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The MIT Press

Book Review of "The Coming Generational Storm - What You Need to Know about America's Economic Future" by Laurence J. Kotlikoff and Scott Burns

Table of Contents and Pilot Sample Chapters

In 2030, as 77 million baby boomers hobble into old age, walkers will outnumber strollers; there will be twice as many retirees as there are today but only 18 percent more workers.  How will America handle this demographic overload?  How will Social Security and Medicare function with fewer working taxpayers to support these programs?  According to Laurence Kotlikoff and Scott Burns, if our government continues on the course it has set, we'll see -

(i)         skyrocketing tax rates;

(ii)        drastically lower retirement and health benefits;

(iii)       high inflation;

(iv)       rapidly depreciating dollar;

(v)        unemployment; and

(vi)       political instability.

The government has lost its compass, say Kotlikoff and Burns, and the current administration is heading straight into the coming generational storm.

But don't panic. To solve a problem you must first understand it.  Kotlikoff and Burns take us on a guided tour of our generational imbalance, first introducing us to the baby boomers -- their long retirement years and "the protracted delay in their departure to the next world."  Then there's the "fiscal child abuse" that will double the taxes paid by the next generation.  There's also the "deficit delusion" of the under-reported national debt.  And none of this, they say, will be solved by any of the popularly touted remedies: cutting taxes, technological progress, immigration, foreign investment, or the elimination of wasteful government spending.

So how can the United States avoid this demographic/fiscal collision?  Kotlikoff and Burns propose bold new policies, including meaningful reforms of Social Security, and Medicare.  Their proposals are simple, straightforward, and geared to attract support from both political parties.  But just in case politicians won't take the political risk to chart a new direction, Kotlikoff and Burns also offer a "life jacket" -- guidelines for individuals to protect their financial health and retirement.

Laurence J. Kotlikoff is Professor of Economics at Boston University.  One of the nation's leading experts on fiscal policy, national saving, and personal finance, Kotlikoff is the author of Essays on Savings, Bequests, Altruism, and Life-Cycle Planning (2001), Generational Policy (2003), The Coming Generational Storm (2004).

Dallas Morning News personal finance columnist Scott Burns is nationally syndicated by Universal Press.  His column can be read on the Web at www.scottburns.com and on MSN's MoneyCentral, one of the three largest financial Web sites.

Reviews
"excellent and scary"
-- Nicholas Kristof, New York Times

"...Kotlikoff and Burns proffer plenty of evidence to back up their claims."
-- Anne Wagner, National Journal

"This is a book any serious investor should absorb and act upon."
-- Jonathan Chevreau, National Post