While America Aged

How Pension Debts Ruined General Motors, Stopped the NYC Subways, Bankrupted San Diego, and Loom as the Next Financial Crisis.

The origins of the current financial turmoil may be difficult to comprehend. But the roots of what will possibly be the next will be clear for all to see.

Governments and private companies have pledged to provide pensions for a growing number of elderly that could no longer be supported by a dwindling population of the economically active. For decades, workers have enjoyed full income with no work once they hit the golden age. Some have gotten away with up to 30 years of no work and free money. But now the pool is running dry and someone has to foot the bill.

America’s pension problem has manifested itself in several industrial and municipal disputes. Author Roger Lowenstein has meticulously documented them in an almost blow-by-blow fashion. ‘As America Aged’ offers a historical perspective into one of the most significant economic issues facing tomorrow’s generation.

The problem takes on more intricate dimensions considering the amount of debt that the boomer generation has been piling on these past decades. Sadly this angle has not been addressed by the author. What happens when they to join the retirement band and start to claim pensions? The crisis is looming but few have realised the inevitable.