John Attarian, economist and journalist, and one of the leading experts on the history and economics of Social Security, died suddenly, December 31, 2004, at the age of 48. He was born November 25, 1956, and received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in Economics in 1985. He worked as an independent writer, author, and novelist.
His book Social Security: False Consciousness and Crisis (Transaction, 2003) is the most comprehensive treatment on the subject to appear yet, and makes a strong case against the program and against attempts to employ the language of privatization in an attempt to shore up it up. David Gordon reviews this book here.
Paul Gottfried wrote that “Attarian combines a detailed knowledge of economics and economic policy with an elegant writing style. In his hand, economics ceases to be the dismal science and leads instead to witty prose.”
He also wrote “The Roots of the Social Security Myth,” a concise history of the OASDI program published in the series “Essays in Political Economy.” His article “Another Greenspan Social-Security Reform“ unmasked the 1983 reform and warns against another.
