Who Stole the American Dream? Can We Get It Back?
New York : Random House, [2012]
Format: Book
Edition: First edition.
Description: xxxi, 557 pages ; 24 cm
Pulitzer Prize winner Hedrick Smith's new book is an extraordinary achievement, an eye-opening account of how, over the past four decades, the American Dream has been dismantled and we became two Americas.
In his bestselling The Russians, Smith took millions of readers inside the Soviet Union. In The Power Game, he took us inside Washington's corridors of power. Now Smith takes us across America to show how seismic changes, sparked by a sequence of landmark political and economic decisions, have transformed America. As only a veteran reporter can, Smith fits the puzzle together, starting with Lewis Powell's provocative memo that triggered a political rebellion that dramatically altered the landscape of power from then until today.
This is a book full of surprises and revelations--the accidental beginnings of the 401(k) plan, with disastrous economic consequences for many; the major policy changes that began under Jimmy Carter; how the New Economy disrupted America's engine of shared prosperity, the "virtuous circle" of growth, and how America lost the title of "Land of Opportunity." Smith documents the transfer of $6 trillion in middle-class wealth from homeowners to banks even before the housing boom went bust, and how the U.S. policy tilt favoring the rich is stunting America's economic growth.
This book is essential reading for all of us who want to understand America today, or why average Americans are struggling to keep afloat. Smith reveals how pivotal laws and policies were altered while the public wasn't looking, how Congress often ignores public opinion, why moderate politicians got shoved to the sidelines, and how Wall Street often wins politically by hiring over 1,400 former government officials as lobbyists.
Smith talks to a wide range of people, telling the stories of Americans high and low. From political leaders such as Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, and Martin Luther King, Jr., to CEOs such as Al Dunlap, Bob Galvin, and Andy Grove, to heartland Middle Americans such as airline mechanic Pat O'Neill, software systems manager Kristine Serrano, small businessman John Terboss, and subcontractor Eliseo Guardado, Smith puts a human face on how middle-class America and the American Dream have been undermined.
This magnificent work of history and reportage is filled with the penetrating insights, provocative discoveries, and the great empathy of a master journalist. Finally, Smith offers ideas for restoring America's great promise and reclaiming the American Dream.
Praise for Who Stole the American Dream?
"[A] sweeping, authoritative examination of the last four decades of the American economic experience." --The Huffington Post
"Some fine work has been done in explaining the mess we're in. . . . But no book goes to the headwaters with the precision, detail and accessibility of Smith." --The Seattle Times
"Sweeping in scope . . . [Smith] posits some steps that could alleviate the problems of the United States." --USA Today
"Brilliant . . . [a] remarkably comprehensive and coherent analysis of and prescriptions for America's contemporary economic malaise." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Smith enlivens his narrative with portraits of the people caught up in events, humanizing complex subjects often rendered sterile in economic analysis. . . . The human face of the story is inseparable from the history." --Reuters
In his bestselling The Russians, Smith took millions of readers inside the Soviet Union. In The Power Game, he took us inside Washington's corridors of power. Now Smith takes us across America to show how seismic changes, sparked by a sequence of landmark political and economic decisions, have transformed America. As only a veteran reporter can, Smith fits the puzzle together, starting with Lewis Powell's provocative memo that triggered a political rebellion that dramatically altered the landscape of power from then until today.
This is a book full of surprises and revelations--the accidental beginnings of the 401(k) plan, with disastrous economic consequences for many; the major policy changes that began under Jimmy Carter; how the New Economy disrupted America's engine of shared prosperity, the "virtuous circle" of growth, and how America lost the title of "Land of Opportunity." Smith documents the transfer of $6 trillion in middle-class wealth from homeowners to banks even before the housing boom went bust, and how the U.S. policy tilt favoring the rich is stunting America's economic growth.
This book is essential reading for all of us who want to understand America today, or why average Americans are struggling to keep afloat. Smith reveals how pivotal laws and policies were altered while the public wasn't looking, how Congress often ignores public opinion, why moderate politicians got shoved to the sidelines, and how Wall Street often wins politically by hiring over 1,400 former government officials as lobbyists.
Smith talks to a wide range of people, telling the stories of Americans high and low. From political leaders such as Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, and Martin Luther King, Jr., to CEOs such as Al Dunlap, Bob Galvin, and Andy Grove, to heartland Middle Americans such as airline mechanic Pat O'Neill, software systems manager Kristine Serrano, small businessman John Terboss, and subcontractor Eliseo Guardado, Smith puts a human face on how middle-class America and the American Dream have been undermined.
This magnificent work of history and reportage is filled with the penetrating insights, provocative discoveries, and the great empathy of a master journalist. Finally, Smith offers ideas for restoring America's great promise and reclaiming the American Dream.
Praise for Who Stole the American Dream?
"[A] sweeping, authoritative examination of the last four decades of the American economic experience." --The Huffington Post
"Some fine work has been done in explaining the mess we're in. . . . But no book goes to the headwaters with the precision, detail and accessibility of Smith." --The Seattle Times
"Sweeping in scope . . . [Smith] posits some steps that could alleviate the problems of the United States." --USA Today
"Brilliant . . . [a] remarkably comprehensive and coherent analysis of and prescriptions for America's contemporary economic malaise." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Smith enlivens his narrative with portraits of the people caught up in events, humanizing complex subjects often rendered sterile in economic analysis. . . . The human face of the story is inseparable from the history." --Reuters
Contents:
The challenge from within -- Power shift. The business rebellion : the power shift that changed American history ; The pivotal Congress : Jimmy Carter and 1977-78 Democrats ; Middle-class power : how citizen action worked before the power shift ; Middle-class prosperity : how "the virtuous circle" worked before the new economy -- Dismantling the dream. The new economy of the 1990s : the wedge economics that split America ; The stolen dream : from middle-class to the new poor ; The great burden shift : funding your own safety net, crippled by debt ; The wealth gap : the economics "of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1%" -- Unequal democracy. The new 2000s power game : why Congress often ignores public opinion ; The Washington-Wall Street symbiosis : the inside track of "the money monopoly" -- Middle-class squeeze. Broken promises : bankrupting middle-class pensions ; 401(K)'s : do-it-yourself : can you really afford to retire? ; Housing heist : prime targets : the solid middle class ; The great wealth shift : how the banks eroded middle-class savings ; Offshoring the dream : the Wal-Mart trail to China ; Hollowing out high-end jobs : IBM : shifting the knowledge economy to India ; The skills gap myth : importing IT workers costs masses of U.S. jobs -- Obstacles to a fix. The missing middle : how gridlock adds to the wealth gap ; The rise of the radical right, 1964-2010 : assault on the middle-class safety net ; The high cost of imperial overstretch : how the U.S. global footprint hurts the middle class -- Challenge and response. Reclaiming the dream : a domestic Marshall plan : a ten-step strategy ; Politics : a grassroots response : reviving the moderate center and middle-class power -- Appendix. Stolen dream timeline : key events, trends, and turning points, 1948-2012.
Subjects:
Political culture -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
Political culture -- United States -- History -- 21st century.
Polarization (Social sciences) -- United States.
Middle class -- United States -- Economic conditions.
Middle class -- Political activity -- United States.
Public interest -- United States.
Income distribution -- United States.
Divided government -- United States.
United States -- Politics and government -- 1945-1989.
United States -- Politics and government -- 1989-1993.
Political culture -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
Political culture -- United States -- History -- 21st century.
Polarization (Social sciences) -- United States.
Middle class -- United States -- Economic conditions.
Middle class -- Political activity -- United States.
Public interest -- United States.
Income distribution -- United States.
Divided government -- United States.
United States -- Politics and government -- 1945-1989.
United States -- Politics and government -- 1989-1993.
ISBN:
9781400069668 (alk. paper)
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Call Number | Location | Shelf Location | Status |
HISTORY North Am. US Modern Smi | Main (Downtown) | Third Level, Nonfiction | In |