Borzutzky Discusses Social Security with Congress
Silvia Borzutzky, Associate
Teaching Professor at the Heinz School and the Department of Social and Decision
Sciences, recently met with Republican and Democratic members of the Senate
and House, and members of the House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee
to talk about the findings contained in her book, "Vital Connections:
Politics, Social Security and Inequality in Chile."
The meetings included a discussion of what Congress should be cognizant of with regard to Chile's experience in moving to a private social security system in 1980. She will continue to serve as a resource to policy makers as they move forward with developing related legislative measures.
Borzutzky's research interest has two major foci: social security policies and human rights issues. She has been studying politics and social security policies and politics in South America for the past 20 years. From her standpoint social policies are just an expression of the political system that created the policies and she is interested in looking at the political processes that generates the policies, as well as their impact on the society. Her book on Chile discusses Chilean politics and social security policies in the 20th Century. Chile was the first country to fully privatize its social security system and consequently the book contains a thorough analysis of the privatization process. She is currently researching President Bush's proposal to partially privatize social security in the US and the lessons that US policymakers can learn from the Chilean experience. She has also written on politics in other South American countries and on Cuba.
Borzutzky also works on human rights issues in South America with a special focus on the role of the judiciary during the transition to democracy and to the protection of individual rights.