Revelle Forum: Roger Lowenstein on Pension Debts

Financial journalist and author Roger Lowenstein predicts the cause of the next widespread economic crunch as he excerpts his new book, "While America Aged: How Pension Debts Ruined General Motors, Stopped the NYC Subways, Bankrupted San Diego, and Loom as the Next Financial Crisis." Series: Revelle Forum at the Neurosciences Institute [6/2008] [Public Affairs] [Business] [Show ID: 14382]

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Pension
• debts
• Lowenstein
• economy

[jmichaelwilson]

@squizzbutt how would allowing the US banking system system to fail be a good thing?

[squizzbutt]

@jugomang Honestly, what's more offensive to me is the homeowner who EXPECTS the banks to write down the principle. If you bought a house with the bubble in full bloom and you put down basically 0%, then you were speculating and looking to make easy money, like the banks. So, why would that homeowner feel entitled to a bailout? They gambled...they lost. I was against the bank bailouts and against any bailouts. Failure IS an option...but I fear the USA can't handle that concept any longer.

[squizzbutt]

@jugomang I've seen Roger on a number of business/economic pundit shows and I would guess he's for throwing the book at those acting with fraudulent intent. But most banks played by the rules. They were just behaving irresponsibly and much riskier than they should have. All parties were sucked into housing by greed...period. Banks, homeowners, pension fund managers, etc. all got caught up in the tide. If you put basically 0% down, then nothing is stopping you from mailing the keys.

[bamatommy]

@ellwoodl I think the main reason Part D was added was because it was a huge windfall for insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies.

[DaRkJaWs42]

@Stan1208 How stupid could you people be? Did you actually read Lowenstein's book? One of the biggest problems he mentioned, especially with regards to San Diego, was the lack of political will(or simply being ideologues that didn't believe in it) in raising taxes. What a fool.

[DaRkJaWs42]

@jugomang Talk about idiocy. There is nothing criminal about walking away from your debts. It was in the 1700's when there was debtors prisons, not the 1900's. If you'd rather this be the 1700's, then run for office and say so...idiot.

[jugomang]

Just read this guy's article entitled "walk away from your mortgage", suggesting that since Wall Street is myopically self interested, homeownwers should be as well. So, rather than calling for the prosecution of INDIVIDUAL corporate criminals, to address the core issue of INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBLITY, Roger recommends the "if you can't beat 'em join 'em / two wrongs make a right" argument. So Roger PROFITS from an article encouraging more short term SELF interested social behavior. Hypocrite.

[ellwoodl]

Stan, the next president might have less of a problem to fix if a Republican Congress and Republican president hadn't expanded pensioners' medical entitlements (welfare) in the form of Part D Medicare (drug benefit) in order to buy pensioners' votes.

[Stan1208]

It is a huge problem. And we have Mr Wonderful, Barack "Tax" Obama to fix it. Lord help us.