Aging Nation: The Economics And Politics of Growing Older in America

With the impending retirement of some 76 million Baby Boomers, understanding the economic, political, and social issues related to the aging population is paramount. 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 system. In Aging Nation, renowed 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 the issues and their impact on everyone, old and young.

James H. Schulz is Emeritus Professor of Economics, Brandeis University. A former president of the Gerontological Society of America, and recipient of numerous awards—including the Kleemier Award for outstanding research in the field of aging—he has written extensively on aging, pensions, retirement, and social policy. His 17 books includeSocial Security in the Twenty-First Century, The Economics of Population Aging,Providing Adequate Retirement Income When Life-Time Employment Ends, and seven editions ofThe Economics of Aging.

Robert H. Binstock is Professor of Aging, Health, and Society at Case Western Reserve University. A former president of the Gerontological Society of America, and recipient of numerous awards, he has served as director of a White House Task Force on Older Americans and as chairman and member of many advisory panels to the U.S., state, and local governments. He is the author of more than 250 articles and book chapters, primarily on the politics and policies affecting aging, and has published 24 books, including America's Political System, Too Old for Health Care?, The Future of Long-Term Care, and six editions of the Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences.