Reviews (1)

Good not Great
I would have given this book a five star rating, but it did not include two important SSA forms. The forms are sent to a claimant when his/her file is sent to the state office fordevelopment. These two forms are SSA-3373-BK (Function Report- Adult) and SSA-3380-BK (Function Report-Adult-Third Party). The two forms have to do with your Activities of Daily living, and when received have a 10 day return time. The forms can be found on the net, but you have to know they exist.
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Subjects:  1. Compensation And Benefits    2. Disability    3. Handbooks, manuals, etc    4. Insurance, Disability    5. Law    6. Legal Reference / Law Profession    7. Public Policy - Social Security    8. Reference    9. Social Security    10. United States   

Reviews (2)

An ever-increasing population of baby boomers will find it useful.
The second edition of SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE is a top pick any public library will want to include in their collection. It updates all information on rules, coverage, benefits and more, providing tips on everything from timing retirement benefits to understanding how divorce and death affects social security benefits. An ever-increasing population of baby boomers will find it useful.
Best Investment You'll Make to Ensure Your Lifetime Security and Protection
Dallas L. Salisbury, President and CEO of the Employee Benefit Research Institute and one of the nation's most frequently cited experts on Social Security, Medicare, health insurance, retirement and savings, writes in the forward of this book:
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Subjects:  1. General    2. Health Insurance    3. Medicaid & Medicare    4. Political Science    5. Politics / Current Events    6. Politics/International Relations    7. Public Policy - Social Security    8. Social Security    9. Political Science / General   

Reviews (2)

VERY BASIC.... VERY DISAPPOINTED!
As a government employee, I bought this book hoping it would provide some good tips on the federal retirement system.This book may help the new or very unimformed employee, but that's it.Some of the information on government benefits was just plain wrong, which is why it only gets two stars from me.As an example, it states a FERS employee can contribute a maximum of 10% to the Thrift Savings Plan each year.Wrong! An employee has been able to contribute 15% for years and I believe there is no limit in 2006.This is not good information for a book that was updated in February 2006!

This Is A Very Important Book About Your Government Benefits
Get notified of updates at www.nolo.com/legalupdater. Check www.nolo.com/update to find recent changes in the law that affects the information in this book. Customer service support is available at 800-728-3555.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Consumer Finance    4. Health Insurance    5. Law and legislation    6. Medicare    7. Pensions    8. Personal Finance    9. Personal Finance - Retirement Planning    10. Popular works    11. Practice Management & Reimbursement    12. Public Policy - Social Security    13. Social Security    14. United States   

Reviews (6)

An honest look at the American conscience
A book on moral values from a politician might seem odd at first, but Kasich acquits himself well.The chapters on government, sports, and popular culture are well-written.Jimmy Carter writes that America's values are "endangered," and Kasich drives that point home.

Quick Read, Somewhat Bland, Best of Intentions
I certainly do not regret buying and taking the time to read this book.It is a relatively quick read (lots of white space between and around the lines).For me the best and most important chapter dealt with the corruption of politics, and I include some memorable quotes from there below.
So good I gave it to my Son on his College Graduation!!
ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING!It all might have been said before but Mr. Kasich does it the best, and with feeling.I enjoyed the book so much I gave it to my son on his graduation from university.I hoped it would help him navigate today's treacherous world of deceit, dishonesty, parsing, obfuscating, and lying which have all in some form or another become virtuous!!Like Bill Bennett, John Kasich believes in America and its moral compass.He points out time and again the virtues of integrity and character; something sorely missed by many of our so called leaders today.
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Subjects:  1. Applied Ethics    2. Government - U.S. Government    3. Moral conditions    4. Philosophy    5. Political    6. Political Ideologies - Conservatism & Liberalism    7. Politics / Current Events    8. Politics/International Relations    9. Public Policy - Social Security    10. Religion, Politics & State    11. Social action    12. U.S. - Contemporary Politics    13. United States    14. Current Events / General    15. Modern fiction    16. USA   

Reviews (14)

A Comprehensive Guide to Pursuing Social Security Disability
I highly encourage everyone who is filing for Social Security Disability to order this worthwhile guide. You have too much at stake to not invest a few hours and follow the advice of this book. From a paralegal's perspective, this book will enlighten you as to the procedures that could be detrimental to your case. From a personal perspective, I'm disappointed that my husband's own Social Security Attorney failed to mention half the topics covered in this book.

How to Gett SSI & Social Security Disability
Mike has the best of intentions but... it's obvious this is a self published book with a very poor writing style.As a previous SSA worker, he has a lot of useless SSA 'speak'
Excellent!
I applied for SSI and SSA Disability in 2005 and won my case on the first time around. I used Mike Davis' book and did not find it out of date at all. In fact, Mr. Davis says he doesn't deal with all the legal issues that change because they're not what a case hinges on. What counts is the medical evidence and forms. I found that what was in his book was exactly what I needed. And in fact, he answered my emails within a couple days about my questions. His email address is in the back of the book.
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Subjects:  1. General    2. Legal Reference / Law Profession    3. Personal & Practical Guides    4. Poverty    5. Public Policy - Social Security    6. Reference   

Reviews (37)

Forewarned is forearmed
This little volume puts the numbers behind Peterson's Running on Empty.If one wants further evidence of credibility see the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis "Review" July/August 2006 article "Is the United States Bankrupt" by the same author.One can argue the details but publication by the Fed should get ones attention.

A Worthy, Yet Overly Repetitive Read.
The crux of the 250 pages of text here, not including notes and bibliography is this; the United States of America will soon be bankrupt. Thank you FDR for creating social programs that have become political vote-grabbing pawns and have grown into behemoth programs that we can no longer afford to maintain. THE COMING GENERATIONAL STORM: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT AMERICA'S ECONOMIC FUTURE, by Lawrence Kotlikoff and Scott Burns, explains to us that America is already bankrupt but is effectively cooking the books to keep our bankruptcy status quiet.
It offers practical ideas for protecting our financial future
I have read many books in this genre.Many are too hard to read for those who do not have an economic background.Some water it down so much that one wonders if it's just hype.This book has easy-to-understand examples, and it offers practical ideas on how to protect our financial future.I think it should be required reading for high school students! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Age distribution (Demography)    2. Aging    3. Baby boom generation    4. Business & Economics    5. Business / Economics / Finance    6. Business/Economics    7. Economic aspects    8. Economics - General    9. Economics - Theory    10. Personal Finance - General    11. Personal Finance - Retirement Planning    12. Population    13. Public Policy - Social Security    14. United States    15. Business & Economics / Economics / General    16. Economics    17. Personal finance    18. USA   

Reviews (1)

Get the same information online
"Federal Benefits for Veterans and Dependents" is simply a reprint of the same thing from the US Department of Veteran Affairs. If you'd rather not get the information from the VA directly, whether in its own publications or its website, you might like this book. However, with a little bit of work you can get as much or more information online. The book is merely a summary and much less of a guide to claiming benefits.
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Subjects:  1. Government - U.S. Government    2. Personal Finance - Retirement Planning    3. Politics / Current Events    4. Public Policy - Social Security    5. Public Policy - Social Services & Welfare    6. Reference    7. Research   

Editorial Review

Americans value freedom, say authors Michael J. Graetz and Jerry L. Mashaw, but they also want security--the sense that someone or something will take care of them if times turn tough. And although the United States has established an elaborate system of social welfare, much could be improved. "For reasons of history, politics, inertia, and simple error, we have constructed a social insurance regime that is riddled with gaps, overlaps, inefficiencies, and inequities," write the two Yale Law School professors in Read more

Subjects:  1. Business/Economics    2. Government - U.S. Government    3. Political Science    4. Politics / Current Events    5. Public Policy - Social Security    6. Social security    7. United States    8. Political Science / Social Security   

Reviews (8)

Nolo's Guide to Social Security Disability
Not at all helpful if you are filling out an application for SSDI benefits.More than 3/4 of the book is on the appeal process and social security system jargon.You can tell it is written by a lawyer, its worthless.

Nolo's Guide to Social Security Disability by Iii MD et al.
This book is invaluable for anyone contemplating a disability claim or for anyone seeking to preserve benefits. The authors explain the elements of a claim; namely the severity of an impairment and its impact on the ability to function in a work environment or setting. The MINE claims are predefined by the law. These are "Medical Improvement Not Expected". i.e. a number of debilitating arthritic diseases or diseases of the musculo-skeletal system
A great reference book overall
This is an excellent book of the whole area of Social Security Disability benefits and how to fill the forms out completely, when to seek an attorney for appeals etc, and a rather extensive section on what the term disability means to Social Security and what diseases, conditions etc qualify and which do not.The only area lacking was disabled spousal Social Security Disability coverage, which a spouse under age 50 with no minor children must file for in the same way the working spouse who becomes disabled would have to do.I plan on donating my copy which I bought via Amazon.com to my local public library. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Compensation And Benefits    2. Disability    3. Disability insurance    4. Government - National    5. Handbooks, manuals, etc    6. Human Resources & Personnel Management    7. Insurance, Disability    8. Law    9. Legal Reference / Law Profession    10. Public Policy - Social Security    11. Reference    12. Social Security    13. United States   

Subjects:  1. Business / Economics / Finance    2. Development - Sustainable Development    3. Food industry and trade    4. General    5. Globalization    6. Industries - Agribusiness    7. International trade    8. Political Science    9. Politics/International Relations    10. Public Policy - Social Security    11. Sustainable agriculture    12. Business & Economics / Economics / General    13. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    14. Welfare & benefit systems   

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business/Economics    3. Congresses    4. Economic Conditions    5. Economics - General    6. Finance    7. Politics - Current Events    8. Politics / Current Events    9. Privatization    10. Public Policy - Social Security    11. Social security    12. United States    13. Investment & securities    14. Political Science / Social Security    15. Political economy    16. Taxation    17. Welfare & benefit systems   

Reviews (2)

An adequate study (if your expectations are not too high)
Beland's study of the history and politics of the U.S. Social Security program provides a solid historical account of the establishment, expansion, and curtailment of old-age insurance.There are, however, flaws.Beland (like many academics) spends too much energy trying to locate his own methodology within existing intellectual fads (a good editor would have cut Chapter 1 by two-thirds its ultimate length).Also, the prose is turgid and repetitive (how many times does Beland really think it is necessary to refer to "credit-claiming strategies"?).And, despite his claims to the contrary, this book really is not for the general reader (any book that uses the term "instauration" should be excised from any general reader's list).Again, it's solid book and should be read by anyone seriously interested in the current Social Security debate.Just keep your expectations within reason.

The big, "new deal" about Social Security
I bought this book to read for the 70th anniversary of Social Security (Aug. 14), but it came out earlier than expected.It's good to read a social science book that's not full of jargon or boring policy details. The author gets to the point, and he writes clearly--for an academic. The book is really concise, as it covers nearly eight decades of history in less than 200 pages (w/o the notes). It also addresses broad issues, from the role of unions and business interests to Bush's Social Security agenda. But what I really like is that this book is not just about Social Security: it explains how American institutions work, how politicians and think tanks set the policy agenda, and even why the US doesn't have national health insurance! This book didn't change my life but it certainly helped me to understand why (and how) privatization is now such a big deal. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Government - U.S. Government    2. Political Science    3. Politics - Current Events    4. Politics / Current Events    5. Politics/International Relations    6. Public Policy - Economic Policy    7. Public Policy - Social Security    8. Public Policy - Social Services & Welfare    9. Social security    10. United States    11. United States - 20th Century    12. Economic history    13. USA    14. Welfare & benefit systems   

Subjects:  1. Business / Economics / Finance    2. History    3. History: American    4. Insurance - General    5. Politics / Current Events    6. Public Policy - Economic Policy    7. Public Policy - Social Security    8. Public Policy - Social Services & Welfare    9. United States - 20th Century    10. 20th century    11. American History    12. American history: from c 1900 -    13. American history: postwar, from c 1945 -    14. History / United States / 20th Century    15. Social history    16. Sociology    17. USA    18. Welfare & benefit systems   

Subjects:  1. Government - U.S. Government    2. Individual retirement accounts    3. Old age pensions    4. Political Science    5. Politics / Current Events    6. Politics/International Relations    7. Public Policy - Social Security    8. Social security    9. Sociology    10. United States    11. United States - 20th Century    12. American History    13. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    14. Political Science / Social Security    15. Political Science and International Relations    16. Political science & theory    17. Social institutions    18. Social theory    19. USA   

Reviews (8)

Accessible, well-researched, and inspiring
This book is different from anything I have ever read on this subject (and I have read widely in the field).The Battle for Social Security is deeply researched, entertainingly written, and full of insight about the history and political values of the program.The author, who is very highly qualified, obviously believes in those values, but this book does not involve mindless cheering for Social Security, or knee-jerk Bush bashing.Instead, this work thoughtfully and powerfully details the program's creation and expansion, and explains all the very good (and quite traditional) reasons why it remains popular with most Americans.Chapter 16 has some excellent ideas about how to keep Social Security solvent for many years without going down the destructive road of private accounts.If you want a pleasant path to a profound understanding of Social Security, this book is for you.
Not Worth the Read (orthe Money)
This is really an unfortunate book.It reminds one of those "town hall" events that the White House orchestratedfor the foolish "60 stops in 60 days" tour during which President Bush tried to sell his Social Security reform plan to the American public.Like those events, this book is shallow and polemical.Altman divides the history of Social Security policy makers into the good (those who would never think to question or challenge any aspect of the program) and the bad (those who either oppose the program or so much as question any aspect of it).She devotes not a single chapter -- no, not even so much as a page or a sentence -- to a cricital examination of her own preconceptions or to any attempt to understand in a thoughtful manner the positions of those who have critically examined various aspects of the program over the years.This book is a catechism for Altman and the like-minded; there is no serious analysis anywhere within these pages.
Social Security for Christmas!
The Battle For Social Security is both a significant history book and a critically important discussion of one of the most important issues facing our country today.As a baby boomer, I have had numerous discussions with friends who are fearful of what they will live on during retirement. (Often the fear is whether or not they will actually be able to retire.) Though we've all been forewarned to save for our retirement, for many, Social Security will be the primary source of income.This is particularly true in light of the current crisis in private pensions.The Battle For Social Security clearly explains the importance of Social Security and why it must not be changed by a move to private accounts.(If people want private accounts, they already have the option of IRA's and 401(k)'s.) Social Security affects virtually every American, and I want everyone I know to read The Battle For Social Security.That's why it's my gift to family and friends this Christmas!
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Subjects:  1. Government - U.S. Government    2. History    3. Investments & Securities - General    4. Political Science    5. Politics / Current Events    6. Politics/International Relations    7. Public Policy - Social Security    8. Social Security    9. United States    10. 20th century    11. Business & Economics / Investments & Securities    12. USA    13. Welfare & benefit systems   

Subjects:  1. Government - U.S. Government    2. Handbooks, manuals, etc    3. Political Science    4. Politics / Current Events    5. Politics/International Relations    6. Public Policy - Social Security    7. Reference    8. Social Security    9. United States   

Reviews (1)

An Important Biography
This is a story of dedication and public entrepreneurship at its highest level. It's an essential book that should be read and studied by every student of America's social safety net.
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Subjects:  1. Ball, Robert M    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. History    5. Officials and employees    6. Political    7. Political Science    8. Politics/International Relations    9. Public Policy - Social Security    10. Social Security Administration    11. Social security    12. United States    13. United States.    14. American history: postwar, from c 1945 -    15. Biography: general    16. Central government policies    17. Political Science / Social Security    18. USA    19. Welfare & benefit systems   

Subjects:  1. Islam - General    2. Islam and politics    3. Islam and state    4. Islamic countries    5. Middle East - General    6. Political History    7. Political Science    8. Politics and government    9. Politics/International Relations    10. Public Policy - Social Security    11. Religion - World Religions    12. History / Middle East    13. Islam    14. Islamic studies    15. Middle East    16. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    17. USA   

Reviews (3)

Should we keep Social Security limping along?
The authors do a passable job of explaining how Social Security has gotten to where it is.
Only Balanced on the High End
First, the good things.This text gives a general understanding of how the 75-year projection has gone from on-balance in 1983 to off-balance in 2003, it provides many examples of possible errors in the system, and it gives good recommendations to the current system to enhance the ability of Social Security to remain in balance once it has been restored, namely things like adjusting retiree benefits for changes in expected life span over and above projected changes and including a universal legacy charge which does not eliminate the legacy cost but, rather, creates a stable legacy cost over time such that the cost of the system is being borne by all rather than only one generation (ours!).These earn the book 4 stars.
A highly recommended ray of hope
Written by the chair of the board of the National Academy of Social Insurance and a former special assistant to the president for economic policy during the Clinton administration, Saving Social Security: A Balanced Approach Proposes a reform plan for America's social security system that would save it from both its financial problems and those who would do away with it. Focusing on means that promote long-term balance and sustainable solvency, while protecting the program's benefits for the disabled, low earners, widows, and young survivors. Exhaustively researched and deeply entrenched in practical issues and mathematical calculations, Saving Social Security is a highly recommended ray of hope against a looming national crisis. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Government - U.S. Government    2. Government policy    3. Old age pensions    4. Political Science    5. Politics / Current Events    6. Politics/International Relations    7. Public Policy - Economic Policy    8. Public Policy - Social Security    9. Retirement income    10. Social security    11. United States    12. USA    13. Welfare & benefit systems   

Reviews (3)

Best explanation of Soc Sec I've ever seen in print.
I'm a retired Soc. Sec. claims rep and I rate this book as the best explanation of Social Security benefits I've ever seen.The writer's style is great and he has a nice, friendly approach.It's not an easy subject,but he explains things in a simple, understandable fashion.

Excellent.Easy to read. Much helpful information.
Mr. Landis has succeeded in making a very complicated subject comprehensible to the average reader.Allmy questions about how the system works were answered. I appreciated the fact that Mr. Landis wasemployed by the Social Security Administration for many years and was ableto give an insider's account of procedures and benefits.Many thanks forthis very helpful book!

Still the best Social Security book I've found!Read on...
OK, I'm the author and I'm biased.But the other Social Security books out there still seem to be either very poor-quality consumer guides (out of date, inaccurate, or jargon), or the "Social Security is a rip-off and it will crash in a few years" type. My guiding principles in creating this book: --accuracy (gained from many years working at SSA), --plain English, and --lots of concrete examples. There are a few areas where the book has become obsolete: --All the payment figures have increased with inflation. --The 1.45% payroll tax on Medicare no longer has an an earnings cap--it applies to all earnings, no matter how high. --The amount of Social Security benefits included in your taxable income has increased from 50% to 85% for high- income retirees. Otherwise the book is still current.(OK, it's time for a new edition, which I'll complete one of these days!) I invite readers to contact me with individual questions or comments.Happy reading! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Handbooks, manuals, etc    2. Political Science    3. Politics / Current Events    4. Politics/International Relations    5. Public Policy - Social Security    6. Reference    7. Social security    8. United States    9. Computers / General    10. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    11. Reference works    12. Social welfare & social services