Customer Reviews

Putting Our House in Order: A Guide to Social Security and Health Care Reform

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The authors present a realistic and practical plan for improving upon a failing system. Importantly, they also identify ways in which current proposals could be integrated. Essential reading for anyone who cares about this impending problem.

Social Security is an important element for people to maintain their Standard of Individual Living (SOIL). The majority of people rely on Social Security according to the Soc. Sec. Administration (over 50% of income for 54% of married and for 74% of single people comes from Social Security). This book is an important reminder to people why they need to talk to their Senators, Congressmen and Congresswomen and ask them to read this book and fix this problem. Even more urgent, is the need to fix the national medical system - yes we already have one! It's called Medicare and Medicaid. If the government can not efficiently run this program (in existence since 1967) how do you think they will run an even larger program? By fixing the existing health care program first through the many proposals in this book, our Senators, Congressmen and Congresswomen can demonstrate the country is ready to have an even larger health care system put into place. We the people need to ask our Senators, Congressmen and Congresswomen to read this book and consider the proposals it contains - it is in your best interest.

Wealth Odyssey: The Essential Road Map For Your Financial Journey Where Is It You Are Really Trying To Go With Money?

A must read (which is fairly short) for the lay-person interested in the reform of these massive national entitlement programs, that, if left unchecked, will ruin this nation's economy and standard of living in the not-too-distant future. While I am no expert on entitlement reform, I felt this book (written by a former Reagan cabinet member) was about as non-partisan as you can get (indeed, blatant partisanship in the academic community, to which both of these authors currently belong, detracts from scholarly legitimacy). I believe that their critique of the various reform proposals are sound (albeit perhaps not as detailed as entitlement reform experts would like). Admittedly, they favor market-based solutions, but acknowledge the fundamental objectives that must be achieved by any reform policies.

A persuasive analysis of the obstacles facing our entitlement programs, with thought-provoking recommendations for sustaining Social Security. However, I found its analysis of our health care system less compelling, as it totally ignored the successful measures implemented by several leading industrialized nations to contain costs, create a uniform health records system and deliver top-notch care to its citizens with little or no co-payments.

The authors virtually ignore the burgeoning costs of pharmaceuticals, do not challenge the canard that these high costs are needed to'fund R&D' nor criticize the hundreds of millions of research dollars diverted instead to TV and print advertising. Switzerland, hardly a second-rate power in the pharmaceuticals development, produces and delivers prescription drugs to its people at a fraction of the US cost. Wee have much that we can learn from our foreign friends, but Sec. Shultz and Dr. Shoven choose to ignore such lessons

The presumption running through this book is that individuals will make the best choices, and that (ugh!)Government should keep its paws off. But personal choices tend to be optimistic and short-term driven, as our appallingly low savings rate proves. In our younger and middle years, millions of us abuse our bodies and skimp on inexpensive preventive care, then expect Medicare to fund the far more costly repairs in our old age. Any solution to our health care crisis must reverse that mindset and require full, public participation, however politically unpopular that may be,

My book came very quickly and was in perfect condition. It couldn't have been better!

Standard free market propaganda -- The authors, in classic fashion, fail to grasp the financial disaster happening right under their noses, instead diverting attention to problems that could be fixed very simply by nixing Bush's two wars, rolling back Bush's hair-brained tax cuts, closing various loopholes in the tax code to prevent offshoring, and modernizing capital gains taxes, taxes on speculative derivatives trading, etc. This is the same playbook Republicans are using in 2011 (all the 'debt ceiling' mumbo jumbo) to keep their lower-middle class base from understanding that the only people they're protecting are the top 1 or so percent.