Will America Grow up Before it Grows Old : How the Coming Social Security Crisis Threatens You, Your Family and Your Country

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Summary: Peterson is a prophet
Review: I have read this book and it scares me to death. People my age must realize that doing nothing is tantamount to giving our futures away. We must come to terms with the fact that there are 76 million Baby Boomers approaching retirement age, and there is no national plan to accomodate their pension and health needs. And to complicate matters, the problem is already occurring elsewhere around the world. Just read Peter Peterson's newest book, Gray Dawn.

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Summary: A few thoughts
Review: This book addresses the problem of growing government entitlement programs for Americans in light of limited resources for providing them.Yes, everyone should be aware of the funding problems. Mr. Peterson should be thanked for bringing out a book on the subject. The color graphs are quite attractive. The writing is quick and easy to read, but even though he says he is not an alarmist, that's the impression he gives. There are many assumptions which readers usually swallow whole and that's what is wrong with the presentation.The book states that Americans do not "save" enough and that the Japanese save more. It infers that the Japanese are better off. In comparison to the amount Americans have in terms of goods and services, the Japanese have much less to consume.First, Americans as a whole save as much as any people in other industrialized countries. Our saving is not just at the bank, but involves mortgage payments, insurance premiums and employer pensions. Very few people in Japan own or are buying their homes. If we counted ALL savings of Amnericans, it would equal savings of people in other countries.If in fact, greater "saving" is responsible for a growing economy and a higher standard of living, why has Japan with its high saving rate been in a recession for the past seven years? (During the same time period the U.S. economy has been growing more prosperous.) The graph on page 24 shows how many American workers are needed to support each U.S. social security beneficiary for selected years between 1955 and 2040. In 1955 it took 8.6 workers, in 1995 it was 3.3 workers per retiree and by the year 2040 there will be only two workers per beneficiary. (In 1995 workers AND retirees all had more of material goods than in 1955.)This is the same kind of projection that was used years ago when at the turn of the century it took 50 percent of the working population to provide enough food for everyone else in the country. Everyone thought it was an ominous sign that so many young people were leaving the farms and that there was sure to be shortages of food unless the trend was stopped.Well, by the 1930's we had food surpluses which continued right through the 1980's even though only two percent of the working population is in farming. Even now, if we did not sell our surplus farm products overseas, we would have surpluses. In the U.S. today it takes one average farmer to produce enough food to feed 90 people. Only a few decades ago it would have seemed impossible. Its not obvious what method was used to get the numbers on the federal government's "red ink" chart on page 18, but just recently a review of the federal government's report for 1995 indicated that the accumulated federal debt of approximately $20,000 (liability) per U.S. population is compared to $205,000 of public assets per U.S. population. There are very few organizations of any kind that have such a favorable balance.Yes, there should be more reliance on private funds for medical care for the elderly and also some level of means test. But also keep in mind that spending on medical care causes people to live longer and people living longer results in more spending on health care. If old people had to pay for life-lengthening medications, they might not spend as much and health care companies would not have the profits to fund more advanced products to keep more people living longer. Think of the implications--investments, employment, life spans, etcOut of the complications we see that with or without government involvement, the industries that grow and prosper are the ones that get funded, either privately or by government. Each area of decision-making is made up of lots of individual choices which together move mountains.We agree that no one should have the idea that people should rely on social security benefits to fund their retirements. As far as the past is concerned, people with ONLY social security have NOT lived real high. Mr. Peterson is right when he says that young people do NOT expect to live on social security benefits when they retire. And, so, THAT finding may be the solution yet.