The Plot Against Social Security: How the Bush Plan Is Endangering Our Financial Future [Hardcover]

Michael A. Hiltzik (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 31, 2005

A Pulitzer Prize-winning Author

Relentless and ominous, the drumbeat echoes across the land: Social Security is on the verge of bankruptcy. But it is flatly untrue. Award-winning journalist Michael Hiltzik explains who is really behind the efforts to "reform" this system and shows that the most frequently proposed fix - diverting a huge portion of its assets into private investment accounts - will damage it beyond repair.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A Pulitzer Prize–winning financial journalist for the Los Angeles Times, Hiltzik gathers arguments made by a plethora of economists and skeptics into a comprehensive, biting critique of the privatization agenda and what he calls the "astroturf" alliance of right-wing ideologues, Wall Street opportunists and Republican political operatives that "aims to propagate, and then exploit, public ignorance." Prophecies of the Social Security trust fund's bankruptcy, he finds, are based on dubious and politically biased forecasts; more realistic projections have the trust fund growing nicely over the next 75 years. Even if doomsayers' predictions come true, he notes, the system's solvency can be safeguarded by straightforward fixes; simply lifting the cap on Social Security taxes—thus taxing high-income workers at the same rate as everyone else—would make up Bush's projected shortfall and then some, he says. Hiltzik also reads the fine print of privatization schemes, unearthing what he sees as hidden costs, risks, benefit cuts, bureaucratic pitfalls and wildly optimistic market return predictions for private accounts. The real issue, he contends, is whether the pension system will be a get-rich-quick scheme for the powerful or a collective guarantee that the elderly, the poor, the disabled and the unfortunate will be shielded from the vicissitudes of life. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Prizewinning financial reporter Hiltzik focuses a probing, analytical eye on the current drive to substitute private investment accounts for America's Social Security program and finds this new approach wanting. Hiltzik delves into the history of opposition to Social Security since its inception during the Great Depression, revealing that today's demands for change mirror criticisms that have perennially dogged the program. Offering statistics from multiple sources, he finds the claim that the system faces a financial crisis to be manufactured, and he notes that the program's critics cite contradictory evidence about the purported coming bankruptcy of the system. He sheds light on myths whose prevalence has diminished constructive dialogue. He cites the pressing need for honest projections of Social Security's present and future fiscal health, observing that using either too optimistic or too pessimistic forecasts only opens the door to political grandstanding from either direction. Hiltzik fears that even if people were to enjoy the rosy returns on investment that the present administration promises, much of their "profit" might disappear in administrative fees. Hiltzik has provided history, facts, and figures that propose some much-needed perspective on this important contemporary debate. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Harper (May 31, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006083465X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060834654
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,643,903 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Federal Employees DO PAY Social Security, July 10, 2005

By 

Jean "Jean" (Richmond, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Plot Against Social Security: How the Bush Plan Is Endangering Our Financial Future (Hardcover)

I just wanted to correct the assertions made by the first reviewer Krecke. As a Federal employee I know first hand that we do pay social security taxes at the same rate as private sector employees. There is no "opt out" option avialable. Until about 1983 under the Civil Service Retirement System Federal workers did not pay social security taxes but they could not collect social security or take advantage of any of its benefits upon retirement. Instead Fed workers paid a larger of their incomes towards pensions. The new system FERS (Federal Employee Retirement system) implement after 1983 requires fed workers to pay Social Security tax just as everyone else does so we will be effected by any changes to SS as everyone else. There are a lot of misconceptions about federal employees so I would suggest Krecke check the facts before making broad assertions.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Other Side Of "Social Security Reform", August 2, 2005

By 

Republicrat (Tyler, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Plot Against Social Security: How the Bush Plan Is Endangering Our Financial Future (Hardcover)

The author does an excellent job of documenting the history of Conservative opposition to Social Security since its initial proposal to the present. He recounts what actually took place in the 1980's revisions of Social Security as engineered by the Greenspan Commission, and provides interesting insights into the practical aspects of the dramatic increase in "Federal Revenue" brought about by the doubling of FICA contributions from both Employers and Employees: The excess of FICA "Contributions" to the Treasury thereby masking the losses due to dramatic cuts in the marginal Income Tax rates.

The author also examines the nature of the President's proposal to "Privatize" Social Security by the creation of "Personal Accounts", and the effect such legislation would have upon the Social Security system. Proponents of Privatization ignore the fact that 30% of outlays from the Social Security system go the surviving spouse and children of those income earners who die prematurely, and that the bulk of these outlays go to those in the lowest two quintiles of the income scale.

The author also provides a critical examination of the actuarial and economic assumptions which have been presented in support the Administration argument for Social Security "Reform" by way of Privatization. In the last two Chapters of the Book the Author provides documentation of the fact that only minor tweaks of the current system may be needed provide full funding for all retirees of all ages in perpetuity, and in fact it is Medicare and Medicaid which deserves serious reform measures due to the excessive costs attendant to the U.S. Health Care Industry.

15 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensable Guide to the Privatization Scam, June 13, 2005

By 

Constant Reader (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Plot Against Social Security: How the Bush Plan Is Endangering Our Financial Future (Hardcover)

This is the one book to read if, like most people, you're confused and worried by the plans to "reform" Social Security. I heard the author on the radio clearly and firmly debunking the anti-Social Security lobby, and immediately had to read his book. He guides the reader through the swamps of claims and counterclaims with clear, simple prose--but he doesn't speak down to you or "dumb down" the argument. He shows where the risks are in replacing Social Security with market-based private accounts, and even explains who is really behind this campaign and why. Everyone who's future is tied in with destiny of Social Security--and isn't that every working person?--should read this book.