The New Inequality of Old Age: Implications for Law
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Anne L. Alstott
Abstract
Inequality isn’t just for the young anymore. People over age sixty-five face large and growing inequalities in health, wealth, work, and family. The widening gap between better- and worse-off older Americans has begun to undermine legal institutions that once worked to correct inequality, including Social Security, Medicare, private pensions, and family law. In this Article, I briefly document the inequalities that have transformed old age in the last fifty years (or so) and then analyze three common justifications for reform: budget solvency, inequality, and progressivity. I show that each of these falls short of the kind of principled justification that will be needed to justify cutting benefits, raising taxes, or both.
© 2017 by Theoretical Inquiries in Law
Articles in the same Issue
- Theoretical Inquiries in Law
- Introduction
- International Tax and Global Justice
- How Charitable Is the Charitable Contribution Deduction?
- Inequality Rediscovered
- Competence, Desert and Trust — Why are Women Penalized in Online Product Market Interactions?
- Income Inequality: Not Your Usual Suspect in Understanding the Financial Crash and Great Recession
- The New Inequality of Old Age: Implications for Law
- Forces of Federalism, Safety Nets, and Waivers
- Putting Distribution First
- What’s Law Got to Do with It? Crisis, Growth, Inequality and the Alternative Futures of Legal Thought
- In Memory of Tamara Lothian
Articles in the same Issue
- Theoretical Inquiries in Law
- Introduction
- International Tax and Global Justice
- How Charitable Is the Charitable Contribution Deduction?
- Inequality Rediscovered
- Competence, Desert and Trust — Why are Women Penalized in Online Product Market Interactions?
- Income Inequality: Not Your Usual Suspect in Understanding the Financial Crash and Great Recession
- The New Inequality of Old Age: Implications for Law
- Forces of Federalism, Safety Nets, and Waivers
- Putting Distribution First
- What’s Law Got to Do with It? Crisis, Growth, Inequality and the Alternative Futures of Legal Thought
- In Memory of Tamara Lothian
