The New Politics of Social Security

Fay Lomax Cook

IPR working papers from Institute for Policy Resarch at Northwestern University

Abstract: Congress abolished Aid to Families with Dependent Children in 1996, and some argue that "Social Security as we know it" is next. This paper shows that a politics of apparent consensus about Social Security has become a politics of clear dissensus. To illustrate the politics of Social Security, the paper presents a new framework which uses a metaphor of theater. At center stage are debates among policy elites who differ both on the extent of the Social Security problem and on the solution. The media are the chorus, interpreting the events on the stage to the audience, telling a discordant story about how even the experts cannot agree. Above the stage is the proscenium arch, containing the factors that provide the context of the debate - the demographics of an aging society, historical circumstances, and the economic climate. Members of the public - as in traditional theater - are the spectators, removed from the stage and seated in the audience, being "played to" by the elites on stage. The disagreements and confusion among the elite actors on the stage undermine the watching public's confidence in the long-term viability of Social Security, though their support for the program remains high. Beginning in January 1998, the President and several foundations and interest groups have attempted to engage the public more actively in deliberations about the fate of Social Security by involving them in town meetings, forums, and other discussions. Thus, applying the framework of theater, the current effort is to transform traditional theater into interactive theater as the public moves onto center stage along with the policy elites. Finally, the paper overlays an agenda-setting framework on the theater framework and concludes by arguing that Social Security appears to be ripe for change.

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