Social Security - reform (BenefitsLink.com)Headlines re Social Security - reform, gathered by BenefitsLink.comCORRECTED LINK: Social Security as a Retirement Resource for Near-Retirees, by Race and Ethnicity, Nativity, Benefit Type, and Disability Status- (Found June 24, 2008 ) Excerpt: "We find that substantial differences in earnings levels andor mortality levels among these subgroups interact with Social Security program provisions to produce sizable differences in the values of our benefit measures." (Office of Policy, Social Security Administration)http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/workingpapers/wp109.html GAO Report (Full Report): Social Security Reform: Issues for Disability and Dependent Benefits- (Found June 24, 2008 ) 71 pages. Excerpt: "We considered several reform elements that could improve Social Security Trust Fund solvency by reducing the initial benefits received or the growth of individual benefits over time. According to our simulations, these reform elements would reduce median lifetime benefits for disabled workers by up to 27 percent (see graph) and dependents by up to 30 percent of currently scheduled levels. While the size of the benefit reduction could vary across individuals, it could be.http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-26 GAO Report (Highlights): Social Security Reform: Issues for Disability and Dependent Benefits (PDF)- (Found June 24, 2008 ) Excerpt: "This report examines (1) how certain elements of Social Security reform proposals could affect disability and dependent benefits, (2) options for protecting these benefits and how they might affect disabled workers and dependents, and (3) how protecting benefits could affect the Social Security program." (U.S. Government Accountability Office)http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0826high.pdf Policy: Protecting Social Security's Beneficiaries -- Avoiding Benefit Cuts- (Found June 24, 2008 ) Excerpt: "Social Security's actuaries project that the long-term cost of Social Security will level off at just above 6% of GDP in about 25 years. That percentage, the projected long-range cost of the program, is a substantially smaller percentage than a number of other nations currently spend on their Social Security programs today." (Nancy J. Altman published by the Economic Policy Institute)http://www.sharedprosperity.org/bp206.html Social Security as a Retirement Resource for Near-Retirees, by Race and Ethnicity, Nativity, Benefit Type, and Disability Status- (Found June 24, 2008 ) Excerpt: "We find that substantial differences in earnings levels andor mortality levels among these subgroups interact with Social Security program provisions to produce sizable differences in the values of our benefit measures." (Office of Policy, Social Security Administration)http://benefitslink.com/Social Security as a Retirement Resource for Near-Retirees, by... Briefing Paper: Building on Social Security's Success- (Found June 24, 2008 ) Excerpt: "The United States needs a new conversation about how Social Security is part of the solution to the growing economic risks American workers face. The key question for policy makers is: How can we build on the strengths of Social Security -- its fiscally responsible design, its universality, progressivity, efficiency, and its effectivenessto meet the needs of working families in the 21st century" (Economic Policy Institute)http://www.sharedprosperity.org/bp208.html Opinion: Barack Obama and His Social Security Mistake- (Found June 24, 2008 ) Excerpt: "Lately, Barack Obama has been saying that major action is needed to avert what he keeps calling a 'crisis' in Social Security -- most recently in an interview with The National Journal. Progressives who fought hard and successfully against the Bush administration's attempt to panic America into privatizing the New Deal's crown jewel are outraged, and rightly so." (The New York Times; free registration required)http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/16/opinion/16krugman.html?ex=1352955600&en=a87e0ffad19b... Executive Summaries of Benefits Quarterly Articles, 3rd Quarter 2007- (Found June 24, 2008 ) The 3rd quarter edition contains articles titled: Single-Payer Health Care Systems: The Roles and Responsibilities of the Public and Private Sectors; Confronting the Fear Factor: The CoverageAccess Disparity in Universal Health Care; How Universal Health Care Would Influence Decisions About Work And Retirement; Health Care Reform: Universal Access Is Feasible and Necessary; A Retirement Adequacy Analysis of Default Options and Lifecycle Funds; Employee Contributions: A Primer on Their Use,...http://www.iscebs.org/BQinfo/bq32007.asp Nationwide Strike Over Pensions Cripples Greece- (Found June 24, 2008 ) Excerpt: "A 24-hour nationwide strike against the Greek government's pension reforms crippled transport on Wednesday and shut down public services as unions prepared for a large rally in Athens." (New York Times; free registration required)http://www.nytimes.com/glogin?URI=http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-greec... Opinion On Healthcare, Obama In Actuality Offers No 'Hope', No 'Change' for the Young- (Found June 24, 2008 ) Excerpt: "Throughout their primary campaign, Democratic candidates generally ignored the coming senior-entitlements train wreck -- save for Barack Obama. He advocates the traditional liberal policy of resolving shortfalls by increasing taxes -- in this case, by eliminating Social Security's payroll-tax cap. . . . By voting for Obama, a 22-year-old young college graduate earning $40,000 per year today would be opting to surrender an additional 4 percent of his lifetime earnings to the...http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=9218 |