Facing old age

"Facing old age" by Abraham Epstein is a social policy study written in the early 20th century. It argues that modern industrial life, inadequate wages, and weakened family support leave many Americans unable to sustain themselves in later years, and it evaluates charity, savings, and pension schemes—domestic and foreign—to press for a constructive public solution. The opening of the study is an explicit call for social action: Epstein, drawing on intensive work in Pennsylvania, concludes that only organized social insurance or public pensions can meet the problem that private charity and employer plans fail to solve. An introduction by John B. Andrews situates old age alongside accident, sickness, and unemployment, noting America’s recent progress on compensation and mothers’ aid while stressing that old-age poverty remains largely hidden and untreated outside public-employee systems. The first chapters contrast earlier social orders—where elders retained roles or support—with the modern factory system that “scraps” older workers, shows why most cannot save amid rising living costs and fractured families, and traces the almshouse as the all-too-common end. Epstein then marshals data: the elderly share of the population is growing even as employment after 55 drops sharply, disability days climb steeply with age, and hazardous trades (steel, mining, railroads) force many out before 60; union rolls contain few members over 60.

Facing old age, by Abraham Epstein. Republished by OpenStories from Project Gutenberg eBook #77562.