Social Security Reform: An Analysis of the Ball/Altman Three-Point Plan
This article describes and analyzes the costs and benefits of a three-part Social Security reform proposal introduced by Robert Ball and endorsed by Nancy Altman. The Ball/Altman proposal consists of (1) gradually increasing the maximum earnings base until it reaches 90 percent of earnings; (2) dedicating the estate tax to funding Social Security beginning in 2010; and (3) investing a portion of the Social Security trust fund in equities. The article concludes that while the Ball/Altman proposed solution is not costless, it deserves serious consideration.
Should We End Life Support for Death Taxes
This was the question posed at the Herman Goldman Memorial Lecture, held at the Bar Association of the City of New York on the evening of May 22, 2000. Its topicality, given the Ways and Means Committee's decision to repeal the federal estate and gift tax, is obvious. Taking the affirmative, and presenting the case for the repeal, was Edward McCaffery, Maurice Jones Jr. Professor of Law, University of Southern California. Taking the negative, and presenting the case against repeal, was Charles Davenport, Professor of Law, Rutgers University-Newark. Judge James Halpern, United States Tax Court, presided (although he did not enter judgment); and Willard Taylor, Chair of the Herman Goldman Lecture Committee, introduced the speakers. No transcript was made of the debate, but the speakers have set out (in the paper) a summary of their arguments, and Judge Halpern has provided his comments. Attached at the end is a selective bibliography of the literature relating to the repeal of the federal estate and gift tax.
New Systems for Old Age Security: Theory, Practice, and Empirical Evidence
The author summarizes the major findings and recommendations in Averting the Old Age Crisis, describing problems in traditional pension systems and proposals for reform. Then she describes how those reforms are being implemented in many countries and examines empirical evidence about pension reform's impact on growth. Since the publication of Averting the Old Age Crisis, the move toward multipillar systems has accelerated around the world, spurred by demographic and economic forces. In addition, research has been carried out on some of the critical assumptions underlying the recommendations in the report. Researcher have begun to quantify the effects of a full or partial shift to a funded defined-contribution plan on the supply and allocation of labor, on national saving, and on the development of financial markets. Results from the studies that have been done so far on the (anticipated and actual) effects of pension reform (in Argentina, Australia, Mexico, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and especially Chile) suggest that pension reform can have and has had a positive, possibly large, impact on national saving and the development of financial markets and hence on economic growth.