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| While America Aged (Unabridged) |  | Author: Roger Lowenstein
Publisher: audible.com
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $15.73
You Save: $14.22 (47%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  12 reviews
Media: Audio Download
ASIN: B0018SCBO6
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Book Description
A Bestselling Author Explains, Via Three Fascinating Stories, How An Upcoming Pension Crisis Threatens to Upset the American Economy. With his trademark narrative panache, Lowenstein unravels the truth about how pensions work in America and illuminates the impending crisis. While America Aged is comprised of three fascinating case studies, set in the Detroit auto industry, among New York City transit workers, and in the city of San Diego. Lowenstein warns that the pension wars that erupted in these industries and cities are only the first. But he also recognizes that workers are entitled to decent security in their retirement--a critical problem as the country ages. Arming readers with knowledge of the consequences of doing nothing, While America Aged is, first and foremost, a call to action. Engaging and informative, this work is presented unabridged on 8 CDs.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 Price August 5, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a rediculous price for a Kindle edition that costs the publisher next to nothing (after the initial conversion to the Kindle format) and that I can't share or sell.
 Terrific Book! July 18, 2008
This is a fantastic read! The book discusses the plight our society faces when the bill comes due on pensions and health benefits for many corporations, city and state governments. It prompted me to look at the state of Nevada pension plan for teachers. The plan is grossly underfunded and guess who gets to pay for these benefits when the plan runs out of money. Me, the taxpayer. As of June 30, 2003, Nevada PERS assets had a market value of $14 billion, but actuarial liabilities of $19.5 billion. 5.5 billion in the hole. The book also woke me up to looking at the balance sheet of a company when considering to invest. For example, I would not invest in GM since the majority of their profits go to pay for the pension and health care plans. As a potential stockholder there would be little money left to distribute to me. The book provides the example .."by the late '90s GM was facing the demographic nightmare.." in pensions. GM is "...down to 180,000 hourly employees, compared with a dizzying 400,000 retirees." GM is an example of what Social Security will look like when the money runs out.
Excellent Book-Really drills home pressures on public plans and collectively bargained plans July 16, 2008
I enjoyed reading this book and it gave me an better understanding on how public and union plans can succumb to the pressures to increase benefits now without having to pay for them until later. Gives a good historical perspective of what was going on at GM, in NYC, and San Diego when their pension plans developed their problems.
One thing that is never explicitly stated is that all these governments and unions that crippled their finances by promising generous postretirement medical benefits must be praying for the enactment of universal health care to bail them out of paying for their promised benefits.
I had to take a star off for the final chapter on what should be done going forward. I suppose after an excellent history lesson, Mr. Lowenstein felt the need to tie his three vignettes together, generalize the lessons here to the state of all US pension plans, and come up with a set of solutions. However, the problems facing public and union pension plans are different from those that have put private pension plans in decline. Private pension plans have been hurt by overregulation and by the high cost and volatility that these plans have on a company's financials under new and evolving accounting standards. A private company can freeze it's plan (if its not collectively-bargained) and many have chosen to do so to provide benefits with 401(k) plans whose costs are easier to control.
The other failing of the last chapter is that, after keeping his politics mostly in check through most of the book, he starts reciting liberal talking points to come up with his solutions. He lauds Hillary Clinton by name for her solution of providing government-paid 401(k) accounts for low income people, but condemns President Bush (along with the right wing) for exaggerating the funding strains on the Social Security system and proposing to partially privatize Social Security with a 401(k)-based solution. After spending the whole book expounding on the problems caused when current benefit promises rely on future cash outlays, he then brushes off the same dynamic when it applies to the Social Security system.
Worthy Praise July 6, 2008
Almost every review here begins with how exceptional Roger Lowenstein is. This review does also. In fact, it's hard to describe how interesting this book really is, considering that the issue at hand is a considered a boring one at that - pensions.
Lowenstein brings an extremely in-depth amount of research to demonstrate truly that happens. The fact that most of the public is still unaware of this shows how what appears to be such a small issue has really undertaken our companies.
The facts and the characters in each example deserve praise. Although we would hope that many of our top executives would not be so short-sighted as to giving unions constant pension raises, Lowenstein is able to demonstrate how unions effectively strong-armed executives into doing so. As I write this, I stare at the analyst reports that declare there is a possibility, although small, of General Motor declaring bankruptcy. Unbelievable.
I would sincerely recommend anyone that has an interest in pensions, or in just any business interest to take a crack at this book. It isn't famous, not like Lowenstein's others, but it certainly is well-written and deserves much praise in keeping what could be a boring topic exceptionally interesting. I don't want to give it all away, but the intricate research that Roger Lowenstein has done shows through with almost every page.
I can't exactly narrow down what it is about his style, but there's an eloquence to it that makes reading his books almost .. as if the book is reading to you.
reasonable fear June 17, 2008
Roger Lowenstein is one of the most accomplished financial writers around. Pensions are a boring subject. Who would ever have drinks, on purpose, with an actuary? Maybe if you were stuck on a plane next to one, and the liquor were free...
Lowenstein is able to make them seem both dramatic and important. Something has escaped our attention. Pension benefits have been piled on by labor unions and politicos without regard to their ultimate cost. Lowenstein makes it pretty clear through several recent and important examples that this is nothing short of a disaster. But why should it matter to us? Because we face a huge pension shortfall as Social Security becomes underfunded, and many states are verging on bankruptcy...
The negotiations Lowenstein depicts are as dramatic as those of The Smartest Guys in the Room - and equally rife with chicanery. Though he's deft with analysis, rendering the complex simple, he's got a knack for characterization and drama that belies what might be considered remote and dull subject matter. Once you read the book though, you won't feel the same way about pensions or even unions - though of course unions have greatly benefited the US at other moments in our history.
So read it and weep! Or get mad and do something about it.
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