Table of Contents

Contents

Part I: The Facts
Chapter 1: The Changing Conversation
Chapter 2: Social Security Works for All Generations

Part II: The Challenges
Chapter 3: The Precarious Lives of Today’s Old
Chapter 4: The Coming Retirement Income Crisis
Chapter 5: The Debt Owed to Those Who Care
Chapter 6: The New Gilded Age

Part III: The Solutions
Chapter 7: Expand Social Security for All Generations
Chapter 8: Paying the Bill

Part IV: The Threats
Chapter 9: The Billionaires’ War Against Social Security
Chapter 10: The Conventional “Wisdom” is Just Plain Wrong

Part V: Next Steps
Chapter 11: The Threat is Great, The Stakes are High
Chapter 12: Passing Social Security Forward: A Legacy for All Generations

Appendix I: Additional Explanation about How Social Security Works
Appendix II: Additional Information about Social Security Works All Generations Plan and Other Proposals, including Cost and Revenue Estimates
Appendix III: Descriptions of Various Social Security Expansion Legislative Bills and Experts’ Plans
Appendix IV: Leading Organizations Working to Expand Social Security

About the Author

Nancy Altman and Eric Kingson founded Social Security Works and co-chair the Strengthen Social Security Coaltion. Altman is a lawyer and the author of "The Battle for Social Security." She resides in Bethesda, Maryland. Kingson is a professor at Syracuse University's School of Social Work in Manlius, New York.

Reviews

Praise for Social Security Works:

"A call to arms to defend Social Security from sneak attack. . . . A hard-hitting kickoff to the 2016 election campaign."
—Kirkus Reviews

“A balanced yet passionate defense of our social-security system.”
—Booklist

"Social Security Works! puts expanding Social Security front and center on the national agenda, where it belongs. Everyone who has a stake in the debate should read this important book."
—Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT)

"This book is an important shout-out to the U.S. Congress. Social Security Works! explains how and why expanding Social Security is the solution to our nation’s retirement income crisis."
—Richard L. Trumka, President, AFL-CIO

"Social Security Works! shows why expanding Social Security is a top priority for MoveOn.org's millions of members."
—Anna Galland, Executive Director, MoveOn.org Civic Action

"Altman and Kingson cut through the fog of calculated confusion and outright lies about Social Security, showing that it is the best funded of all federal programs, has a huge surplus and with minor changes will be sound forever. But they go beyond to show how it would be economically efficient, smart and moral to expand the most popular government program ever."
—David Cay Johnston, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and best-selling author

"Social Security Works! makes clear that Social Security is an extraordinarily important women’s issue. A must-read for everyone who cares about economic justice for women."
—Terry O’Neill, President, National Organization for Women

"It is about time that facts, not propaganda, influence public debate about Social Security. . . . Millennials as well as aging baby boomers have a crucial stake in preserving the one source of universal financial security. Altman and Kingson provide a public service in explaining why."
—Fernando Torres-Gil, director, UCLA Center for Policy Research on Aging, and former U.S. Assistant Secretary on Aging

"Social Security Works! is the most important book that any policy maker, voter, or simply concerned citizen can read in preparation for November 2016. . . . Social Security does, indeed, work. There is no reason to cut benefits—for anyone. Moreover, as these brilliant authors prove beyond any reasonable doubt, Social Security will work even better if it is substantially expanded."
—Max J. Skidmore, professor of political science, University of Missouri at Kansas City, and author of Securing America’s Future: A Bold Plan to Preserve and Expand Social Security

"[A] spirited defense of our Social Security system. Although they write with commitment and passion, [Altman and Kingson] take the time to look at the data in a rigorous manner. The result is a useful work of policy analysis with which all participants in the Social Security debate will need to reckon."
—Edward D. Berkowitz, professor of history and public policy, George Washington University, and author of Mr. Social Security: The Life of Wilbur J. Cohen

"In Social Security Works!, two of our nation’s leading policy experts explain in a clear and concise fashion how Social Security benefits are calculated, why Social Security is so important to all Americans, and what can be done to ensure that it is there for future generations."
—Jill Quadagno, Mildred and Claude Pepper Eminent Scholar in Social Gerontology, Florida State University, and author of One Nation, Uninsured