How does the theme of social security in 'Arguing with Zombies: Economics, Politics, and the Fight for a Better Future' relate to contemporary issues and debates?

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Arguing with Zombies: Economics, Politics, and the Fight for a Better Future

“Zombie ideas” simply refuse to die despite mountains of evidence to disprove them. How do you fight them? Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize winner in Economi...

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The economics of social security is not too complicated: over 99% of social security's revenues go toward benefits and less than 1% for overhead. In countries with privatized systems, the fees are far higher. In Britain, alarm over large fees charged by investment companies led to government regulators imposing a "charge cap." A system with British-level management fees will reduce net returns by over a quarter while increasing risks. Worse, in countries with privatized systems like Britain and Chile, government spending is still necessary to avoid widespread poverty among the elderly.

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Are there examples of countries that have successfully implemented the practices of social security economics as outlined in "Arguing with Zombies: Economics, Politics, and the Fight for a Better Future"?

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Yes, there are examples of countries that have successfully implemented the practices of social security economics. One such example is the United States, where over 99% of social security's revenues go toward benefits and less than 1% for overhead. This is in contrast to countries with privatized systems, such as Britain and Chile, where management fees are higher and government spending is still necessary to avoid widespread poverty among the elderly.

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