Max J. Skidmore is University of Missouri Curators’ Professor of Political Science
and Thomas Jefferson Fellow. He teaches at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Skidmore has been Distinguished Fulbright Lecturer to India, Senior Fulbright Scholar at
the University of Hong Kong, and when he was an arts and sciences dean was awarded a
short-term Fulbright to Germany for administrators. He is a prolific author; several of
his books have been translated into foreign-languages, appearing in Arabic, Armenian,
Chinese, French, Hungarian, Russian, and Spanish editions⎯some under the auspices
of the U.S. Department of State. Although well-known as a scholar of politics and
language, American political thought, political ideologies, and general American
government Skidmore also has published widely in American studies and popular culture,
especially regarding transportation and America’s forgotten early highways. In recent
years, however, in addition to the U.S. presidency, much of his work has dealt with the
politics of Social Security, Medicare, and health care in the U.S. These latter interests
led him to accept the position of editor-in-chief of Poverty and Public Policy: A Global
Journal of Social Security, Income, Aid, and Welfare. Skidmore holds a Ph.D. in American
Studies from the University of Minnesota.

Articles

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Letter: Should Liberals (or Anyone Else) Really Support Social Security "Personal Accounts"?, The Economists' Voice (2009)
Although Konstantin Magin is confident that liberals should support Social Security privatization "enthusiastically," his argument...
 

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Poverty in the Twenty-First Century: Explaining the Need for the New Journal and Describing Its Goals, Poverty & Public Policy (2009)

Max J. Skidmore, Editor-in-Chief of Poverty & Public Policy, explains the need for this new...

 

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"Real Reforms to Enhance, Not Curtail, Social Security" (with George S. McGovern), Montana Professor18 (2007)
 

Books

Securing America's Future: A Bold Plan to Preserve and Expand Social Security (2008)
Analysis of the American system of Social Security, with proposals for expansion and for universal...
 
Moose Crossing: Portland to Portland on the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway (2007)
A history of the northernmost transcontinental road in the US in the1920s and 1930s, including...
 
Politics and Language (with Andrew Cline) (2007)
A collection of essays dealing from various points of view with the political effects of...
 
After the White House: Former Presidents as Private Citizens (2004)
A comprehensive examination of the post presidential careers of America's chief executives.
 
Presidential Performance: A Comprehensive Review (2004)
An evaluation of each president and his administration, and a criticism of presidential rankings.
 

Contributions to Books

"Social Security", Encyclopedia of American Government and Civics (2008)
 
"America's Experience with Populism: Lessons for Europe", Populizm na Przelomie XX-XXI: Remedium Czy Pulapka dia Wspolczesnych Spoleczenst (2006)
 
Social Security Reform, Encyclopedia of Aging (2006)
 
"Fundamentalism's Challenge to Modern Society", Religion in a Changing Europe (2003)