What If Boomers Can't Retire? How to Build Real Security, Not Phantom Wealth: How to Build Real Security, Not Phantom Wealth

by Thornton Parker

Book Overview

Parker debunks the popular but dangerous myth that inflating stock prices creates national wealth. He reveals what can be done to avert disaster for future retirees.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1576751120
• ISBN13: 9781576751121
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Unusual and upsetting message

This book's message is both unusual and upsetting. Author Thornton Parker questions conventional wisdom about financial planning for retirement. He draws on his varied background - including jobs in government and private sector financial planning - and discusses the influence that baby boomer retirement investments have on the stock market. He examines how the stock market creates wealth, why stock prices get inflated and who benefits. Contrary to what most experts in the investment, retirement and mutual fund industries tell their clients, Parker believes the "phantom wealth" that boomers have accumulated with their stock market investments is a time bomb. He suggests some changes, but given the greed and power he detects behind the creation of phantom wealth, his voice is probably not loud enough to make a difference. If his scenario unfolds, retirement certainly will not mean golden years for aging boomers. We recommend a look at Parker's proposals to investment advisers, HR professionals and people planning their retirement. If he's right, ignoring his warnings could lead to a distorted economy and increased income gaps between rich and poor.

Important piece of work

Great summary of where we are today, with the current ponzi scheme of retirement that relies on the stock market infinite price growth.As people below said, the author is quite weak on the solution side, but that's mostly because there isn't any simple one, and they clearly missed the point, which is the main purpose of the book to awaken folks and make them understand what is really going on.The book is very easy to read and more intelligently written than few others discussing this topic.The author provides a lot of relevant references and allow you to dive into these issues if you'd like.

A vital, timely, level-headed financial preparedness book

In What If Boomers Can't Retire?: How To Build Real Security, Not Phantom Wealth, Thorton Parker draws upon his more than forty-five years of diverse experience and expertise in government and business management, strategic planing, finance and accounting, as well as policy development, to present the reader with a solidly written, informative and "user friendly" guide to protecting personal financial interests, including preparing for stock market downturns, scandals, and ultimately end up being able to enjoy a retirement that is not dependent upon social security. A vital, timely, and level-headed financial preparedness book, What If Boomers Can't Retire? is a "must read", not only for people of the Baby Boom generation, but for Gen-Xers and anyone else who must plan for their retirement despite the vagaries and volatilities of the stock and bond markets.

A really good / very bad book

The title is misleading. This book is very good about the subject "What if Boomer's Can't Retire" and very poor on what to do about it, or as the title states, "How to Build Real Security, not Phantom Wealth".I am a relatively young (30) investor and this books makes me think long and hard if I want to get into the speculation game. Note the term "speculation", because this book clearly points out the problems with today's workforce "speculating" in the market by buying low hoping to sell to someone at a higher price, vs. what my grandparents did, which was to buy a stock and retire on the dividends it paid, otherwise known as "investing".Since everyone is "speculating" in the market via paper wealth, at some point they will need to turn it into real cold cash. But who are they going to sell their overpriced stock to? Hello anyone? The demographics are not in the boomer's favor! As a Gen-X, I clearly understand that my generation will not be able to support the Boomer's social security system...how in the world will we buy their stock portifolios? Especially if my social security taxes double or triple?And so goes this wonderful section of the book. As a lot of money chases few stocks, capitalism dictates a seller's market and prices go up. In a few years, the opposite will be true as a lot of paper chases too few dollars of younger workers. What to do? That is where this book falls on its face. I get a little suspicious at points because, as another reviewer states, he seems to really press the fact that privitizing social security is a bad idea. Maybe he is right, but let's keep the politics out of this book, as it shows bias. And it also focuses on society as the cure for all ills, which, if I lived in France, maybe I'd agree with. Basically the book states that if you think you will retire rich via the markets, think again. Wealth for the MASSES comes from hard work and frugality, not by picking stocks.

What If Stock Multiples Plummet When Baby Boomers Retire?

I have read no better book concerning issues about retirement costs for Americans born between 1946 and 1964. Although too limited analytically in some areas, many valuable observations are made that will stimulate your thinking. This book should become the basis for a thoughtful national discussion, and much personal introspection. This book points out a key limitation of many investing books. Those often assume that future stock-price growth will be like the past. A thoughtful exeption to that conventional wisdom is provided by Harry S. Dent, Jr. who projects two extended downturns as the average age in the United States increases, resulting in abrupt shifts in consumption and savings. Mr. Parker intelligently uses that forcast to considre its consequences, while Mr. Dent continues to focus on the likely bull market through 2008.The key argument in this book (as documented by Mr. Dent's work and Mr. Parker's analysis) is that stocks are a dangerous way to fund your retirement unless you sell them all out long before 2008. Earnings growth of larger companies is probably going to slow in the subsequent decades and stock-price multiples will plunge. The book also contains many thoughtful analyses about the focus on creating ever higher stock-price multiples that are encouraged by such ideas as EVA (tm). This creates "phantom" stock-price-based profits that cannot be used or spent by most people, and which will eventually evaporate in the scenario described here. Seeking higher cash flow returns is certainly not the only way to add value to a company, a community, and to a society. The book argues for refocusing economic activity on providing more employment, more sustainable profits, greater social and community benefits, and services that seniors will need. The book argues that savings be funneled into smaller, newer companies that will not receive standard venture capital funding. The author opposes having any of Social Security funds be invested in publicly- traded stocks. The primary scenario considered is one whereby the next generation cannot and will not pay more than a certain amount to fund retirement for seniors. The ratio of employed-to-retired is now about 3.4 and will drop to about 2.1 around 2030 (when Social Security payments to the government will no longer cover expected pension payouts). Some seniors will have to get by on smaller pensions, and many will see their savings either be too small or shrink in value as stock price multiples decline. There will be a lot of unemployed and needy seniors, as a result. How will they survive? Mr. Parker thinks about society in systems terms (see The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge). The greying of America has many more consequences than just for Social Security. But most of the discussion to date has focused on that area. Where, for example, will we get enough nurses and other health care workers? I suspect that we are about to enter a period when it will make a great d