WHILE AMERICA AGED: HOW PENSION DEBTS RUINED GENERAL MOTORS, STOPPED THE NYC SUBWAYS, BANKRUPTED SAN DIEGO, AND LOOM AS THE NEXT FINANCIAL CRISIS
Book ID/图书代码： 08880007B19488
English Summary/英文概要： In While America Aged, bestselling author Roger Lowenstein explains how corporations and governments ran up ruinous pension and health-care promises to workers—promises that are now coming due and that will hit America like a tsunami if nothing is done.
Negotiating high benefits means gambling with future finances—and when the farm gets sold out from underneath major corporations or public institutions, it affects all of us, and in ways we might not imagine. 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— each an object lesson and a compelling historical saga. The first goes back to the early days of the United Auto Workers and its crusading leader, Walter Reuther, to tell the story of how pensions and health-care obligations destroyed the American auto industry, in particular General Motors.
Lowenstein then shifts the scene to New York City to tell the story of the rise of public pensions and public sector unions through the vehicle of the Communist-led Transport Workers Union. Once again, justifiable benefits were followed by outrageous ones, such as the right to retire at age fifty. The saga reached a dramatic climax in 2005, when workers responded to proposed pension cutbacks with a massive strike that brought New York’s subways and buses to a screeching halt days before Christmas.
In the concluding episode, Lowenstein visits a metropolis even more reckless in doling out benefits—San Diego. Desperate not to impose higher taxes, city officials in this highly conservative enclave cut a series of deals with unions to short-change the retirement system and use pension funds to run the city. A massive scandal ensued—two mayors resigned, officials were indicted, and San Diego lost its bond rating. Lowenstein warns that the pension wars that erupted in Detroit, New York City, and San Diego 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. While America Aged explains how we came to this crisis, and it also proposes a way out. Arming readers with knowledge of the consequences of doing nothing, While America Aged, first and foremost, a call to action.
Chinese Summary/中文概要： 本书中，畅销书作者罗杰•劳文斯汀(Roger Lowenstein)将探究企业和政府对美国工人做出足以招致毁灭的养老和卫生保健承诺的原因和方式。这些承诺如今即将兑现，而它们则像一场海啸随时威胁着21世纪的美国。
随着他标志性的华丽叙述，劳文斯汀分析了三个精彩的研究案例------每一个都是一场直观教学和精彩的历史传奇------去阐明养老金危机是怎样产生的。他首先回溯到1940年代，当时初出茅庐的美国联合汽车工会，被可怕地（不可信的远见）沃尔特•瑞兹引领，在通用汽车争取养老金。随着时间的推移，协会赢取更高利益的成就瓦解------公司最终宣告破产------这个公司曾经是美国成功史上的一个显著标志。而通用汽车的命运在其他公司是具有代表性的。
劳文斯汀接着将场景转换至战前的纽约，证明了在“共产领导运输工人协会”的交通工具上，公共保险的增加。这是一个充满了令人难忘的角色的故事------从迈克尔•奎尔，一个爱挑衅的爱尔兰“移居者中转联盟”的组织者，到约翰•V•林德赛，一个必须去面对奎尔的倒霉市长，再到彼特•卡利寇，一个想要掌握地铁财权的真正的不动产要人。转换保险在起初是合理的，但随着政府允许工人在50岁退休，这个体制便陷入无望的紧张之中。这个故事在2005年达到戏剧化的顶峰，工人们在圣诞前夕提出退休金的要求并举行罢工，而这也使整个城市陷入中断。
养老金危机在圣地亚哥-----一个比起纽约少量发放救济金来说更不计后果的大都市，继续上升。坚持不征收高税，极度守旧的政府部门和协会商议要削减一系列退休体系的资金。在他们精心策划的计谋破产后，联邦控告和财政方面的崩溃迫使当时的市长辞职。
劳文斯汀警告说发生在底特律，纽约和圣地亚哥的养老金战争只是一个开端，政府部门和企业把养老金当成是和协会之间的关系缓和剂（这是因为养老金是由下一代买单）。但如今，累计的养老金赤字已达1，000，000，000，000，结算的日子也随之到来。
有没有解决的办法呢？劳文斯汀指出，工人们有权利在他们退休后获得一定的保障------这是一个当国家步入老龄化的关键问题。他同时也为这个棘手的问题提出了适当的出路。While America Aged不仅仅是一本精彩的经济政治历史，同时也是改革的一张处方。
Awards/获奖情况：
About the Author/作者介绍： Roger Lowenstein, author of three bestselling books, reported for The Wall Street Journal for more than a decade and wrote the Journal’s stock market column, “Heard on the Street,” and also its “Intrinsic Value” column. He is now a regular contributor to The New York Times Magazine, SmartMoney, and Portfolio, among other publications.
罗杰•劳文斯汀Roger Lowenstein，畅销书作者，十多年前因The Wall Street Fournal而被人熟知，之后又写过Fournal’s stock market中的Heard on the Street和Intrinsic Value两个专栏。如今相对于其他出版物，他经常为The New York Times Magazine, Smartmoney，和Portfolio写稿。现今他常来往于牛顿州，马萨诸塞州，西部和新泽西州。
Format:PROOF
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