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How a Generation Created—and Destroyed—the World’s Prosperity The United States is coming off a period of growth and prosperity unlike anything the world has ever seen before. Like a surfer riding a gigantic fifty-foot wave, the economy has been carried by consumer spending from the largest demographic group in history. It was truly a phenomenal time. Unfortunately, that wave has hit the beach. As boomers pass their peak spending years, we will enter an unprecedented demographic winter, something as yet unknown to the modern world. But, despite the tough times, author Jerry Tuma believes that there are things we can do as individuals and as a nation to succeed and prosper. Armed with demographics statistics and thirty years of economic and financial planning expertise, he provides insight into topics such as…
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction 1
Part 1 Getting Ready for the Demographic Winter
1 Paradigm Shift in Real Time 5
2 Fallacies That Rule the World 19
3 Bubble, Bubble, Toil, and Trouble 41
4 Bracing for the Big Chill 61
5 Boomernomics: Pensions and Retirement Issues 87
Part 2 Preparing for the Springtime
6 Infants, Immigration, Adoption- Creating the Next Boom 105
7 Growing Your Way Into Prosperity 117
8 Globalization: The Future That Has Yet to Be Written 127
Part 3 Hunkering Down for the Long Winter
9 Triage 151
10 Grizzlies vs. Black Bears 167
11 Weathering the Financial Storm 185
12 The Call 199
Conclusion: Are You Ready? 211
Appendix A "What in the World Is Going On?" by Herbert Meyer 215
Notes 227
Index 241
Overview
How a Generation Created—and Destroyed—the World’s Prosperity The United States is coming off a period of growth and prosperity unlike anything the world has ever seen before. Like a surfer riding a gigantic fifty-foot wave, the economy has been carried by consumer spending from the largest demographic group in history. It was truly a phenomenal time. Unfortunately, that wave has hit the beach. As boomers pass their peak spending years, we will enter an unprecedented demographic winter, something as yet ...