Unsustainable, Un-nerving and Un-American…a book review

America is under attack. But, I’m not speaking of the Islamists and other external forces who want to see an end to our western ways and capitalist system. We’re under attack from within and the means and methods of the war will surprise you…maybe even infuriate you.

Jim MacDougald has just written a terrific book for anyone who wants to fully comprehend the massive “bait and switch” the public sector has been pulling on the private sector over the past decade. While we (private sector employees and employers) worked harder and longer, paid more in taxes and saw our retirement savings funds whittled, the public sector employees (federal, state & municipal) saw increases in salaries, medical benefits, retirement program and pension plans. Is it any wonder that during the past decade the private sector lost three million jobs while the public sector increased its employees by two million? It all sounds lovely. The government created lots of steady jobs with outstanding benefits. What’s to complain about? Well, the complaint is that this massive shift of jobs from the private sector to the public sector is simply not sustainable. Aptly, the name of MacDougald’s immensely eye-opening book is, "Unsustainable."

In the book, the author provides massive detail, thanks to a team of researchers who has been collecting and analyzing this pay disparity data for a couple of years. I warn you, some of the public pay shenanigans, especially the “triple dipping” and “end of career spiking,” will get your blood pressure up. Whatever you do, don’t read this book after reviewing your latest retirement savings statements. At the crux of MacDougald’s thesis is simple mathematics. If the public sector keeps taking more from the taxpayers and small& medium businesses that make up the majority of our economy and uses it it pay itself total compensation (salary, pension, medical, vacation, etc.) at significantly higher rates than the private sector can afford, we will eventually crater our economy under the weight of an unsustainable economic system. The public sector doesn’t produce any revenues itself. It is reliant on the revenues derived from taxpayers and businesses. By adding more employees with greater pay, benefits and guaranteed pension plans, the public sector is adding unfunded liabilities to its future budgets. Because these liabilities are not required to be recorded as long-term debts on the Balance Sheets of our public entities, the massive obligations are hidden from us. Rather than tell us that a state’s budget is woefully inadequate because of the growing unfunded liabilities of out sized pension obligations, governors will trot out the school children and tell us that if we don’t pony up more taxes, then Johnny and Jennifer will suffer a lack of funding for adequate education. Journalists snap the pictures, capture the video and publish the sad stories and the extortion cycle works again.

MacDougald, who is the son of an Army Sergeant, created a highly successful business in the 80’s and 90’s, with thousands of employees. He doesn’t think he could replicate that success again in the present environment. He wrote this book because he felt compelled to share the information with as many people as possible in the hope of educating people and motivating them to take action. It’s the same reason he founded The Free Enterprise Nation, for which he serves as Chairman & CEO. www.thefreeenterprisenation.org

Read the book. See the facts about how government forces unionization. Learn how egregious the tactics are for making sure “civil servants” receive pension plans and lump sum payouts that you can’t get in the private sector. See how seniority trumps performance in our public education system. Arm yourself with the data so you and your family are not fooled again by the budget crisis extortion game. It’s a powerful, well-written book with lots of fresh data, but it is written in a very clear and non-technical manner. MacDougald is not an economist, (though he probably could be and his son is one) so the style and voice he employs is direct and easy to understand. It’s the author’s first book. I hope it’s not his last.