Introduction

This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part presents a brief tour of old-age dependency policies in preindustrial England, many of which were imported to the New World by the colonists. It describes the recurring tendency to scapegoat the elderly for the economic problems of society and to reduce public benefits in favor of private resources. Conservative critics of the Social Security program make much of the fact that because it is a “pay-as-you-go” system, retirees are actually being supported by the payroll taxes levied on workers, just as their work life contributions were used to fund benefits to earlier cohorts of retired workers. The vast demographic and social changes that affect family and family-like relationships are also reshaping the way in which estates are planned and bequests allocated. The part provides an increase in contested wills as family members struggle for power and property.