Dereliction of Duty: Congressional Inaction and the Coming Crisis in Social Security

Abstract

Abstract In 2033, American social policy will reach a crossroads when the trust fund for its largest and most successful program runs out. Without Congressional action, Social Security benefits, which constitute most of the retirement income of most senior citizens, will fall by 21 percent. This shortfall has been predicted for three decades, and yet Congress has done nothing. In Fixing Social Security, R. Douglas Arnold applies the model of Congressional behavior from his seminal 1990 book, The Logic of Congressional Action, to analyze why Social Security solvency crises periodically emerge, why Congress has ignored the coming emergency, what lawmakers may do “at the precipice,” and the degree to which the rise of the conservative movement, political polarization, and other features of contemporary American politics will affect the outcome. This incisive, wonderfully well-written book will be of broad interest to the public and to scholars of social policy, Congress, and American politics.