When the Boomers Bail

 

This book, authored by Mark Lautman, is an economic survival guide for community leaders. As the industrialized world slowly recovers from the Great Recession, many communities face an new economic threat.  A structural shortage of qualified workers is creating a zero-sum labor market that forces communities to steal talent from each other in order to survive and grow. The cause of this impending economic disaster: Boomers who didn’t have enough kids to replace themselves, and an education system that has failed to properly prepare students for the rising technical demands of today’s market.

Add to that 78 million-soon-to be retired Baby Boomers who will go from high earning producers to resource sapping dependents. Any community unable to attract and hold talent will join a growing number of economically doomed places where economic development is impossible. This suddenly makes deciding where to live or invest a much higher stakes game.

When the Boomers Bail details the causes of the problem, explains how it changes the game and what communities can do about it.