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Schedule Registration Housing |
| Saturday, January 8, 2000 3:30-5:15 p.m. |
Wilson Ballroom B
Marriott Wardman Park Hotel Mezzanine Level |
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Section on Poverty Law |
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| Matthew Diller, Fordham University, Chair |
| The Future of Social Insurance: Implications for People in Poverty |
| Moderator: | |
| Joel F. Handler, University of California at Los Angeles | |
| Speakers: | |
| Philip L. Harvey, Rutgers University, Camden
Kilolo Kijakazi, Senior Policy Analyst, Center on Budget & Policy Priorities, Washington, D.C. R. Kent Weaver, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C. Lucy A. Williams, Northeastern University |
| Since the New Deal, social insurance programs have played a critical role in providing income support and other assistance to people in poverty and to many who have escaped poverty only due to social insurance. Social insurance programs provide cash or in kind benefits to individuals and their dependents who are "covered" through the payment of payroll taxes. Although denominated as insurance, the programs differ from traditional insurance in many respects. The Social Security, Medicare and Unemployment Insurance programs are all based on principles of social insurance. Indeed, the architects of our social welfare system, President Roosevelt's Committee on Economic Security, viewed social insurance as the core organizing paradigm for the entire system. |
| For many years, social insurance has been criticized from both the political left and the right. Critics from the left have objected that social insurance programs are insufficiently directed at reducing poverty. Feminists have taken issue with the way social insurance programs deal with the dual roles of women as earners and care givers. Conservative critics have complained that they inappropriately redistribute income under false pretenses. They argue that market based alternatives can better meet the needs addressed by social insurance. Despite these criticisms, these programs have been widely popular with the American public. |
| Today, concerns about the long term financing of these programs have led to broad debate about the social insurance paradigm. Some have questioned whether changes in the economy and labor market have undermined the premises of social insurance. Many have proposed "privatizing" significant portions of the social insurance system. This program will consider the question of what role social insurance should have in the future, with a particular focus on how people in poverty have fared under the current system and how changes in social insurance programs are likely to impact them. |
| Business Meeting at Program Conclusion |