Insuring the Essentials: Bob Ball on Social Security (review)

Robert M. Ball, Insuring the Essentials: Bob Ball on Social Security. New York: Century Foundation Press, 2000. 324 pp. $14.95 paper.

Social Security is at the forefront of public policy discussions and debates as we begin the twenty-first century. Social Security reform was high on the list of major issues facing the candidates in the 2000 election, just as it has been in many previous elections. Robert M. Ball's book is a comprehensive course on Social Security's development, accomplishments, administration, philosophical background, and the current challenges and future prospects.

Who is better qualified than Bob Ball to review the growth and development of the Social Security program, its guiding principles, successful administration, and close examination of the complex proposals to reform the program? Bob Ball has dedicated his life to Social Security, having been at the agency for thirty years and its Commissioner for twenty-one years. He has been its most influential architect, advocate, defender, and champion.

This book consists of twenty-two articles, commentaries, and essays written by Ball and edited by Thomas N. Bethell. These writings span nearly six decades, from 1942 to 2000, and are organized in a sensible, logical, and highly readable sequence. In addition, the author has updated data and text wherever it seemed particularly relevant and useful to do so. For the reader, updating the data and text makes the book timely, meaningful, and useful to public policy analysts and legislators currently dealing with the issues.

The book begins with a chapter from Ball's book written in 1998 about the principles underlying the Social Security program, followed by the history of the American program and a detailed analysis of the nature of social insurance as contrasted with public assistance, a comprehensive review of current and persistent policy issues, and a discussion of the current political debate. The next several chapters contain his remarks to the employees of the Social Security Administration (SSA) on different occasions and deal with the administration and operations of the program. These remarks, not made often enough, make the point that Social Security is more than a law; it is a program in action, a living, breathing institution reflecting many values and choices in actual administration. As a former SSA staff member, I remember well the doctrine imbued in all of us that, as employees, we had a tremendous responsibility to the American people to administer the law efficiently, fairly, and with compassion and understanding. Bob Ball states ". . . the quality of the administration of the law, whether people in fact get what's coming to them according to the law, whether the right people are paid in the right amounts, and on time, and can count on it, is as big a contribution to the actual security of people as the writing of a good law" (118).

The last ten chapters of the book deal with analyses of issues from speeches, reports of commissions, and advisory councils and testimonies. The following issues, among others, are addressed: intergenerational equity, health and long-term care, contribution rates, funding sources, and privatization of Social Security, all of which are part of the current policy discussions around Social Security and Medicare. The final chapter, entitled, "A Program for the Future," is taken from the final chapter of Ball's 1978 book, Social Security Today and Tomorrow. It outlines a series of twenty-four propositions expressing his beliefs about the program and how protection for American families should be improved. Since then, there have indeed been improvements, but it is amazing that many of the propositions remain unaddressed. For example, an inadequate income is still the number one problem for a majority of the retired aged; Social Security benefits for single workers and for widows should be increased; the disability insurance program should be improved by reducing the waiting period before the benefits are payable from five to two...