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Aging Nation The Economics and Politics of Growing Older in America
James H. Schulz, Robert H. Binstock
Book Code: C8415
ISBN: 0-275-98415-X
ISBN-13: 978-0-275-98415-1
296 pages, n/a
Praeger Publishers
Publication: 10/30/2006
List Price: $49.95 (UK Sterling Price: £27.95)
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Also Available: Ebook
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • At the core of Aging Nation is a description and assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of major programs affecting the elderly (past and current) and rising generations....Chapters 3 through 9 offer the clearest, most judicious assessment of the U.S. political economy in an aging society that I have read. For the quality of these analytic chapters alone, Aging Nation merits wide classroom adoption in gerontology, policy, and social science classes at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
    —Journal of Aging and Social Policy     2008
  • [E]xtremely valuable and timely contributions to the struggle against the conservative attack on the nation's relatively modest efforts to ensure a minimum level of collective well-being. These books are analytically rigorous and lucid counterattacks against what Hacker calls the crusaders for personal responsibility and Schulz and Binstock call the merchants of doom. (Reviewed in conjunction with The Great Risk Shift, Jacob S. Hacker, Oxford University Press.)
    —The Gerontologist     2007
  • Writing for the general public, Schulz and Binstock describe changes occurring in the US due to the aging of baby boomers and how their retirement decisions will be affected. They also discuss situations they will need to consider and address areas usually covered in separate books: Social Security history, policy issues, reform proposals, health care issues, work and retirement policy, private pensions, and the politics of aging. In particular, they aim to aid readers in figuring out the truth behind pessimistic warnings of future problems in health care and policy for the elderly and describe how these focus on the wrong issues. Instead, they focus on system-wide health-care cost issues, retirement and personal pensions, problems with raising the retirement age, and the myth that the country will be ruled by the aged.
    —Reference & Research Book News     February 2007
  • An insightful book about growing old in America by two of the country's leading policy gerontologists is must reading, especially because 76 million baby boomers are approaching retirement. Perhaps more to the point, can a balance be struck between the deserving poor and what is perceived to be greedy geezers?...This is a remarkable book that merits our immediate and full attention. The authors point out that instead of giving in to negative Nellies, the time has come for expert analysis, balanced viewpoints and a united effort so that we can secure our futures. Dispelling popular myths and misconceptions, Aging Nation maps out a comprehensive, sensible plan that deserves our consideration.
    —Tucson Citizen (Arizona)     December 28, 2006
  • Endorsement From Marilyn Moon
    Vice President and Director of the Health Program, American Institutes for Research
    Former Trustee of the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds:     It is gratifying to see two such prestigious observers of aging issues put forward a clear analysis of the aging 'crisis' in the United States. This book is an antidote to the ceaseless drumbeat of doom and selfishness coming from those who would dismantle our key sources of retirement security in the United States. Schulz and Binstock are recognized experts in the field of aging whose counsel should put to rest the claims that we cannot and should not rely on shared public programs for our future. They offer real solutions, not just sloganeering on an issue that should concern all Americans.
  • Endorsement From Fernando M. Torres-Gil
    Professor and Director of the Center for Policy Research on Aging, School of Public Policy, University of California, Los Angeles
    Former U.S. Assistant Secretary for Aging:     This seminal policy assessment, by the country's two leading policy gerontologists, is a must read for the general public, politicians, pundits, and anyone who cares about growing old in the United States. Schulz and Binstock provide the expert analysis, balanced viewpoints, and historical overview essential for countering alarmist scenarios and promoting reasonable public policy and discourse about the future of our aging nation.
  • Endorsement From Dr. Robert Butler
    Founding Director of the National Institute on Aging
    President and CEO of the International Longevity Center-USA:     Aging Nation is a solid corrective thwack against conventional (and often false) wisdom, propagated by the doomsters, about the perils of a nation living longer. Take notes for your own protection.
Description: "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.
LC Card Number: 2006026013
LCC Class: HQ1063
Dewey Class: 331
PDF Catalogs:
Business Catalog 2008.pdf
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