The rancorous debate over the future of Social Security reached a fever pitch in 2005 when President Bush unsuccessfully proposed a plan for private retirement accounts. Although efforts to reform Social Security seem to have reached an impasse, the long-term problem—the projected Social Security deficit—remains. In Pension Puzzles, sociologists Melissa Hardy and Lawrence Hazelrigg explain for a general audience the fiscal challenges facing Social Security and explore the larger political context of the Social Security debate.Pension Puzzles cuts through the sloganeering of politicians in both parties, presenting Social Security’s technical problems evenhandedly and showing how the Social Security debate is one piece of a larger political struggle. Hardy and Hazelrigg strip away the ideological baggage to explicate the basic terms and concepts needed to understand the predicament of Social Security. They compare the cases for privatizing Social Security and for preserving the program in its current form with adjustments to taxes and benefits, and they examine the different economic projections assumed by proponents of each approach. In pursuit of its privatization agenda, Hardy and Hazelrigg argue, the Bush administration has misled the public on an issue that was already widely misunderstood. The authors show how privatization proponents have relied on dubious assumptions about future rates of return to stock market investments and about the average citizen’s ability to make informed investment decisions. In addition, the administration has painted the real but manageable shortfalls in Social Security revenue as a fiscal crisis. Projections of Social Security revenues and benefits by the Social Security Administration have treated revenues as fixed, when in fact they are determined by choices made by Congress. Ultimately, as Hardy and Hazelrigg point out, the clash over Social Security is about more than technical fiscal issues: it is part of the larger culture wars and the ideological struggle over what kind of social responsibilities and rights American citizens should have. This rancorous partisan wrangling, the alarmist talk about a “crisis” in Social Security, and the outright deception employed in this debate have all undermined the trust between citizens and government that is needed to restore the solvency of Social Security for future generations of retirees.Drawing together economic analyses, public opinion data, and historical narratives, Pension Puzzles is a lucid and engaging guide to the major proposals for Social Security reform. It is also an insightful exploration of what that debate reveals about American political culture in the twenty-first century.A Volume in the American Sociological Association's Rose Series in Sociology

Pension Puzzles: Social Security and the Great Debate (American Sociological Association's Rose Series)

Business & Money

Hardy, Melissa

Hazelrigg, Lawrence

Economics

Russell Sage Foundation

The rancorous debate over the future of Social Security reached a fever pitch in 2005 when President Bush unsuccessfully proposed a plan for private retirement accounts. Although efforts to reform Social Security seem to have reached an impasse, the long-term problem―the projected Social Security deficit―remains. In Pension Puzzles, sociologists Melissa Hardy and Lawrence Hazelrigg explain for a general audience the fiscal challenges facing Social Security and explore the larger political context of the Social Security debate. Pension Puzzles cuts through the sloganeering of politicians in both parties, presenting Social Security's technical problems evenhandedly and showing how the Social Security debate is one piece of a larger political struggle. Hardy and Hazelrigg strip away the ideological baggage to explicate the basic terms and concepts needed to understand the predicament of Social Security. They compare the cases for privatizing Social Security and for preserving the program in its current form with adjustments to taxes and benefits, and they examine the different economic projections assumed by proponents of each approach. In pursuit of its privatization agenda, Hardy and Hazelrigg argue, the Bush administration has misled the public on an issue that was already widely misunderstood. The authors show how privatization proponents have relied on dubious assumptions about future rates of return to stock market investments and about the average citizen's ability to make informed investment decisions. In addition, the administration has painted the real but manageable shortfalls in Social Security revenue as a fiscal crisis. Projections of Social Security revenues and benefits by the Social Security Administration have treated revenues as fixed, when in fact they are determined by choices made by Congress. Ultimately, as Hardy and Hazelrigg point out, the clash over Social Security is about more than technical fiscal issues: it is part of the larger culture wars and the ideological struggle over what kind of social responsibilities and rights American citizens should have. This rancorous partisan wrangling, the alarmist talk about a "crisis" in Social Security, and the outright deception employed in this debate have all undermined the trust between citizens and government that is needed to restore the solvency of Social Security for future generations of retirees. Drawing together economic analyses, public opinion data, and historical narratives, Pension Puzzles is a lucid and engaging guide to the major proposals for Social Security reform. It is also an insightful exploration of what that debate reveals about American political culture in the twenty-first century. A Volume in the American Sociological Association's Rose Series in Sociology

Constant Fire

Literature & Fiction

United States

Oberon Pr

An unexpected conflict forces Verna to re-examine her life. 
What was it Donald used to say? "When it comes to children, you pay now or pay later. You never don’t pay." Middle-aged Verna Macoun Woodcock returns to the family cottage for the first time in 38 years to scatter the ashes of her husband, father, and twin sister. At first she is alone except for her dad’s dog, the lake, bitter memories, and a barely hidden drinking problem. But soon Verna is forced to open up her tightly shut world to others: strong-willed handywoman Winonah; the neglected children of her sister, each lost and broken in their own way; even the ghost of Winonah’s dead brother, Lionel, who can’t seem to make it to the Sky World. Just as Verna is starting to accept this newfound family, she discovers a menacing prospector who posts a notice on the cottage door, stating his intention to dig for ore. As it turns out, the Macouns hold the surface rights for the land, but not the mineral rights. For the first time in her life, Verna has something to fight for and family at stake.

Surface Rights

Dundurn Press

Verna Macoun Woodcock discovers that a mysterious and menacing stranger has claim-staked a portion of her family's property and the intrusion forces her to confront her troubled past.

Surface Rights: A Novel

Literary

ReadHowYouWant

A sprawling story confronting social, historical, and racial tensions, this novel is set against the backdrop of the Trail of Tears, when President Andrew Jackson evicted the Cherokee people from their ancestral lands. The narrative follows several generations of one Native American family in their quests for wealth, love, power, and dignity, lending insight into their civilization’s world view and religious outlook. Embedded in the roots of mythology and the sacred history of a fascinating culture, this account illustrates the intense love-hate relationship between two peoples that was ultimately to end in the destruction of the Cherokee way of life.

Broken Road: A Novel

Genre Fiction

Exile Editions

This futuristic novel has all the elements YA fiction needs to draw critical attention from reviewers, and to elicit award-nominations. It is thematically interesting, culturally diverse, well-written, futuristic, and very funny. Set in the year 2021, this fantastic YA novel explores the tension between a young woman's future building infrastructure for Augmented Reality, and the commitment she makes to her dying grandmother to honour ancient Chinese magic. The Geomancer's Compassimagines a world in the near future while exploring the Chinese immigrant experience and the expanding, elastic and shifting nature of reality.

The Geomancer's Compass

Children's Books

Tundra Books

Mariuccia Umbellino is a young woman living in the remote mountain village of Montemonaco, Italy, in the early years of the 19th century. Nearby, the secret recesses of the Grotto of the Fates―home to an ancient oracle of Apollo―are about to be invaded and destroyed, on orders from the Pope. But the men sent to do the dirty work don’t know who (or what) they’re dealing with. This oracle and this girl won’t be messed with. In the dark of night, Mariuccia and her mother set out to rescue their revered oracle. In the adventure that ensues, things are blown up, love spells are miscast then recast, a downtrodden housekeeper gets her revenge, and the mysterious fate of a jettatore―a person born with the Evil Eye―is finally revealed.

The Oracle of Cumae

Humor & Satire

Second Story Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hardy, Melissa. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Hardy, Melissa

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hardy, Melissa. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Pension Puzzles: Social Security and the Great Debate (American Sociological Association's Rose Series)

Pension Puzzles: Social Security and the Great Debate (American Sociological Association's Rose Series)

Constant Fire

Constant Fire

Surface Rights

Surface Rights: A Novel

Broken Road: A Novel

The Geomancer's Compass

The Oracle of Cumae