Boomer Bust? [2 volumes]: Economic and Political Issues of the Graying Society

by Robert B. Hudson

Overview

Seventy-six million Baby Boomers are careening toward retirement in the United States. Demographic shifts toward aging populations are taking place around the Western world, as a variety of factors—biological, technological, medical, and sociocultural—are extending life spans. Meanwhile, birth rates are declining. The scaremongers argue that this generational shift is going to be disastrous: It will result in skyrocketing tax rates, lower retirement and health benefits, higher inflation, increased unemployment and poverty, political instability, and a host of other societal ills. But will it? In Boomer Bust?, Robert Hudson assembles leading authors from fields such as economics, political science, and finance to separate fact from fiction, highlight the terms of debate, and showcase innovative policies that will prevent disaster from occurring.

From topics like Social Security to older people rejoining the workforce to the elderly as a political lobby, this two-volume set covers the gamut of economic, political, financial, and business issues related to aging. The Boomer generation will leave one of the largest footprints the world has yet seen. In retirement, as in all else, this generation is blazing a path affecting succeeding generations profoundly. Boomer Bust? charts a path through the thicket of personal and public policy choices facing not just Baby Boomers but all of society.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275995492
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	11/03/2008
Series:	Praeger Perspectives Ser.
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	576
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.60(h) x 2.00(d)

About the Author

Robert B. Hudson is professor of social policy at Boston University. Among the world's leading authorities on the politics and economics of aging, he is the author of dozens of articles, book chapters, reports, and presentations on aging and public policy. He is the editor of The New Politics of Old Age Policy, and he serves as editor-in-chief of Public Policy & Aging Report, the quarterly publication of the National Academy on an Aging Society. He received his PhD in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Table of Contents

Volume 1

Preface

Part I: Demographic and Social Profile

1. The Baby Boom Age Wave: Population Success or Tsunami?

Greg ONeill

2. Boomer Diversity and Wellbeing: Race, Ethnicity, and Gender

Jan E. Mutchler and Jeffrey Burr

3. A History of Productive Aging and the Boomers

W. Andrew Achenbaum

Part II: Boomers and the New Economics of Aging

4. The Boomers and Their Economic Prospects

Karen C. Holden

5. Will the Boomers Revolutionize Work and Retirement?

Sara E. Rix

6. The Looming Economics of Boomer Health Care

Christine Bishop

Part III: Boomers and the New Politics of Aging

7. Public Policy and the Boomers: An Expanding Scope of Conflict

Robert B. Hudson

8. The Boomers in Politics: Impact and Consequences

Robert H. Binstock

9. Aging Boomers, Generational Equity, and the Framing of the Debate over Social Security

John B. Williamson and Diane M. Watts-Roy

Part IV: The Boomers and Public Policy

10. Population Aging, Entitlement Growth, and the Economy

John Gist

11. Private Pensions and the Boomers: How Much is Enough?

Jack VanDerhei and Craig Copeland

12. Medicare in the Image of the Baby Boom Generation

Edward F. Lawlor

13. Long-Term Care Policy as an Investment in Baby Boomers and Future Generations

Michelle Putnam

14. Differential Treatment by Age: Age Discrimination or Age Affirmation?

John Macnicol

15. Aging Policy as Family Policy: Expanding Family Leave and Improving Flexible Work Policies

Steven K. Wisensale

About the Editor and Contributors

Volume 2

Preface

Part I: The Financial World of the Boomers

1. Boomers and the Many Meanings of Work

Michael A. Smyer, Elyssa Besen, and Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes

2. Redesigning Work for an Aging Labor Force: Employer and Employee Perspectives

Diane S. Piktialis

3. Entrepreneurial Strategies in Later Life

Edward G. Rogoff

4. Planning for the Boomers Future: The Emergence of Financial Gerontology

Neal E. Cutler

5. Living and Leaving: Financial and Estate Planning for Boomers

Donald Ray Haas

Part II: The Civic World of the Boomers

6. Providing New Opportunities for Voluntarism and Civic Engagement for Boomers: Chaos Theory Redefined

Laura B. Wilson and Karen Harlow-Rosentraub

7. Gearing Up for the Big Show: Lifelong Learning Programs are Coming of Age

Ronald J. Manheimer

8. Booming Opportunity: Philanthropy, Aging, and Recognizing That the Glass Is Half Full

Robert Martin and Alan Pardini

9. Evaluating Images of Aging in the Print and Broadcast Media

Maria D. Vesperi

10. Better Together: Generational Reciprocity in the Real World

Donna M. Butts and Jaia Peterson Lent

Part III: The Social World of the Boomers

11. Living Large While Living Small: The Spatial Life of Aging Boomers

Philip B. Stafford

12. Getting Around: Meeting Aging Boomers Mobility Needs

Lisa J. Molnar and David W. Eby

13. Multigenerational Bonds, Family Support, and Baby Boomers: Current Challenges and Future Prospects for Elder Care

Judith G. Gonyea

14. Who Will Care? Building the Geriatric Long-Term Care Labor Force

Mary F. Harahan and Robyn I. Stone

About the Editor and Contributors

Editorial Reviews

"Editor Hudson (social policy, Boston U.) and contributors note that in the USA alone, over 76,000,000 baby boomers are careening toward retirement. While they acknowledge that the generation that demanded sports utility vehicles and birthing rooms may present an extraordinary challenge to eldercare, it is not necessarily true they will cause skyrocketing tax rates and decreased retirement and health benefits for later generations. They also explain how, with proper management of available resources, the retirement of massive numbers of baby boomers will not necessarily increase inflation, cause political instability, create generational conflict, or reduce services to others in need. They separate fact from fear as they explain proven policies that consider demographics and the social profile of boomers, explain how private personal finance options can shoulder some of the load, and comment on mitigating factors such as green living, mobility and advances in elder care." - Reference & Research Book News

"Highly recommended. All readership levels." - Choice

From the Publisher