Syndetics cover image
Image from Syndetics

Downhill from here : retirement insecurity in the age of inequality / Katherine S. Newman.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt and Company, [2019]Copyright date: ©2019Edition: First editionDescription: 322 pages : illustrations ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781250119469
  • 1250119464
Subject(s):
Contents:
Teamsters in trouble -- White-collar damage -- Municipal blues -- Gray labor -- Two-tiered agreements and the dilemmas of Gen X -- Retiring on next to nothing -- Keeping the promise / by Rebecca Hayes Jacobs
Summary: A sharp examination of the troubled state of retirement in America shares sobering insights into how the real estate crash and limited social security are preventing retirement and inducing widespread poverty in aging Baby Boomers.Summary: "As millions of baby boomers reach their golden years, the state of retirement in America is little short of a disaster. A third of Americans have no retirement savings at all. The real estate crash wiped out much of the home equity that millions were counting on to support themselves later in life. And the typical Social Security check covers less than 40 percent of preretirement wages--a number projected to drop to under 28 percent within two decades. Elder poverty, a problem we thought was solved by the New Deal, is poised for a resurgence. With dramatic statistics and vivid portraits, acclaimed sociologist Katherine S. Newman illuminates America's abandonment of a social contract: the promise that decades of hard work would bring about a secure old age. The resulting crisis touches us all, cutting across class lines and generational divides. White-collar managers have seen pensions vanish; truckers have had their benefits cut in half; bankrupt cities like Detroit have walked away from their commitments to municipal workers. And for Generation X, the prospects are even worse, as benefit cutbacks have targeted younger workers in particular. Only the vaunted '1 percent' can face retirement without fear. Other countries are also confronting demographic challenges, yet they have not abandoned their seniors. [This book] makes it clear that America, too, can--and must--do better."--Dust jacket.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 306.3809 N553 Available 33111009319068
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A sharp examination of the looming financial catastrophe of retirement in America.

As millions of Baby Boomers reach their golden years, the state of retirement in America is little short of a disaster. Nearly half the households with people aged 55 and older have no retirement savings at all. The real estate crash wiped out much of the home equity that millions were counting on to support their retirement. And the typical Social Security check covers less than 40% of pre-retirement wages--a number projected to drop to under 28% within two decades. Old-age poverty, a problem we thought was solved by the New Deal, is poised for a resurgence.

With dramatic statistics and vivid portraits, acclaimed sociologist Katherine S. Newman shows that the American retirement crisis touches us all, cutting across class lines and generational divides. White-collar managers have seen retirement benefits vanish; Teamsters have had their pensions cut in half; bankrupt cities like Detroit have walked away from their commitments to municipal workers. And for Generation X, the prospects are even worse: a fifth of them expect to never be able to retire. Only the vaunted "one percent" can face retirement without fear.

Other countries are confronting similar demographic challenges, yet they have not abandoned their social contract with seniors. Downhill From Here makes it clear that America, too, can--and must--do better.

Text in English.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

A sharp examination of the troubled state of retirement in America shares sobering insights into how the real estate crash and limited social security are preventing retirement and inducing widespread poverty in aging Baby Boomers.

"As millions of baby boomers reach their golden years, the state of retirement in America is little short of a disaster. A third of Americans have no retirement savings at all. The real estate crash wiped out much of the home equity that millions were counting on to support themselves later in life. And the typical Social Security check covers less than 40 percent of preretirement wages--a number projected to drop to under 28 percent within two decades. Elder poverty, a problem we thought was solved by the New Deal, is poised for a resurgence. With dramatic statistics and vivid portraits, acclaimed sociologist Katherine S. Newman illuminates America's abandonment of a social contract: the promise that decades of hard work would bring about a secure old age. The resulting crisis touches us all, cutting across class lines and generational divides. White-collar managers have seen pensions vanish; truckers have had their benefits cut in half; bankrupt cities like Detroit have walked away from their commitments to municipal workers. And for Generation X, the prospects are even worse, as benefit cutbacks have targeted younger workers in particular. Only the vaunted '1 percent' can face retirement without fear. Other countries are also confronting demographic challenges, yet they have not abandoned their seniors. [This book] makes it clear that America, too, can--and must--do better."--Dust jacket.

Teamsters in trouble -- White-collar damage -- Municipal blues -- Gray labor -- Two-tiered agreements and the dilemmas of Gen X -- Retiring on next to nothing -- Keeping the promise / by Rebecca Hayes Jacobs

Powered by Koha