Straight Talk About Social Security: An Analysis of the Issues in the Current Debate (Century Foundation/Twentieth Century Fund Report). This item is unavailable.Straight Talk About Social Security: An Analysis of the Issues in the Current Debate (Century Foundation/Twentieth Century Fund Report)

Much of the public concern about the future of Social Security stems from widespread misinformation about the financing of the present system -- misinformation reported so often that it has become part of the conventional wisdom. More than anything else, this accounts for the growing lack of confidence in the system, particularly among younger Americans, and adds to the difficulty of developing a sensible policy to address the manageable impact of the baby boom generation's future retirement.In this book, former commissioner of Social Security Robert M. Ball corrects an array of misunderstandings, analyzes the drawbacks of proposals to partially privatize the program, and provides his own ideas for reform. A straightforward analysis of the essential facts and figures concerning the program, economic projections, and the impact of various reform proposals, this book will help anyone who cares about one of the nation's most important policy debates to quickly understand why Social Security can be saved without radical overhaul.

Robert M. Ball was commissioner of Social Security from 1962 to 1973, and served as a member of the National Commission on Social Security Reform (the Greenspan Commission) 1982-83; the Advisory Council on Social Security 1989-91; and the Advisory Council on Social Security 1994-96. Thomas N. Bethell is a Washington, D.C., writer and editor who has frequently worked with Mr. Ball.