Austerity and Aging in the United States: 1980 and beyond

1982 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 573-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carroll L. Estes
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Old Age ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The United States ◽  
Critical Examination ◽  
Block Grants ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
Future Direction ◽  
Policy Solutions

This paper presents a critical examination of the past and future direction of social policies for the aged in the United States. The definitions of the social problem of old age and of the appropriate policy solutions for this problem have reflected the ups and downs of the U.S. economy and the shifting bases of political power during the past thirty years. In the 1980s, three dominant definitions of reality are shaping public policy for the elderly: (a) the perception of fiscal crisis and the necessity for reduced federal expenditures; (b) the perception that national policies should give way to decentralization and block grants; and (c) the perception of old age as an individual problem. It is argued that old age policy in the United States reflects a two-class system of welfare in which benefits are distributed on the basis of legitimacy rather than on the basis of need.

Government Programs Can Reduce Poverty

2021 ◽  
pp. 114-123
Author(s):  
Mark Robert Rank ◽  
Lawrence M. Eppard ◽  
Heather E. Bullock
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The United States ◽  
Poverty Rate ◽  
Welfare Programs ◽  
Government Programs ◽  
Transfer Rates ◽  
Social Welfare Programs ◽  
Poverty And Inequality ◽  
The Social

Chapter 15 provides an analysis of the effectiveness of social welfare programs in reducing poverty. Comparing pretransfer with post-transfer rates of poverty across a range of OECD countries demonstrates that poverty can be substantially reduced. The myth that government programs do not work in addressing poverty is simply incorrect. A number of European countries are able to cut their rates of poverty by up to 80 percent as a result of robust social policies aimed at reducing poverty and inequality. In the United States, the Social Security and Medicare programs have been particularly effective in reducing the poverty rate among the elderly population.

When Someday Is Today: Carrying Forward the History of Old Age and Inheritance into the Age of Medicaid

2015 ◽  
Vol 40 (02) ◽  
pp. 499-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Anne Case
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Old Age ◽  
The United States ◽  
Past Century ◽  
The Past ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
Elder Law ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Old Age

This review essay of Hendrik Hartog's (2012) Someday All This Will Be Yours undertakes a brief overview of some of the massive changes in middle‐class planning for old age and inheritance in the United States over the course of the past century, focusing on the increased role of the state as a source of funding and regulation, the rise of the elder law bar, and the resulting new tools and motives for the transfer of property in exchange for care in the age of Medicaid.

Aging in the People's Republic of China

1983 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Myrna Lewis
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Political System ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The United States ◽  
Review Of Literature ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Socialist Government ◽  
Personal Visit

The Chinese approach to old age is a blend of 4,000 years of recorded culture; a predominately agricultural past and present, and a thirty year old socialist government. Valuable insights are gained regarding aging in China through the description of Chinese elderly life in context with China's past and present. Pertinent questions are asked concerning the role of the elderly in China's future. Although lacking the references and methodology usually accompanying articles published in this journal, this paper is based on discussions with a number of Chinese living in the United States and Hong Kong, American experts on China, brief discussions with members of the Chinese Liaison Office (now the Chinese Embassy), an interview with Dr. Ma Hai-teh (George Hatem), a personal visit to China in the summer of 1978, and a review of literature on China, It offers an opportunity to become acquainted with the conditions of the elderly in another social and political system.

Ecology and Aging: A Critical Review

1988 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 458-471
Author(s):  
Verena Bernardin-Haldemann
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Ecological Models ◽  
Social Production ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
Public Sectors

AbstractFor the past two decades the issue of housing for the aged has caught the attention of many in the private as well as in the public sectors, and attempts have been made to improve the situation. If the problem persists today, gerontologists, among others, should be called to account, since they were instrumental in the formulation of many of the interventions. The problem has been approached generally in terms of adaptation to aging and adaptation to the environment. The ecological models currently used agree that happiness can be found at different states of equilibrium between the person and the environment and that the elderly arrive at this state of equilibrium through a special “docility” towards the environment; a “docility” which would be linked to aging. However, this docility would appear to be historically and socially contingent rather than being “natural”. It is thus important to explain the social production of old age and the docility which is tied to it.

scholarly journals Coronavirus Highly Hits the Elderly People and the Natality Rate: A SocioDemographic Appraisal

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Elderly People ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The United States ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
Medical Treatments ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
Natality Rate

The unexpected Corona crisis is affecting all ages, but mostly the elderly people of 65 years and over have been infected, hit and dead. The Coronavirus has also highly affected the rate of natality everywhere in the world. Besides that, many marriages have been postponed or suspended. In the United States where the number of Coronavirus affected people is the highest as compared with other parts of the world; 8 out of 10 deaths reported have been in adults 65 years and older [1]. Therefore, the present crisis will lead to the lack of children, optimistically when Coronavirus will be behind us. Even the children during the Corona crisis have not easy access to pediatrics and medical treatments. So, the natality situation is currently a hidden event, not being monitored by the social actors. The aging affected people are observed and talked about, whereas the newborns are not spoken about. Increasing number of developing societies are concerned with the issue. Therefore, natality issue needs more investigation by the sociologists as well as demographers. The method of research used in the present research is of qualitative type, and the whole theme is more sociologically appraised.

scholarly journals From Apprenticeship to Internship: The Social and Legal Antecedents of the Intern Economy

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 351-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Frenette
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Minimum Wage ◽  
Government Intervention ◽  
The United States ◽  
School To Work ◽  
Legal Decisions ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of

This article looks towards the future of the intern economy by focusing on its past. What led to recent debates about the intern economy? How did it become legally possible for interns to work for free? Using the United States as my case study, I draw parallels between the current intern economy and its closest historical antecedent, the apprenticeship system. By providing a brief overview of the history of work-based learning and the unpaid internship’s legal underpinnings, this article ultimately frames current lawsuits and debates as a correction to today’s insufficiently scrutinized youth labour regime not unlike the apprenticeship systems of the past. In the attempt to facilitate youth transitions from school to work, yet maintain minimum wage standards, government intervention and—more imminently likely—legal decisions will, I anticipate, eventually transform the intern economy much like the Fitzgerald Act of 1937 drastically formalized apprenticeships in the United States.

scholarly journals Regularization of the undocumented in Canada : lessons from Europe and the United States

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Xiao En Liu Liu
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
The United States ◽  
Immigrant Population ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
Number Of Individuals ◽  
Policy Solutions

During the past decade, the number of undocumented people has been by far the most rapidly rising immigrant population worldwide. In Canada, the number of individuals living without a legal status is estimated around 200,000 to 600,000. Therefore, this issue has become increasing difficult for governments to ignore. Many countries around the world have implemented regularization programs as policy solutions to the issue of undocumented people residing within their borders. This study examines the different criteria and reasons based on which countries in Europe, the United States, and Canada have implemented or proposed regularization programs. The aim is to propose possible regularization criteria and options that Canada could take into consideration as policy solutions to deal with the undocumented residents currently in the country.

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