When the Good Pensions Go Away: Why America Needs a New Deal for Pension and Healthcare Reform [Hardcover]

Thomas J. Mackell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 4, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0470139757 | ISBN-13: 978-0470139752 | Edition: 1

In When the Good Pensions Go Away, Thomas Mackell suggests remedies to the quagmire that has been created by the conflicting interests of health care and pension service providers, the aging population, and the inertia that has permeated our policymakers. Mackell includes his “Top List” of recommendations that anyone (and hope-fully everyone) can adopt to address the problem that the shift of our benefit programs—from organizations to the shoulders of the individual—has created.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

In our "globalized" economy, fringe benefits such as retirement plans, medical plans, thrift plans, retiree medical programs, and legal service plans seem as outdated as eight-track tapes and the Model T. Pensions have all but disappeared from private industry and health care costs are escalating at an alarming rate. Americans are facing a disastrous future as a nation.

In When the Good Pensions Go Away, Thomas Mackell suggests remedies to the quagmire that has been created by the conflicting interests of the health care and pension service providers, the aging population, and the inertia that has permeated our policymakers. Mackell proposes a "New Deal" for restoring fiscal sanity in Washington, reimposing budget discipline, rolling back irresponsible wartime tax cuts, and investing in America and its people.

Mackell includes his "Top List" of action statements and recommended activities that anyone (and hope-fully everyone) can adopt to address the problem of the shift of our benefit programs from organizations to the shoulders of the individual. Suggestions for initiating nationwide change include a range of possibilities, from creating a new cabinet position devoted to the social and economic implications of long-term demographics to using the power of protest to draw attention to the plight of the American worker.

Engaging and informative, When the Good Pensions Go Away shows that if we are to create a secure financial future, we must forge a twenty-first-century "New Deal" for America that involves everyone—regardless of economic status, reputation, or influence.

From the Back Cover

Praise For When the Good Pensions Go Away

"Thomas Mackell cogently describes the looming crisis in our private sector retirement and health care systems. He passionately calls on our elected leaders to respond with effective and equitable solutions to assure American working families the retirement security they need and deserve."
— John J. Sweeney, President, AFL-CIO

"Three reasons I can recommend Tom Mackell's book without reservation. He writes with an unbridled passion in support of safe pensions and protective health care. Second, he doesn't only criticize the current situation, he searches for solutions. And third, he doesn't waste time dreaming of unattainable 'pie in the sky' solutions but rather, offers a number of specific steps that will help."
— Ian Lanoff, Principal, Groom Law Group

"If you have any concern about what the future of retirement looks like, read this book. Tom Mackell has the practical experience as a financial and pension advisor, and the research credentials to go beyond a sound bite, exposing the gaping holes in America's social insurance system that will leave us all worse off."
— Stephen R. Sleigh, PhD, Principal, The Yucaipa Companies

"Tom Mackell has an acute eye for identifying the seismic shifts that have affected the boomers and their families over the last forty years. This book, assessing the status of pensions and health care, presents a seminal view and should be read by all who care about our nation's future."
— Ken Dychtwald, PhD, CEO, Age Wave, and author, Age Wave, The Power Years, and Workforce Crisis

"Thomas Mackell has compressed a lifelong commitment to the well-being and retirement security of America's workers into a concise and inspiring call to action to address income inequality and the looming retirement crisis in our country. His call for a new compact between government, business, and labor, and for a new activism and engagement by pension fund trustees and participants to hold the investment management industry to account is the baseline for a lasting solution."
— Andy Stern, President, Service Employees International Union

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 172 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (April 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470139757
• ISBN-13: 978-0470139752
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #748,343 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars People...Wake Up!....Before It's TOO LATE!!!, July 26, 2008

By 

counselor - See all my reviews

This review is from: When the Good Pensions Go Away: Why America Needs a New Deal for Pension and Healthcare Reform (Hardcover)

After listening to Bob Brinker (host of Moneytalk) interview Thomas Mackell, I realized that Mackell is a brilliant man with an important message. Unfortunately, most Americans are so mesmerized by sports, celebrities, and inane television programs that they will not discover the looming fiscal crisis that is demographically inevitable. Interestingly, during that interview, Mackell discussed the possibility of intergenerational warfare in the not-too-distant future. For someone who is Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond (and hence a credible, mainstream person) to forecast such a dismal future is almost unprecedented . . . except that Kevin Pezzi, MD, author of True Emergency Room Stories (now available as a free e-book download from the doc's site) made that prediction a decade ago. But what do Americans do? Keep electing politicians who lack the intelligence or courage to face this issue, thus making intergenerational war increasingly likely. Most Americans are so uninformed that they are oblivious to this problem and would likely deem it to be virtually impossible, but such skepticism merely illustrates their ignorance. This disease has no easy cures, but Mackell's book is a wake-up call that might help us avoid electing politicians who will exacerbate the problem. Too bad Mackell isn't running for President; he is smarter and more knowledgeable that the current two candidates combined.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great primer on the current retirement issues in America and how we can work towards solutions, June 20, 2008

By 

Tim P. (Richmond, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When the Good Pensions Go Away: Why America Needs a New Deal for Pension and Healthcare Reform (Hardcover)

Tom Mackell clearly shows the problems we will face if 401K's become the primary source for retirement security. Did you realize that 90% of Americans who have a 401K never change their asset allocation? The American public needs to become more educated about the issues that we are facing as a result of our broken retirement and healthcare systems. Mr. Mackell outlines how a combination factors have led America to the brink of a devastating financial disaster. However, he also goes on to identify how we can begin solving these problems. He identifies a number of attainable steps including the addition of financial literacy to lower school curriculums. He also discusses the pitfalls of our nation's obsession with debt at the personal and government level. Hopefully it will serve as a spring board for us all to address this problem.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for Every Voting Age American, May 13, 2008

By 

Michael C. Pastena - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When the Good Pensions Go Away: Why America Needs a New Deal for Pension and Healthcare Reform (Hardcover)

Tom Mackell coherently and in simple logical terms conveys the true current state of affairs in America. While centering his comments on retirement and healthcare issues he touches on political, cultural, religious, ecological and social factors in an insightful and profound way. This book is a must read for every voting age American - hopefully it will spark the necessary nerve that will result in substantive and productive change. Tom Mackell's dissertation is brilliant!

Michael C. Pastena

President

Advisors' Education Group, Inc.