Pension Power

. In "Pension Power," Isla Carmichael argues that unions could ? and should ? have a new role to play in the economy by gaining control over their members? pension funds.

Many pension plans provide a poor return. A minority offer fantastic value. Pension Power explains how to ask the right questions and identify the winners.

The vast majority of Canadians are blissfully unaware that every man, woman and child in Canada now owes a $35,000 share of government debt and must pay this back, with interest! Make no mistake, this debt will change our country and affect every single Canadian in the decades to come. You may think you have planned for your retirement and are safe, but the government must find a way to recover this borrowed money, and they can only do that by raising your taxes and reducing your hard-earned benefits. How did this debt come about, and why can't we simply pay it off? Pension Ponzi lays the blame squarely at the feet of the politicians who refused to stand up to Canada's public sector unions. The fact is Canada's public sector, which accounts for 20% of the workforce, has been grossly overpaid relative to their counterparts in the private sector with cushy pensions paid for with your taxes and new debt. There is no denying that the country does not have the financial resources to ensure that the next generation of Canadians will have the same standard of living as the ones before it-or to support our growing seniors population. Meeting our public sector pension obligations will break the current social safety net that is a pillar of the Canadian way. Can you escape this bleak future? Can you afford to live longer? Nationally-recognized pension expert Bill Tufts and award-winning journalist Lee Fairbanks explore how this catastrophe came about and then suggest ways that government can fix what's broken, and how you as an individual can protect yourself from the financial calamity that is about to engulf Canada.

In 2011, the 'Baby Boom' generation will begin to retire. Bythen, the stark reality of the 'greying' of the population inNorth America and Western Europe will have brought the inadequacies ofthe state and private pension systems home to all levels of society,and the pension crisis will be actual rather than impending. In ThePolitical Economy of Pensions, Richard Deaton explores the factorsinvolved in this high-profile issue of public policy and shows theinsufficiency of recent reform initiatives in Canada, the UnitedStates, and Britain. Four converging considerations explain theimminence of the pension crisis.

U.S. PENSION FUNDS are now worth more than $7 trillion, and many people believe that the most important task for the labor movement is to harness its share of this capital and develop strategies that will help, rather than hurt, workers and unions. Working Capital challenges money managers and today's labor movement by asking how worker's hard earned savings can be put to use in socially and economically progressive ways. Responsible management of pensions will create greater growth and prosperity in America, and the authors of Working Capital show that the long-term interests of pension plan beneficiaries are well served through a "worker-owners" view of the economy. This book builds on the work of the Heartland Forum supported by the United Steelworkers of America, the AFL-CIO's Center for Working Capital, and several foundations, including the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, to draw together the wisdom of a number of experts on labor's next best moves in the pension market.