Driven by uncontrolled deficit spending, a mounting national debt and rising interest rates on that debt, the U.S. government will go into default within the next 20 to 30 years. The resulting crisis will change the political landscape beyond recognition. It will mean the end of American empire, and it will shred the retirement safety net for tens of millions of Boomers and the generations that follow. Boomergeddon details how runaway health care costs and a global shift from capital surplus to capital shortages will create a death spiral of mounting national debt, rising interest rates and soaring debt payments. The author also explains how partisan gridlock and the power of the entrenched political class in Washington, D.C., will thwart the painful changes needed to return the country to fiscal sustainability. The final chapters give Boomers a primer on how to survive Boomergeddon and, if they want to undertake the herculean task, how to avert it.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
An award-winning business journalist, the author worked 16 years at Virginia Business magazine as editor and then publisher. He subsequently launched Bacon's Rebellion, a public policy newsletter and blog, and then joined the Boomer Project, a market research firm specializing in marketing to Baby Boomers. Now he contributes to Generational Advisor, a publication that provides generational perspectives to financial advisors.
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More About the Author
A former publisher and editor-in-chief of Virginia Business magazine, Jim Bacon developed his expertise in Boomer demography and economics as editor of the Generational Advisor newsletter. He now publishes the Bacon's Rebellion and Boomergeddon blogs. He lives in Richmond, Virginia, with his wife and son, and has two grown daughters. As a member of the Boomer generation, he was part of the so-called "silent majority." His children find it difficult to believe that he was ever "silent" about anything.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By Stephen Nash
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Don't be fooled by the author's occasional swipes at liberals. This book's no Tea Party screed, but its refreshing approach takes both the "elephant clan" and the "donkey clan" to the woodshed, and relentlessly.
Boomergeddon's analysis of what's gone haywire is lucid, appropriately gloomy, but leavened with humor and good sense. That's a rare gift for readers -- it makes what could be a numbing diatribe an easy and highly informative read. Check out the section titled "Sex, drugs and rocky road ice cream."
As for the author's proposed remedies...that's the beginning of an excellent conversation! One especially insightful chapter offers advice at the individual level, including the revolutionary but inarguable: stop buying so much stuff.
For fixes at the macro level -- government policy -- my long-time friend Jim has pulled together a truckload of solid research, and interpreted it compellingly. Buy this book, read it, take it seriously. Listen well to its critics. Then "give yourself a slap on your big, fat Boomer booty," as the author advises, and make some careful plans.
Boomergeddon's analysis of what's gone haywire is lucid, appropriately gloomy, but leavened with humor and good sense. That's a rare gift for readers -- it makes what could be a numbing diatribe an easy and highly informative read. Check out the section titled "Sex, drugs and rocky road ice cream."
As for the author's proposed remedies...that's the beginning of an excellent conversation! One especially insightful chapter offers advice at the individual level, including the revolutionary but inarguable: stop buying so much stuff.
For fixes at the macro level -- government policy -- my long-time friend Jim has pulled together a truckload of solid research, and interpreted it compellingly. Buy this book, read it, take it seriously. Listen well to its critics. Then "give yourself a slap on your big, fat Boomer booty," as the author advises, and make some careful plans.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By C. Spencer
Format:Paperback
This is an important work, essential reading for anyone with a future. Bacon lays it all out and explains why our ship of state is headed for an enormous iceberg of its own creation. He explains what we--the citizens--must do and have our representatives do to melt the iceberg of debt.
This is not some tedious, wonkish lecture. It is not a rehash of party lines. Bacon is fiercely independent and is unafraid to let all sides have it if they deserve it. Tapping his deep experience with the political classes and their machinations, and fortified by a bolus of skepticism, Bacon has poured over primary sources--the budget, OMB's statements and a trove of other documents--and made the case that government is completely out of control, is indisposed toward self-control, and that Boomergeddon is coming unless we act now.
It's chilling. It's delightfully written. It's absolutely fascinating. It will change the way you think about policy and politicians.
This is not some tedious, wonkish lecture. It is not a rehash of party lines. Bacon is fiercely independent and is unafraid to let all sides have it if they deserve it. Tapping his deep experience with the political classes and their machinations, and fortified by a bolus of skepticism, Bacon has poured over primary sources--the budget, OMB's statements and a trove of other documents--and made the case that government is completely out of control, is indisposed toward self-control, and that Boomergeddon is coming unless we act now.
It's chilling. It's delightfully written. It's absolutely fascinating. It will change the way you think about policy and politicians.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By C. Gillispie
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Jim has done an extraordinary job of compiling and assimilating data relevant to our economic future and well-being. Some may be put off by his acknowledged "conservative" position but in reality he does a good job of cutting through or going above politics and ideology to examine immutable facts like the impact of interest rates or the result of different tax revenue assumptions. This is not an apology for any political point of view.
This is not a book to enjoy. But it is an extremely valuable read and resource for anyone who wants to have an informed conversation about viable economic and socio-economic policy. For example, if the reader is passionate about making health care available to all Americans, he or she must understand that there is cost, that it must be paid and have a credible strategy to do so. Or, if we consider ourselves rational and think that increased taxes is the answer or some form of austerity is the answer, we need to know what it is we are answering and the basis of that conviction. This book provides the data and resources to formulate or defend those positions.
Jim writes in a chatty, bloglike easy-to-read manner. The pain in reading the book is the enormity and complexity of the topic and the myriad issues to be incorporated into one's analysis but, like chemo-therapy must be endured to combat cancer, understanding the patterns of this informational quilt is essential to tackling the issues. Read it. It's worth it.
This is not a book to enjoy. But it is an extremely valuable read and resource for anyone who wants to have an informed conversation about viable economic and socio-economic policy. For example, if the reader is passionate about making health care available to all Americans, he or she must understand that there is cost, that it must be paid and have a credible strategy to do so. Or, if we consider ourselves rational and think that increased taxes is the answer or some form of austerity is the answer, we need to know what it is we are answering and the basis of that conviction. This book provides the data and resources to formulate or defend those positions.
Jim writes in a chatty, bloglike easy-to-read manner. The pain in reading the book is the enormity and complexity of the topic and the myriad issues to be incorporated into one's analysis but, like chemo-therapy must be endured to combat cancer, understanding the patterns of this informational quilt is essential to tackling the issues. Read it. It's worth it.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Eye Opener
Great book...gives a perspective of reality that everyone should understand and plan for. The world is changing fast, and this book gives the reader one perspective that needs to... Read more
Published on December 7, 2010 by R. Macauley
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not A Boomer
A very informative and well written screed. I am glad I am from the earlier generation.They wouldn't dare run out of money for me.
Published on November 26, 2010 by Pico
5.0 out of 5 stars
A compelling wake up call.
This book is a must read for anyone concerned with their retirement future. Moreover, It is a compelling and scholarly work that puts into perspective for the layman the critical... Read more
Published on November 20, 2010 by james grey
5.0 out of 5 stars
Provides much food for thought
A little over sixty years ago, one of the biggest surges of births in history struck the United States as Americans returned home after World War II. Read more
Published on November 11, 2010 by Midwest Book Review
5.0 out of 5 stars
Insightful and Wittily Engaging!
Boomergeddon is a delightful read. The first chapter gives you a sense of what is to come. In a witty and biting writing style, Bacon unravels the lies and deceptions that... Read more
Published on September 23, 2010 by J. B. Wight
3.0 out of 5 stars
Familiar theme updated
The belief that the U.S. government is headed for bankruptcy has been written about before. See, e.g. Read more
Published on September 21, 2010 by William Whipple III
3.0 out of 5 stars
Boomergeddon: Useful but superficial
"Boomergeddon" is a useful, breezy primer on the problems confronting the U.S. as its Baby Boomer population ages and face what the author believes to be a rising firestorm of... Read more
Published on August 28, 2010 by Peter A. Galuszka
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