New Books In Public Policy

Over half of Americans approaching retirement age report having no money saved for retirement, but how did we get here as a nation? In his book, Dismantling Solidarity: Capitalist Politics and American Pensions since the New Deal (ILR/Cornell University Press, 2017) Dr. Michael A. McCarthy takes the reader through the historical background of the U.S. pension system. He breaks down the development of the current system into three parts: the spread of employer based private pensions, the financialization and investment of pension funds into the stock market, and the replacement of traditional pension plans with 401(k) retirement plans. McCarthy argues that pensions have moved from being solidaristic, or relying on social systems, to increasingly being tied to risky capitalist markets. Using a rich set of historical archives, he explains how changes in the pension system usually came about in response to economic pressures, for example the end of World War II. By providing examples throughout the book, he delve