"Deserving poor" or "greedy geezers"?

• Position: YOUR LIFE - Brief article

Despite the impending retirement of 76,000,000 baby boomers, huge government deficits, and unrelenting battles over Social Security, the U.S. is not facing a demographic tsunami, according to Aging Nation: The Economics and Politics of Growing Older in America.

The authors, economist James H. Schulz of Brandeis University, Waltham, Mass., and political scientist Robert H. Binstock of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, agree there is considerable cause for concern. However, they contend that, with sound policies and programs in place and smart individual choices, the elderly can prosper--averting a future characterized by declining health, poor finances, and employer age discrimination.

"Many reform proposals today unwisely call for individuals to take major responsibility for their own economic security in old age. This will expose them to many new uncertainties and risks, risks that were minimized in the past by collective pension and health insurance programs sponsored by business and government," says Schulz.

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