A blistering examination of corporate greed and avarice.
Readers are no stranger to the grumblings of their corporate overlords: Pensions are untenable; health-care costs too high; retiree benefits hurt competitiveness. But according to Pulitzer Prize–winning Wall Street Journal reporter Schultz, employee pensions actually make money for corporations, and the funds diverted from them help feather the beds of multi-millionaire executives. She exposes all this and more in a rapid-fire narrative. Individual stories of retired men and women (some with more than 40 years of service) robbed of their nest eggs put a human face on the proceedings. The extent of corporate obfuscation is nearly incalculable, but the author does a stellar job breaking it all down, succeeding where regulators, lawyers and members of Congress have failed. Schultz's debut is a significant call to action, and ignoring her findings would be inadvisable. Her story of a minivan full of diabetic and cancer patients forced to travel more than 100 miles just to have their day in court should alone be enough to spur new reforms. Schultz unleashes an undeniably powerful and penetrating look into corporate money-making machinations and the havoc inflicted on rank-and-file employees.
Essential reading for anyone who works for a living.
