The People's Pension is both groundbreaking history and an indispensable guide for anyone concerned about one of the biggest issues in the upcoming election. With 95 percent of Americans participating in the program either as beneficiaries or through their payroll tax contributions, Social Security is quite literally the "glue" that binds Americans together as a community. Yet in the aftermath of the debt reduction deal between Barack Obama and congressional Republicans, the 2012 election promises to be a kind of referendum on the size and role of government-including economic support programs like Social Security. Arguing to democratize, not disable, the program, Eric Laursen suggests that the only solution for Social Security is taking it out of the government's hands altogether.
"Eric Laursen has written a comprehensive and exhaustive history of the Social Security program in the United States. The People's Pension is an honest, detailed and even eye-opening discussion of the program's origins and continuing efforts to provide elderly and disabled Americans with a livable income. Equally important, it is a discussion of the attempts to alter and ultimately destroy the p
Ron Jacobs, CounterPunch
"If you want to put the current struggle over Social Security's future in context, read this book."
Mark Miller, RetirementRevised.com
"Independent financial reporter Laursen offers a breathtakingly comprehensive look at the history and politics behind 'the largest income support program in the U.S.,' ... Comprehensive and compelling reading on an important topic."
