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Thinking about Retirement?
Social Security: Americans Agree VIDEO
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Have you seen ”Social Security: Americans Agree?“ Click here to learn more.
Social Security: Just the Facts Video
Have you seen, “Social Security: Just the Facts?” Click here to learn more.
COVERED: a week-by-week look at the political and legislative developments that led to the creation of Medicare and Medicaid 50 years ago. Bob Rosenblatt, Academy senior fellow and former Los Angeles Times Washington correspondent will report on the people and the maneuvers that led to this major expansion of social insurance.
2019 Discussion Archive
Top Ten Reasons to Support the National Academy of Social Insurance
There is only one National Academy of Social Insurance, but many reasons to support our work. Here’s why you may wish to consider the Academy in your year-end giving:
1. We tackle big issues.
Read More…In Memoriam: Elijah Cummings
In reflecting on the passing of Representative Elijah Cummings, we at the National Academy of Social Insurance recall his stirring tribute to William (Bill) Spriggs, recipient of the 2016 Robert M. Ball Award for Outstanding Achievements in Social Insurance.
We invite you to watch the late Congressman’s remarks during that memorable evening in which the Ball Award was presented to Bill Spriggs. (Congressman Cummings was actually a surprise guest speaker, so this intimate 7-minute recording was captured by none other than Bill Spriggs, via his mobile device!)
Read More…Addressing Inequality, Increasing Economic Security
A new study indicates that the United States continues to lose ground when it comes to addressing inequality. According to the latest report from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) released in September 2019, the gap between the richest and poorest U.S. households is now the largest it has been in the past fifty years. Despite a national economy with low rates of unemployment, more than ten years of consecutive growth in gross domestic product (GDP), and median household income at an all-time high ($61,937 for 2018), disparities in income along racial, generational, and geographic lines grew.
Read More…Recession Readiness: The Role of Social Insurance
Recession Watch
A defining trait of severe recessions is the staggering levels of long-term unemployment that follow. During the last recession, between 2008 and 2009, 8.4 million jobs, or 6.1% of all payroll employment at the time, were lost. Prior to the last recession, the largest share of the unemployed experiencing long-term unemployment was 26.0% in the early 1980s. The same long-term unemployment rate exceeded 40% into the early 2010s, amounting to over 4%of the entire labor force, and is only now falling to pre-recessionary levels.
Read More…Expertise and Engagement
As we strive to enhance our Academy’s effectiveness in fulfilling our mission – increase public understanding of how social insurance contributes to economic security and advance solutions to challenges facing the nation – one of my major concerns in today’s polarized environment is the distrust of expertise among segments of the U.S. population.
Some of this distrust is due to deliberate efforts to undermine evidence-based research. My January 2017 message to Academy Members, “What does a “post-truth” era mean for the Academy?” addressed this. There are, however, other factors in such distrust.
Nervous States
Read More…In Memoriam: Merton Bernstein
Merton C. Bernstein
1923 - 2019
Merton Clay Bernstein, Walter D. Coles Professor of Law Emeritus, Washington University in St. Louis died at home in Brewster, MA on August 3, 2019.
Read More…Addressing Social Security's Long-Range Financial Stability
Significant proposals to enhance Social Security’s long-range financial stability are emerging from a variety of sources. Although there was only one mention of Social Security during the first round of Democratic Presidential debates in June, it is likely to get much more attention from candidates in the coming months.
Recently, I attended the annual Peter G. Peterson Foundation’s Fiscal Summit in DC. (The Peterson Foundation has been a long-time supporter of the Academy’s work.)
Read More…Strengthening Social Insurance: The Role of Policy Innovation Challenges
The National Academy of Social Insurance and AARP will soon be announcing the winners of the 2019 Social Security Policy Innovations Challenge: Ensuring Adequacy for Workers. Through this Challenge, we will identify 3-5 feasible policy proposals that specifically address the income adequacy needs of older workers, who must claim Social Security retirement benefits before their full retirement age due to ill health, an inability to continue to perform physically demanding jobs, or other factors. (This 2019 Challenge in some ways builds on past crowdsourcing efforts the Academy has led over the past decade. As discussed further below, the Academy’s Challenges have produced a range of feasible ideas and policy proposals for strengthening Social Security.)
Read More…
Socialism or Social Insurance?
The political air is charged these days with claims that various policy ideas, like Medicare-For-All and the Green New Deal, are “socialistic.” Such charges have been made in American history since the late 19th century, often in response to bold new policy concepts put forward to address gaps in income and health care security. This leads us to revisit a fundamental question – what differentiates Socialism from Social Insurance?
Social Insurance as Collective Action
In the words of Robert M. Ball, Founding Chair of our Academy: “Social insurance derives its unique strength from the principle that the best form of self-protection is mutual aid on a universal scale; when everyone contributes, everyone can be protected.” Academy Member and historian Edward D. Berkowitz also quotes Bob Ball:
Read More…In Memoriam: Alice Rivlin
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(Alice Rivlin receives the 2013 Ball Award with then Board Chair, Lisa Mensah)
With deep sadness, we learned of the passing of Alice Rivlin, a Founding Member of the National Academy of Social Insurance, and recipient of the 2013 Robert M. Ball Award for Outstanding Achievements in Social Insurance.
(Alice Rivlin with her family at the 2013 Ball Award)
Read More…Taxes, Contributions, and Social Insurance
With most Americans focused on taxes this month, it’s a good time to take a look at the relationship between federal income taxes and social insurance contributions.
Overview of Federal Taxes and Distributional Effects
The latest report by the Joint Committee on Taxation, Overview of the Federal Tax System As In Effect for 2019, provides a comprehensive starting point. This report breaks out the current federal tax system into four elements:
Read More…Key Takeaways from the Regenerating Social Insurance for Millennials and the Millennium Conference
Regenerating Social Insurance for Millennials and the Millennium: Lessons Learned
The Academy’s 31st annual policy conference – Regenerating Social Insurance for Millennials and the Millennium – was by all measures a success. It represented a different approach to one of the Academy’s signature events in both style and substance.
Read More…Assured Income as a Mechanism to Promote Economic Security
“Universal basic income” (UBI) has only recently come into popular usage, but the idea of assuring a base level of income to all is not new. Social insurance programs have been performing a similar function for much of the last century. Social Security and Unemployment Insurance both provide a base level of income given one’s eligibility for receiving benefits. The latter part of the statement is, of course, a defining characteristic of traditional social insurance—eligibility is contingent on one’s paying in.
