Eric R. Kingson
Professor, School of Social Work, College of Human Ecology, Syracuse University
Eric Kingson was an advisor to the 1982 National Commission on Social Security Reform and the 1994 Bipartisan Commission on Entitlements and Tax Reform. The following is from a paper titled “A Tale of Three Commissions: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” prepared for the National Academy of Social Insurance’s December 11, 2009, congressional briefing, “Demystifying the Deficit, Social Security Finances, & Commissions.” I begin with a story from 28 years ago that illustrates the political risks that follow from mischaracterizing Social Security in narrow budgetary terms. In 1981, Ronald Reagan was President and David Stockman, who talked about…
