDICAL BENEFITS provides the latest instructions on getting the most from Medicare, social security and government and veterans benefits. From uncovering benefits and when and how to claim them to qualifying for programs and combining them, this provides an outstanding, basic reference suitable for any public library.
Average customer rating:
- Best book on the subject I`ve read.
- Public Finance
- Less brilliant, more honest
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Public Finance
Harvey S Rosen
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill/Irwin
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Taxing Ourselves, 3rd Edition: A Citizen's Guide to the Debate over Taxes
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Public Finance and Public Policy
ASIN: 0072374055 |
Book Description
Harvey Rosen’s scholarly and up-to-date Public Finance continues to be the market-leading book. The book takes its readers to the frontiers of current research, yet remains accessible to undergraduates. Although it draws upon the latest research, the book never loses sight of the reality it is supposed to describe, always drawing the links between economic analysis and current political issues.
Customer Reviews:
Best book on the subject I`ve read........2006-04-02
Although Stiglitz makes it extremely readable and more elegant in his Economics of the Public Sector, I found it more effective to learn the subject due to the deeper treatment of the models and theories.
Public Finance.......2004-01-04
Perhaps slightly lacking on the theoretical side (but I guess this was Prof Rosen's objective), this book offers a broad yet detailed overview of public economics. Many parts are in narrative style making for a pleasantly clear read.
Certainly a good and clear text for an exposition on the topic, especially if complemented/expanded on by a good lecturer.
Less brilliant, more honest.......2000-04-10
This book is not as challenging as Stiglitz, and the author does not have Stiglitz's dazzling facility with economic theory. But Rosen is properly less trusting of the political process, gives greater scope to political and ethical philosophy, is open to a wider range of ideas and has more references than Stiglitz, is less prone to rush to judgement, and is less beholden to the Clintonista viewpoint. This is the better book upon which to ground a sound understanding of public economics. Compare Rosen with Stiglitz on the Coase Theorem, the Flat Tax, the economic role of the stock market, and Social Security reform. Too bad Rosen's fairness cannot be combined with Stiglitz's brilliance.
Average customer rating:
- Too much political opinion
- Great resource for people retiring
- VERY BASIC.... VERY DISAPPOINTED!
- This Is A Very Important Book About Your Government Benefits
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Social Security, Medicare & Government Pensions: Get the Most of Your Retirement and Medical Benefits
Joseph L. Matthews ,
Dorothy Matthews Berman , and
J. L. Matthews
Manufacturer: NOLO
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Complete Idiot's Guide to Social Security and Medicare, 2ndEdition (Complete Idiot's Guide to)
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Long-Term Care: How to Plan & Pay for It
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Nolo's Guide to Social Security Disability: Getting & Keeping Your Benefits
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The Complete Idiot's Guide(R) to Social Security
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How to Get SSI & Social Security Disability: An Insider's Step by Step Guide
ASIN: 1413304486 |
Book Description
"For 20 years the people's source on Medicare and Social Security."
The new prescription drug plan is coming in 2006!
• Beginning January 1, 2006, Medicare beneficiaries who fail to enroll in the new Medicare prescription drug plan (known as Medicare Part D) may miss out on thousands of dollars in savings.
• Medicare beneficiaries who enroll in the wrong prescription drug plan (one that doesn't cover their particular medications, for example) may cost themselves thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs before being permitted to switch plans.
• Most Medicare beneficiaries who do not enroll in the new drug plan by May 15, 2006 will be penalized when they later enroll -- the penalty is 1% per month in additional premium cost for every month they were not enrolled, and this higher cost is permanent.
The chapter on Medicare (Chapter 11) contains a whole new section discussing Part D prescription drug coverage. This section discusses eligibility, premiums & deductibles, restrictions on coverage, and deciding which plan is right for you.
The chapter on Medicare Procedures (Chapter 12) also has a new section about enrollment & procedures. It discusses enrolling and switching plans, exceptions for coverage (for example, getting the plan to approve a drug that's not on its formulary), and appeals of adverse coverage decisions.
Also, the new prescription drug coverage affects Medigap and managed care plans, discussed in Chapters 13 and 14.
An essential tool for everyone over 55, this book shows readers how to cut through the bureaucracy to get their slab of the pie. Social Security, Medicare & Government Pensions clearly explains what the different benefits are, and shows you how to claim what you've earned, including:
- Social Security retirement and disability benefits - Social Security dependents and survivor benefits - Supplemental Security Income - federal, state and local government pensions - Medicare and Medicaid - Medigap managed care plans - veterans benefits = prescription drug coverage
Completely updated to provide the latest information and changes in benefits, this plain-English book is a must-have for anyone who is retired or about to be.
Download Description
"""For 20 years the people's source on Medicare and Social Security."" The new prescription drug plan is coming in 2006! . Beginning January 1, 2006, Medicare beneficiaries who fail to enroll in the new Medicare prescription drug plan (known as Medicare Part D) may miss out on thousands of dollars in savings. . Medicare beneficiaries who enroll in the wrong prescription drug plan (one that doesn't cover their particular medications, for example) may cost themselves thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs before being permitted to switch plans. . Most Medicare beneficiaries who do not enroll in the new drug plan by May 15, 2006 will be penalized when they later enroll -- the penalty is 1% per month in additional premium cost for every month they were not enrolled, and this higher cost is permanent. The chapter on Medicare (Chapter 11) contains a whole new section discussing Part D prescription drug coverage. This section discusses eligibility, premiums & deductibles, restrictions on coverage, and deciding which plan is right for you. The chapter on Medicare Procedures (Chapter 12) also has a new section about enrollment & procedures. It discusses enrolling and switching plans, exceptions for coverage (for example, getting the plan to approve a drug that's not on its formulary), and appeals of adverse coverage decisions. Also, the new prescription drug coverage affects Medigap and managed care plans, discussed in Chapters 13 and 14. An essential tool for everyone over 55, this book shows readers how to cut through the bureaucracy to get their slab of the pie. Social Security, Medicare & Government Pensions clearly explains what the different benefits are, and shows you how to claim what you've earned, including: - Social Security retirement and disability benefits - Social Security dependents and survivor benefits - Supplemental Security Income - federal, state and local government pensions - Medicare and Medicaid - Medigap managed care plans - veterans benefits = prescription drug coverage Completely updated to provide the latest information and changes in benefits, this plain-English book is a must-have for anyone who is retired or about to be. "
Customer Reviews:
Too much political opinion.......2007-03-29
Material sees good, but you get regular doses of political opinion on profits, "big business" and how wounderful more goverment might be. Tear out the pages of political garbarge and the book rates 4 stars. Oh yes, the editors make a modest profit on the book. Shame ... shame!
Great resource for people retiring.......2006-12-14
bought the book to figure out how to take care of my parents. great resource.
VERY BASIC.... VERY DISAPPOINTED!.......2006-09-29
As a government employee, I bought this book hoping it would provide some good tips on the federal retirement system. This book may help the new or very unimformed employee, but that's it. Some of the information on government benefits was just plain wrong, which is why it only gets two stars from me. As an example, it states a FERS employee can contribute a maximum of 10% to the Thrift Savings Plan each year. Wrong! An employee has been able to contribute 15% for years and I believe there is no limit in 2006. This is not good information for a book that was updated in February 2006!
This Is A Very Important Book About Your Government Benefits.......2005-05-10
Get notified of updates at www.nolo.com/legalupdater. Check www.nolo.com/update to find recent changes in the law that affects the information in this book. Customer service support is available at 800-728-3555.
Here are some of the benefits covered in this book:
Veterans benefits - free or low cost medical care
Social Security - retirement & disability benefits
Supplemental Security Income
Federal Civil Service Retirement Benefits
How to navigate the bureaucracy
Reduce your health care costs
Prescription drug discount cards
Average customer rating:
- Nolo's Guide to Social Security Disability
- Nolo's Guide to Social Security Disability by Iii MD et al.
- A great reference book overall
- MUST HAVE
- Get and keep your ssdi
|
Nolo's Guide to Social Security Disability: Getting & Keeping Your Benefits
David A. Morton
Manufacturer: Nolo
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The Complete Idiot's Guide(R) to Social Security
ASIN: 0873379144 |
Book Description
Nolo's Guide to Social Security Disability is an essential book for anyone dealing with a long-term or permanent disability. Written both for first-time applicants and those who already receive Social Security Disability, Dr. David Morton's book demystifies the program in plain English, thoroughly explaining:
*what Social Security disability is
*what benefits are available to disabled children
*how to prove a disability
*how age, education and work experience affect benefits
*whether or not one can work while receiving benefits
*how to appeal a denial of benefits
*how to respond to a Continuing Disability Review
*and much more
Nolo's Guide to Social Security Disability also provides in-depth information on various health problems, including breathing disabilities, heart disease, mental disorders, speech impairments, cancer, immune system disorders -- and much more
The 2nd edition, completely updated with the latest rules and medical listings, provides new information on handling appeals hearings, and shows how to participate in the Ticket to Work and Ticket to Hire programs. User-friendly appendices translate bureaucratic terms, provide medical-vocational rules, and list Social Security benefit publications.
Customer Reviews:
Nolo's Guide to Social Security Disability.......2006-02-12
Not at all helpful if you are filling out an application for SSDI benefits. More than 3/4 of the book is on the appeal process and social security system jargon. You can tell it is written by a lawyer, its worthless.
Nolo's Guide to Social Security Disability by Iii MD et al........2005-05-23
This book is invaluable for anyone contemplating a disability claim or for anyone seeking to preserve benefits. The authors explain the elements of a claim; namely the severity of an impairment and its impact on the ability to function in a work environment or setting. The MINE claims are predefined by the law. These are "Medical Improvement Not Expected". i.e. a number of debilitating arthritic diseases or diseases of the musculo-skeletal system
The 20CFR 404 provides an impairment list of conditions. The basic question is whether or not you can do a prior job or another similar one. The criteria will consider factors including
exertion, posture, manipulation, vision, communication,
environment and symptomatology. Major joint disfunctions are
an important marker for disability, as well as, loss of spinal
motion. Obstructive breathing disorders may qualify for disability, as well as, inflammatory conditions and chronic
digestive conditions which interfere with work.
This book will prove invaluable if you are dealing with the
government on a claim. The details of the evaluation process
are set forth in an easy-to-read format. The volume is worth the
price if you intend to apply its contents dispassionately.
A great reference book overall.......2004-03-11
This is an excellent book of the whole area of Social Security Disability benefits and how to fill the forms out completely, when to seek an attorney for appeals etc, and a rather extensive section on what the term disability means to Social Security and what diseases, conditions etc qualify and which do not. The only area lacking was disabled spousal Social Security Disability coverage, which a spouse under age 50 with no minor children must file for in the same way the working spouse who becomes disabled would have to do. I plan on donating my copy which I bought via Amazon.com to my local public library.
MUST HAVE.......2003-07-10
Filing for Social Security Disability benefits is not easy. This guide explains EVERYTHING in easy to understand terms. I wish I had ordered it before the first denial. I am using this book while filing a reconsideration. The suggestions provided have really opened my eyes to the process. I highly recommend this book to people who want a little extra information on the SSA's thought process when going over your application.
Get and keep your ssdi.......2002-07-15
Bought this book as part of prep for application for ssdi. (also bought how to get ssi and ssdi by mike davis and dis workbook for ss applicants by doug. smith). Each book explained a diff part of the ssdi process. This book told what each med diagnosis needed to establish to qualify for perm. disability. And it goes on to explain how to keep your ssdi once you get your award. I did win my case the first try using the info in the 3 books. Having them made all the diff in the world in understanding the ssdi process. Best $[money]. (all 3 books) I ever spent...
Average customer rating:
- The Planned Destruction of Social Security
- Outdated by events, but still worth reading
- Primer on Bush Administration Operating Procedures
- Soc Sec Expert Says Conason is On the Mark!
- Good Summary
|
The Raw Deal: How the Bush Republicans Plan to Destroy Social Security and the Legacy of the New Deal
Joe Conason
Manufacturer: Polipoint Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Conservatives Without Conscience
ASIN: 0976062127 |
Book Description
Social Security is facing the most serious, well-financed, and determined threat to its existence since its inception in 1935. For Americans to make sense of the barrage of conflicting messages on the subject, it's necessary to understand who is behind the campaign to "reform" Social Security, what the campaign aims to achieve, and how it misrepresents its goals. Best-selling author Joe Conason exposes why and how this is happening. "The Raw Deal explores the Right's privatization goals, Bush's hard-fought privatization campaign (built on a stacked "study"), the corporate interests behind the plan, the media campaign to undermine confidence in Social Security, and how the swindle can be stopped. Conason's no-apologies, no-nonsense approach clears up the myriad misperceptions surrounding this important, confusing issue and gets to the truth about the big Social Security bluff.
Customer Reviews:
The Planned Destruction of Social Security.......2007-02-12
The `Preface' by James Roosevelt Jr. says Social Security racks up surpluses as it had done for decades and will continue to do so. The special interests who want to "reform" Social Security really want to weaken or abolish it. So it is up to the American people to protect it in order "to promote the general welfare". Al Franken's `Foreword' wastes its pages on comic comments. The `Introduction' says Bush's scam would be both risky and costly, they use scary stories to fool people into believing their lies. Most Americans don't trust Bush (p.4). Conason warns about the "United Seniors Association" created to scare people into sending them money (p.5)! Powerful financiers want to destroy Social Security (p.6). They use phony fronts to fool people (p.8). Complaints and lies about Social Security go back to 1936; they have been proven false repeatedly (p.10). They can't learn and can't forget.
Here's how this fraud would work. They promised a lucrative return on "personal" accounts but didn't tell that management fees and substantial risks would drain these accounts. They promised the owner of the account would control their money but didn't tell that choice would be limited. They promised these accounts would be inherited but didn't tell you this would need an annuity that would leave little to heirs. They promised that Social Security would go bankrupt but didn't tell you this contradicted their prediction of increased growth in the economy. Heads they win, tails you lose. In the real world, people making these promises on investments would go to jail.
Chapter 1 explains when Bush says he wants to "strengthen" Social Security he really wants to reduce benefits (p.22). Conason neglects to tell that in 1952 Eisenhower promised to extend Social Security to the middle-class by including small business owners and farmers. He did this in 1953. There is no crisis in Social Security, and won't be if economic growth continues. If growth is slow private investments will suffer (p.29). Chapter 2 tells about the various publicity groups formed to attack Social Security with lies and half-truths. Conason names the corporations who pay for these advertising attacks. They simply lied about privatization (p.49)! Billions were squandered by Bush on tax cuts for the super-rich (p.50). Conason explains the frauds of the privatizers (p.56). Privatization was renamed "Choice" (p.57).
Chapter 3 tells about the phony groups who either mislead people to try to defraud them. They make up "facts" to try to prove their case (pp.67-68). This chapter tells of their techniques to divide and conquer (p.74). The AARP opposed Bush's failed proposal, and described the essential elements for a retirement plan (p.77). AARP won't tear down the house because of a clogged drain (p.78). Does the description of "United Seniors Association" on pages 79-83 expose their hidden agenda? Chapter 4 tells about the plans of Wall Street to swindle private accounts (p.86). Private accounts are losers compared to Social Security (p.89). Bush's plan to privatize Social Security because of a lack of popularity (pp.104-105). "You can't fool all of the people all of the time." Social Security was the best-working government program.
The `Conclusion' points out that Bush has not provided an actuarially sound plan to deal with an alleged future crisis in Social Security (pp.109-110). The proposed change could not work. The projected outlook for Social Security over the next 75 years is reasonably good (p.114). [The real problem is falling real wages and too high taxes.] There are other real solutions (p.117-121).
Outdated by events, but still worth reading.......2006-05-06
Given the current state of affairs in Washington, it's highly unlikely that Bush is going to be able to get very far with his plan to abolish..... (or "reform", as he puts it) Social Security. The Republicans aren't suicidal enough to bring this up before the midterm elections, and let us hope that the results of the elections will put the kibosh on this at least for a while. So the alarm that the book sounds is a bit outdated, since the public woke up to what was going on (at least partly thanks to books like this). But it's still worth reading as an expose of some of the tricks the Republican noise machine has been up to. My favorite episode involved the attempt to paint the stodgy AARP as pushing gay marriage (remember that one?). Let's hope people don't forget it!
Primer on Bush Administration Operating Procedures.......2006-01-10
If the Ku Klux Klan were to suddenly announce a plan to help black people it would be advisable for blacks to stay as far away from it as possible and when Conservatives announce their intention to save Social Security you can bet that saving it is the last thing on their minds. For 70 years Conservatives have seethed over the existence of Social Security as the de facto centerpiece of the New Deal and St. George W was to be the last best hope to slay the dragon once and for all.
In a sense `The Raw Deal' seemed dated even before it hit the bookshelves since personal accounts were already dead in the water. The disastrous sales pitch may have had a lot to do with timing since it came on the heels of the second largest stock market collapse in history as well a series of corporate scandals. A few sustained years of stock market success and the public might quickly find itself blinded by dollar signs. In another sense this book couldn't be any more timely as it's a template for the operating methods of the Bush administration and the Republican party. The fight for privatization is a classic attempt by wealth to usurp debate. This is boilerplate Bush with attempts to stack the deck, ignore impartial advisement, bully businesses and politicians, use industry sponsored Think Tanks to unleash mountains of biased information and as Bush himself said `catapault the propoganda'. In one of the most cynical moves of late, Conservatives used what are called Astroturf organizations. These are groups that give off the illusion of being grassroots movement for a specific demographic (blacks, elderly etc.) when in fact they are corporate funded with little to no actual members. Meanwhile, in perhaps the lowest move of the battle Conservative funded USA Next, fresh from Swiftboating John Kerry unleashed its fury on AARP claiming them to be anti-military and pro gay marriage.
Social Security `reform' is dead for now but the methods used to push it are so routine at this point that it would be well worth people's time to analyze what was done. In all the back and forth people tend to forget or perhaps never realized that the Bush administration never once drafted specific proposals. Sure they would drop hints and ideas but nothing substantive for critics to actually analyze. The intention was to win the war first and figure out if a solution was feasible later. Since the Bush administration didn't give a damn about arguably the most successful government program ever it didn't matter whether or not any eventual solution worked.
"The Raw Deal" is a small book at 136 pages that can be read in a few short sittings but it's packed with information. The ideas within are much broader than Social Security. They are about leadership, honesty (mostly a lack thereof), cynical politics and manipulation of the public. It's about a president whose ideas are so vacuous that he can only give speeches before pre-selected audiences of converts and sycophants. "The Raw Deal" is a relatively small investment in time that informs far beyond its short length.
Soc Sec Expert Says Conason is On the Mark!.......2005-12-29
I worked as an expert on US Social Security policy for 7 years in Washington, DC: 4 years at the Social Security Administration (Office of Policy) and 3 years as assistant director of Social Security policy research for a non-partisan Washington, DC non-profit organization. (Type "Kelly Olsen and Social Security" into any search engine if you're unconvinced that I know what I'm talking about here.)
Two years after leaving public service in Washington, DC in 2003, I wrote an op-ed in the Asheville Citizen-Times (March 20, 2005, available online at http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050320/OPINION03/503200308/1058/OPINION01) in which I basically say in 900 words what Mr. Conason says in this book. The main difference between what I said in my op-ed and what's in this book is that Mr. Conason has the space to fill in the main details.
Mr. Conason is onto the Republican elite's game of deception to undermine Social Security altogether. Andrew Biggs, who now heads up the Social Security Office of Retirement Policy under George W. Bush, actually wrote in 1999 (when he was not yet a political appointee) that "private accounts would sever the ties of middle-class and wealthy Americans to government assistance programs and diminish political support for social welfare programs." Mr. Biggs argued that "market investment of payroll taxes sets the stage for ... a new political culture that rejects government intervention in favor of individual and market freedom. In that way, Social Security reform featuring Personal Retirement Accounts doesn't send just one liberal sacred cow to the slaughterhouse. It sends the whole herd." Clear enough? It is important to note that the Republican elite's Social Security goals are far to the right of the desires of most Americans who identify themselves as Republicans.
Alas, Conason's claim that the Republican elite are out to destroy Social Security is NOT liberal alarmist hype. Mr. Conason is right on the mark in his summary of the issue, and he has written an accessible and interesting book for citizens who want to educate themselves about how the current Republican party wants to undermine the most popular and administratively efficient social program in U.S. history, dish out money to their Wall Street friends in the process, and stick taxpayers with the tremendous transition costs of doing so. Mr. Conason's book is important because Social Security is a complex issue, and it's become more difficult for intelligent concerned citizens to gather the needed facts ever since the Social Security Administration started putting out its own pro-accounts political propaganda under George W. Bush. (Hey, your tax dollars at work, folks!)
I've left public service, and I don't plan to ever go back to working on Social Security policy. I'm on no one's payroll, and I have no incentive to write this review (or to have read this book, for that matter) other than my continued concern that people will let the Republicans destroy this critical program that keeps millions of working and retired families (aged, disabled, and young and old survivors) out of poverty. I am writing this only as a concerned private citizen (and a fiscally conservative moderate one at that). Whatever your political orientation, unless you're super-rich or on Wall Street, it's in your rational self-interest to oppose Social Security privatization. As I said earlier, the Republican elite are far to the right of their own citizen constituencies on this issue.
Most observers are saying the fight over Social Security privatization is over, but I don't put anything past this current group of Republicans. Sowing the seeds of Social Security's destruction is a long-standing fantasy of the Republican elite. So long as they control the Congress, the Senate, and the White House -- and there are Big Moneyed interests to appease -- millions of working families are at risk of losing their future Social Security benefits in the form of "personal accounts." Read Mr. Conason's book, inform yourself, spread the word, and make your voice heard.
Good Summary.......2005-12-19
Conason begins the book with a minor blooper referencing the three characteristics of a high-pressure sale. The first two were: 1)Create a sense of urgency (eg. "limited time only," and 2)Conjure a keen sense of opportunity - eg. "new and improved." I never could find #3. Nonetheless, he goes on to provide excellent material on how Bush et al are truly trying to destroy Social Security, switching from privatization to partial privatization to personal accounts to progressive indexing as opposition mounted.
Conason reports that Social Security has been a priority Republican target since FDR, referencing Eisenhower (he thought opponents were idiots), Goldwater, Reagan (he talked both pro and con; ended up establishing the credible Greenspan-led commission that laid the foundation for continuing its stability), to Bush #2.
GWB, rather than establish a credible commission aka his hero Reagan, stacked the deck entirely with privatization supporters. (Originally as a candidate he called Social Security "the single most successful government program in history," and promised to "lock away more than $2 trillion of the federal surplus for the program's future benefits.) Then, rather than pursue the issue his first term (and damage re-election prospects) nothing happened until immediately after 1/05.
Claiming a crisis, and a means to save the system Bush hit the trail, aided by the support of AIG (American Independent Group - world's largest insurer), the CATO Institute (Coors funded pro-business "think-tank"), and phony groups hiding behind innocuous and misleading-sounding fronts (eg. "Pro 21" - supposedly a black group in support consisted of a black director and a white executive director; "United Seniors claimed over 1 million members - yet only $2 million of its '03 revenues came from members, and most of the rest from the pharmaceutical industry), tried to sell a litany of lies across the country. Example: Social Security discrimates against minorities because they don't live as long. (The claim ignores the higher benefits they receive from disability and survivors' insurance, and has been refuted by the GAO and the Social Security Admin's Office of the Chief Actuary.) Nonetheless, this point raises an interesting question - Why doesn't Bush have interest in improving minority life expectancy and incomes if he want to help them?
Another ploy was to raise the hope of easy money - the new plan would offer much better returns, as much as 10%/year over the long run. Countering, Professor Schiller (author of "Irrational Exhuberance" and its alarm about overvalued stocks) suggests less than half that amount would be more accurate - and that doesn't even take into account the fees that would be charged - now averaging 1.09% for mutual funds. (0.65% would generate an estimated $940 billion in fees over 75 years.
Meanwhile, while Bush et al bewail Social Security's demise, they also omit the fact that their new Medicare drug benefit will cost an estimated double the Social Security shortage!
Alternatives to Bush's "salvation" include eliminating the upper limit on taxable Social Security earnings (now $95,000+), and increasing the employee share by 0.9% over 50 years.
Possibly the only "good" out of the President's effort is that it takes attention away from declining private pension and health insurance coverage, stock frauds, Iraq, and outsourcing.
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- Actuarial Overview for beginners
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Life, Death, and Money: Actuaries and the Development of Social and Financial Markets
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ASIN: 0631209069 |
Book Description
Actuaries are experts in assessing risk, so it is not surprising that over the past few years they have become involved in many new areas of financial planning, including the appraisal of major capital projects.In this collection of essays published to celebrate the Institute of Actuaries' 150th Anniversary, leading experts describe how actuarial concepts have contributed to many important social and financial developments, and how these ideas will continue to make financial sense of the future.Even non-mathematicians will find this book useful in understanding how the scientific bases of the insurance and pensions industries grew up, and how they work today.The authors each write from the perspective of their own special expertise. They include five former presidents of the Institute of Faculty of Actuaries.
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Actuarial Overview for beginners.......2000-04-28
I must say that this is one of the most interesting Actuarial books I have come across in a long time. Not only does it give a historical overview of the profession but also gives a candid view on the normally "boring" perception the greater public usually has on Actuaries in general. It gives details of Actuarial dinners held (!) which attendees solve complex probability problems over dinner. With both insights into the actuarial profession in insurance and financial fields to name a few, Life, Death and Money : Actuaries and the Creation of Financial Security, should prove interesting reading on the train or bus.
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Insurance Regulation in the United States: An Overview for Business and Government
Peter M. Lencsis
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ASIN: 1567200850 |
Book Description
Insurance attorney Peter Lencsis provides a unique, objective description of the insurance regulatory system as it exists today in the United States. Concise but comprehensive, it provides an easily grasped, immediately useful explanation of how the regulatory system works. Because of the federal McCarran-Ferguson Act, most insurance regulation is left to the individual states, and is thus non-uniform. But there is still a common pattern to state regulation, explains Lencsis, due in large part to the activities of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and its own uniform standards. Lencsis covers the formation and licensing of insurance companies and the regulation of their underwriting and investment activities, as well as the insurance insolvency laws and guaranty funds, assigned risk plans, reinsurance, holding companies, and the regulation of agents and brokers. An important resource for insurance industry professionals, and others in regulatory agencies of the public sector.
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In Search Of Retirement Security: The Changing Mix Of Social Insurance, Employee Benefits, And Individual Responsibility (Conference of the National Academy of Social Insurance)
Manufacturer: Century Foundation Press
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ASIN: 0870784900 |
Book Description
Since World War II, Social Security and employer-based pension plans have become the foundations of an economic security that enables older Americans to retire with dignity and financial independence. Social insurance and tax advantaged retirement benefits currently face a number of challenges, however. The upcoming retirement of the baby boomers will swell the ranks of the retired, which are estimated to double by 2020, straining the Social Security and Medicare programs. Employers are struggling to keep their pension funds afloat, while fewer and fewer companies are offering traditional pension plans. Americans are living longer than ever before, which means they draw benefits longer, taxing the system.
In Search of Retirement Security considers these challenges and provides fresh perspectives on the changing responsibilities of individuals, employers, and government in ensuring the continued dignity and independence of retirees.
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