5 comments about Global Business Today.

1. The book covers nearly all subjects under globalization. In the first part, it describes the environment of global enterprise. In the second part, it discusses about strategies. The examples given in the book are good and specific for the subject. However they are not the recent ones. In such a fast growing business environment, the examples should be much more recent. The most recent ones are from 1994. For example it only covers Asian crisis in the postscript. Therefore I would recommend a book which has recent data and examples in it.



2. I use this as a text for an undergrad capstone course in International Business Strategy. Hill is co-author of a fine Strategic Management text, and much of the treatment in that text is evident here.

   The underlying economic arguments for firm behavior in their international and global activities are well presented. I ask my students to look over the concepts presented in this text, and then apply them to HBS case studies we discuss together in class.

   Compared to alternative texts on interntional/global strategy from George Yip (Global Strategy 2/E), or either of two from Bartlett and Ghoshal (Managing across Borders, 2/E, or Multinational Management), this one is more digestible for undergrads (vs. the MBA or other grad level courses these other texts appear to be targeting). It also makes a nice text for Intro to International Business undergrad courses.

   If you can order the text without the CD-ROM (unless you want to assign an international business plan, of course), all the better.

   For an overview of IB with grounding in the economics/strategy vein, there are few better texts. This one is also better value for the money than most out there, which your students will thank you for.




3. The seller stated book was new. It had wear on it and the front page was cut out where the CD should have been. I was very dissappointed in the condition. It was too late to return it as class was starting.
   This is the only time I was ever disappointed. Usually extremely satisfied.



4. I got this book cause it was cheaper to buy it from amazon than through the campus bookstore. I didn't care for content.



5. Well normally I would give it a much better review but I never got my product!!!

5 comments about Chain of Blame: How Wall Street Caused the Mortgage and Credit Crisis.

1. Well written, well researched and has the juicy stuff too. A broker standing on his desk yelling at the loan reviewers to go faster, faster, faster in approving loans (so he can get his commission). Great background on Angelo Mozila, the king of subprime, and a fun story about Lewie Ranieri, whose Texas employees thought they were getting a mob boss instead of a banker.
   
   It will make you laugh, and make you cry because government has given away the bank to the crooks again. These crooks are in suits and rob all of us with a pen. U.S. taxpayers, investors, and pension funds will be trying to choke down these bad loans and ABSs for a long time.



2. I really liked this book - it is well written and describes the main actors of the mortgage market meltdown in a very engaging way. Back in the mid-90s I was working as an analyst for a bank that participated in syndicates that underwrote warehousing lines of credit for - among others, for Countrywide - and provided other services for mortgage companies. The authors explain very well how the how the mortgage markets work: from the homebuyer to the (far removed) overseas investor. They point out where the system may (and did) brake and how the unrealistic assumption about ever appreciating real estate market made many quite smart people lose their wits.
   
   So, what we see in the course of the book are a lot of "greedy" business people. However, they did not operate in a vacuum and what is missing in the book is the "greedy" consumer. I'm not taking away any responsibility from unscrupulous mortgage brokers, but they dealt with the consumer that threw caution through the window, too. The "ticking bomb", i.e. ARM resets were described in the loan documents - many just chose to ignore them, basing their "hopes" on the same assumptions as the "savvy" business executives - growing real estate values and low interest rates...Ultimately, shouldn't we all be responsible for prudently managing our finances?
   
   The authors bring an example of foreclosure raved Slavic Village in Cleveland. It is a sad part of the book - but the question comes to mind: why do we need to approach mortgage borrowers like we would easily deceived children?
   
   I think, the book would be more valuable if it addressed this link of the chain, as well.



3. An easy & engaging read. It connected most, if not all, of
   the financial dots for me.



4. Do your eyes glaze over when commentators try to describe the financial products that were at the heart of the recent real estate boom? The mortgage boom? This book described the instruments clearly--and gives the reader a great sense of what was fundamentally wrong with the whole process. The title is "Chain of Blame," but there is plenty of blame to go around.
   
   The book is well written and lucid. Nonspecialists can understand it well. I heard talking heads on TV and radio described tranches, REITs, "liar loans," "warehouse line of credit," and so on. The authors describe these terms--and others--clearly and in such a way that the reader can begin to see what had happened--and why the meltdown in the mortgage world should not be seen as so surprising.
   
   It is also the story of clever businessmen and women, who could develop new tools for investment from subprime loans. Subprime loans, simply, are (Page 325): "A loan originated by a lender that is A- to D in quality. Consumers with the best credit ratings. . .are considered 'A' credit quality." In short, loans are being made to purchasers who carry some to a lot of risk. If they can't keep paying their mortgages, the house of cards can fall down. And that is, in short, what happened (although the story is quite a bit more complex than that).
   
   Among the innovators were pioneers such as Roland Arnall (of Ameriquest and Argent) and Bill Dallas (of Ownit Mortgage Solutions). Then, those who adopted practices of the innovators, such as Angelo Mozilo of Countrywide.
   
   The book makes pretty clear that a number of factors contributed to the mortgage problem. Regulators didn't get involved; Wall Street firms ignored the volatile nature of subprime loans in a desire to realize enormous profits; banks bought into the profitable business.
   
   Anyway, if the reader wants a well written, if not overly deep, analysis of the mortgage crisis, this is not a bad place to start.



5. Excellent book and worth reading. Beware that it might make you angry just like the energy scandals did a few years ago. Offers considerable insight and information that would be very useful to business schools for their students. Recommended reading for professors to include in their markets and business ethics courses. Kudos to the authors for a well researched and written book.

5 comments about The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy: An Economist Examines the Markets, Power, and Politics of World Trade.

1. The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy: An Economist Examines the Markets, Power, and Politics of World Trade
   
   This is not just a fun book which you might infer from the title. It is also informative, scholarly with a light touch, and humane - - treating an apparently trivial subject with breadth and depth in exploring the larger consequences of international trade and the tensions between poor and rich countries. Highly recommended.



2. Worst of both worlds - claims to be anecdotal to get around having to have too much actual information (other than the more boring parts of the history of the American textile industry, but trades in interesting anecdotes for general suppositions and a couple sucess stories.
   The last section is very cool and interesting and saves this book from the bin. If you get it, skip to the end.



3. Allow me to provide a more descriptive title for this volume: What I did last summer + a history of cotton growing in America + a history of cotton mills around the world + a brief history of Shanghai + a brief history of child labor + a brief history of labor activism + a brief history of workplace safety regulations + a not-at-all-brief history of US textile protectionism + a characterization of the international market for used clothes. Interesting? Often.
   
   In the course of all these histories - occasionally interspersed with a reminder that we are following Rivoli's t-shirt around the world - we jump from England to Japan to Texas to West Africa; we leap back and forth (and back and forth) from century to century. By the middle of the book, I had gotten dizzy and wished it had been a long magazine article.
   
   But in fact, the second half is the most interesting. Rivoli gives a detailed history of textile protectionism in the United States, giving a peek into the dizzying, constantly morphing tariff and quota systems as well as the huge bureaucracy the system supports. And finally, she gives an illuminating description of what happens to the t-shirts after they get donated to the Salvation Army and how they make it to market stalls in East Africa.
   
   Rivoli is an economist and so recognizes that her inherent leaning is toward free trade, but she argues for the value of both sides of the textile battle, both the free traders and the student demonstrators.
   
   The first half of the book feels too long (even though it isn't that long), and Rivoli's strength is in illuminating description rather than careful analysis. But if you get bored, just skip ahead to the next chapter: There's plenty to choose from!
   
   [I listened to the unabridged audiobook narrated by Eliza Foss, published by Recorded Books. The reading is fine, but Foss's voice is too syrupy sweet and storybookish for 8 CDs (think the voice-over narration from Desperate Housewives).]



4. This is easy to read and understand, written in an engaging and conversational style, with some important insights into the mysteries of crop subsidies, textile quotas and the fate of donated clothing. It's a great illustration and analysis of globalization in action.



5. Upon first glance, it might appear that this book details economic aspects of a
   single industry, namely that of T-shirts. You'd be mistaken. It instead offers
   an insightful look into several different aspects of T-shirt production,
   including agriculture, factory working conditions, free trade (and
   lack thereof), and concluding with the world-wide used T-shirt market. Each of
   these sections could merit a book topic in its own right, but Ms. Rivoli has
   wonderfully combined them into a single book ripe for reading.
   
   Learn about the history of cotton production, including the rise of American
   production and why it's still on top. (Hint: the American government has more
   than a small role, but farm subsidies aren't the major reason.) Learn about the
   back-room political dealings that ensure that some of your clothes come from
   Bangladesh and Mexico instead of China, even though China could provide them for
   less (and why it might be a good idea to keep things that way). Learn about what
   happens to a used T-shirt once it's donated to the Salvation Army, and how it
   might end up being sold in a Kenyan's clothing stall instead of your local
   thrift store.
   
   There is not a dull moment to be found in the book, and in fact seems to get
   more interesting as the book wears on. If there is any fault with the book, it
   is that the book was published in 2005 which means that the revised textile
   trade agreements from 2006 have been left out. A revised edition would be
   appreciated. Luckily, that's the only fault I have with the book. Highly
   recommended.

5 comments about The Wealth of Nations (Bantam Classics).

1. If you have any interest at all in Economics, you'll want to go to the source. This is the source. Adam Smith lays the groundwork for the study of Economics in this very readable treatise.
   
   Though he is discussing 18th century Britain, the topics he discusses have direct analogs in the modern American economy. Taxes, trade, money, monopoly, tarrifs, and international trade balance are all tackled with aplomb.
   
   He really lays into Mercantilism and blasts the protectionism it engenders. Never anything less than a champion of the common man, Smith decrys monopolies and other taxes on those most unable to afford them. Though he seems to be a total free marketeer, he takes great pains to examine the types of taxes which would be useful and prudent for a government to levy.
   
   Once or twice may be fine, but Smith uses this construction for almost every sentence in the book. It is just a stylistic gripe, but the length and complexity of each sentence make digesting the information quite a bit more difficult than it otherwise could have been. I would not be at all disappointed to see this book translated to a more modern style.
   
   Again, if you're interested in Economics at all, this book is the place to start. There is so much good information here to be absorbed and pondered. I recommend it highly.



2. I had to buy this book for a class that I hated and almost couldn't force myself to read it. I had such a hard time with it and found it incredibly boring and confusing. I would never read this book for fun. Unfortunately it does talk about a lot about important things and I could sound like an educated person if I had read it but I just can't understand it. Maybe when I'm over 50 I'll be more interested since I might have a genuine interest in what the book talks about, instead of being forced to read it for a class that I hated so much.



3. I reread (more like re-scanned) Adam Smith's famous book, The Wealth of Nations. It is a fairly aggressive book based on its size with almost 1,000 pages of fairly fine print of which half of it is dedicated to the supply and demand of corn. But it is surprisingly readable and even interesting. And it is the basic textbook of all economics.
   
   Wealth is defined as production capability or what we might call GDP.
   
   I figure with a changing economy, it never hurts to brush up on the basics. We are in a period of sharp changes in supply and demand. It is important for business leaders to try to understand what impact this will have on them and their companies.
   
   One principle that Adam espouses is the division of labour.
   
   He also talks about principals, those are the people that supply the capital that is put to use by the agents (people who apply the capital). His view is that people should not do both, they should do one or the other. It is an interesting thought.
   
   He is very harsh on protectionism (as am I).
   
   I am not going to recommend reading it because the size is too daunting for many people. I am suggesting thinking of the changes in our economy and how to thrive with them.



4. Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith is a great read for anyone wanting to know the foundations of economics and how money works in our world. I listened to this downloadable book as an audiobook from Stratobooks.com while I commuted to and from work. I got through it in just a few days and it was less than 5 bucks.



5. Conquering Scarcity: (Smith's Dialectical Relationship to Marx?)?
   Adam Smith is certainly one of the greatest political philosophers in the modern tradition. Our world, as some have argued, is principally the byproduct of the system that Smith outlined in this classic work, together with a judicious mating of John Locke and Thomas Hobbes. The "Wealth of Nations," though the most well known of Smith's writings, is not representative of his entire system of thought, if he has a system: Some authors insist that there is a paradox in Smith's work, when considered in light of "The Theory of Moral Sentiments"? I do not know if this is the case, but the degree to which Smith's ideas have shaped our world cannot be questioned: If it were questioned in this forum, one would only have to point to the existence of this forum to show that Smith was right; the global structure of capitalism today and its development, which has been explored by thinkers after Smith is an undeniable fact. For these reasons, Adam Smith is, in my judgement, one of the most important thinkers in modernity, and he may well have a stake in shaping an arguably post-modern world: But that is not, perhaps, the last word.

No comments about International Economics: Theory and Policy plus MyEconLab plus eText 1-semester Student Access Kit (8th Edition).

5 comments about International Business.

1. If you don't mind your information being written from the Western, pro Big-Business, capitalist view, the bias conveyed throughout the text won't be a problem. But if you are looking for something objective, something to fairly present the concepts associated with globalization, search elsewhere.
   
   In the first two chapters alone, several instances of bias are written into the text. For example, in the first chapter, protesters of the WTO are referred to as "anarchists" and in the second chapter the difference between communists and social democrats is claimed to be that communists use violence in their revolutions. This is clearly not the case. While historically this may be true of the revolts, this is not even close to the fundamental difference between the two groups. For the first example, it can be seen that thousands of people gather to protest the WTO and it is certain that a select few, if any, consider themselves anarchists.
   
   It is clear where the author stands!



2. exact product at an affordable price w a smooth transaction



3. I've used previous editions of this text in my international business course, and have decided to adopt this one as well. The text does a great job of hitting every topic that international business people/corporations need to know. The text covers country differences, economics, strategy, and corporate functions.
   Another Amazon review incorrectly suggested that the author of this text is biased politically and in favor of larger firms. If the author intended to introduce a political bias in the text he certainly could have done it with the cases, but it is clear from reading such cases as the Kellogg Brown & Root case on page 190 that the author has no particular axe to grind. It is, in short, simply impossible to guess the author's political orientation.
   The book also has no bias in favor of larger firms. The business school in which I teach is (in fact) oriented towards entrepreneurship and smaller firms. The text was selected, in part, because the information imparted would be just as valuable to small firms as it would be to the large. The author specifically addresses the topic of "mini-multinationals" as well as topics that would be of interest primarily to smaller firms.



4. Great book for my MBA course in International Business. It is well organized, full of clearly defined principles, and loaded with case studies.



5. Having used Global Business Today, by the same author, in a prior class, I knew this author to be competent and complete. International Business (7th ed) is a continuation of that same completeness and competence. His writing style is somewhat dry, but he gets the point across. My problem is that Amazon failed to ship the "registration card," required to access online content, along with the supposedly new book. This may have been mishandling on their part. Essentially, if someone purchasing this book also wishes to use the online content, it will now cost an extra $30. A feature that would be free, if the registration card were in the book.
   
   I tried to shop Amazon to save money, but I guess I will get all of my textbooks on campus from now on.
   
   D. Sanford

5 comments about The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time.

1. You, being a smart person who is up on contemporary debates in economics and development and/or are a reader of Vanity Fair, probably already know all about Sachs and this book.
   
   Sachs made his name giving "shock therapy" to various third world economies. He recommended they jack up interest rates, and pushed them towards neo-liberal free market structures. His career hit a bit of a bad patch when he was associated with the economic meltdown of the former Soviet Socialist Republic. This book is his recommendations for development in Africa.
   
   Sach's ideas at base are pretty simple - Sub Saharan Africa needs lots and lots more aid. This aid should be put to use curing easily defeatable diseases and establishing local agrarian and, eventually, manufacturing economies. Oh, and right wing type who say that more aid won't fix the problem are wrong. That's about it.
   
   I think Sach's has this all about half right. More aid is a good idea, but alone, and in the style he suggests, I doubt it will lead to an end to poverty. Paul Collier's more nuanced book The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It, which I just finished, and will review soon, gives a better battle plan for dealing with seriously troubled countries. Sach's plan is a little too throw-money-at-the-problem for me.
   
   Still, this book is worth a read. If you're going to talk about world poverty now a days (and I tend to talk about world poverty a lot), you going to have to know what Sach is up to. He is by far the biggest name in the field. He may not always be right, but he's the player that you need to know about.



2. The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Out Time by Jeffery Sachs, is an optimistic, forceful argument for the economic potential of developing countries and the necessity of increased in aid from rich countries to realize it.
   
   Jeffrey Sachs is an accomplished macro-economist, currently at Columbia University, who has experience helping poor countries get on track to development. While, often described as left-leaning, he makes strong cases in favor of free-trade, market forces, and the role of the private sector in achieving economic development. He does often tout his own success regarding recommendations for economic reforms that enhanced development in impoverished. However, given the overall pessimistic attitude that many have towards real, subtantial economic development in these difficult places, I am not so sure it was out of place.
   
   While, I have a certain amount of skepticism towards Official Development Assistance, ODA, that Sachs makes a case for. His argument is compelling, especially in areas like health and education, that do not have a history of being served well by market forces alone. Even in infrastructure development, while rich countries now rely on significant private sector involvement, during their initial development stage, it was entirely a public endeavor.
   
   In the end, I am more willing to accept Sachs' argument that ODA is an essential part of what poor countries need to achieve sustainable economic development. I am in entire agreement that promises we make as a nation need to be fulfilled, and not given lip service. The other option is to not make those kinds of promises, but the current situation is dishonorable with regard to the gap Sachs illuminates between the United States' promised aid and the United States' actual aid to developing countries. I do think we need to hear more about technological innovation and technology transfer, that Sachs seems to assume will happen if the proper economic conditions are established. I am not yet convinved of that. Also, I still believe that the devil will be in the details as far as ODA is concerned, and if not executed properly we could easily establish incentives for those participating on both sides of the divide that work against our real objectives.
   
   And lastly, I should add, I found the foreword by Bono of U2 to be very thoughtful and eloquent on the subject. I was more suprised than I should have been, I suspect.



3. Jeffrey Sachs uses his broad knowledge to frame the context of a call for action to end extreme poverty in our generation. He demonstrates through detailed statistical comparisons the evolution of the widening gap of economic opportunity between the world's regions, and provides interesting narrative examples to support his conclusions.
   
   Although the statistics sometimes are mind-numbing, Sachs does a good job of creating graphical representations in the form of world maps, which serve to educate the reader and demonstrate the often overlooked connections between health, education and economic development. He has "done his homework" in providing a wealth of historic perspectives on the problems we observe in today's economy.
   
   Sachs uses his groundwork effectively as a springboard to inspire our thinking about how we can help create a better world by doing relatively simple things. Again, he uses the narrative to demonstrate how small amounts of money, medicine or appropriate technologies, delivered to the point of need, can make a huge difference in the outcomes for people living in or near extreme poverty.



4. the man who has brought destruction to the Russian economy through the "shock therapy" and preparing the ground for his zionist jewish friends in Russia to own all the key national assets, now goes on to tell us what to do with the rest of the world...his books should be prohibited



5. I read. A lot. That said, only half this book is worth the time and energy it took me to read it. The middle half, to be specific. The first few chapters are dedicated to Sachs detailing to us that, no, he's not an idiot writing about something he's had no experience with and that, yes, he can help to solve macroeconomic problems. The end chapters are all Sachs recapping what he said in the rest of the book with charts and graphs that start to become meaningless if you're not a economist or a student with a couple econ classes under your belt. The middle, in my opinion, is the only redeeming part of this book that mentions far too often big-names Sachs has met and important jobs he's held. The middle actually talks about his plan for ending extreme poverty by 2015 and how we can do it. The rest of the book is just padding. So read chapters 8 - 15 if you want to "read" the book. Donate money to an NGO if you want to do something towards ending poverty with your time.

5 comments about Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.

1. Mr. Perkins has a great thesis and great angst about his role in the world. His thesis is simple - American engineering and oil companies go to third world countries and give hugely inflated estimates of growth potential. Using those inflated numbers, they induce the countries to get loans so they can hire the American companies to do the work. The country then is unable to repay the loan. The theory implicates American companies, the many politicians with ties to them and the World Bank, IMF and other financial institutions.
   
   Unfortunately, Mr. Perkins fails to come up with the proofs. His outline appears feasible, but he never gives any instances of the loan and default portion of the thesis. There is nary a number or statistic to back him up. He does not cite a single defaulted loan.
   
   Further, Mr. Perkins often draws parellels to the American Founders and our Revolution. His grasp of American history is sophomoric at best. He uses a cartoonish image of 1776 that one would expect from an elementary school student, not someone indicting corporations, international banks and presidential administrations.
   
   Mr. Perkins does have some sources and they are noted. Again, they occasionally show his sloppiness with the facts. In one instance, he states with firmness that the Reagan and Bush administrations had been proven to have dirtied their hands in this corporatocracy (his term) scheme. The text said this was proven by testimony. When one checks the note, the testimony was by John Dean in 1973 and 1974 - six and seven years before the Reagan and Bush administrations. Such errors in fact and use of bad history undermine the reader's confidence in the basic theory of the book.
   
   That all having been said, the book does show how America's corporations have gone into Third World countries focused only on their own bottom line. Their is no altruism in the corporate world. This pure greed is aided and abetted by connected politicians.
   
   Most interesting are his accounts of the American-Saudi relationship where the corporate scheme worked with oil money rather than World Bank funds. Although Perkins seemed to criticize the plan, it worked well for both sides. It was a true win-win. Somehow, the author tried to tie in the Saudis' support of terrorism with its modernization and westernization. The parallel did not work - especially since he had given Saudi Arabia's history of being founded by fundamentalist Islamists long before the corporations came in. Mr. Perkins then tried to draw another parallel to Iraq. Unfortunately, he could never explain why the system that worked so well for Saudi Arabia did not work for Iraq.
   
   There are some alarming aspects of this book and it really does read, in parts, like a novel. Alarm is what Mr. Perkins expects to raise with his "Confession". There is a lot to look at behind his accounts. Sadly, Mr. Perkins just did not deliver the goods to prove his points.



2. there are many great, kind and charitable americans. the presidents and the government represented american....
   
   for years, as now everyone knows that there was no nuclear weapon found in iraq, haliburton is still making great money. people like bush family, dick cheney have a lot to do with this company. they made great money. they were the one declaring war. and they were the ones making friends with the dictators of the world. look where it has got america and the world. i hope McCain will not win. and obviously the lady running mate of his. with all due respect, someone who has little education, and pro-live and pro-gun. imagine the future of america and the world in the hands of these duo.
   
   this book is an eye opener. the view it presented has tied in with the facts i have previously known.
   
   american should care more about the rest of the world and the action of their leaders. indifference can otherwise be very costly



3. The author gives us a rare insight into how the US conducts "foreign policy" that primarily benefits US corporate/conglomerate profit interests. Similar to the US "military-industrial complex" that President Eisenhower warned us about in 1961, the author sounds a warning about how narrow monied interests guide the conduct of foreign "assistance" and "relations" so that the public interests, in both the US and the "target" country are ill-served. This is a MUST READ for American voters and the new generation of elected decision-makers.



4. Nothing special about economic indicators, or how to observe the hitmens behavior in economics, but more so a life history of the authers growth in this craft. The book was entertaining, but I wanted information, about the imf, C-banks and so on. So if your looking for an informative educational book one star, if you want entertainment, and to learn about the author 5 stars. Good reading.



5. After reading this book I am confused as to why this person want us to believe that he was able to to fool so many people around the world. Does he want us to believe that most of the world cannot see through the Ameican way?

5 comments about Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age (Russell Sage Foundation Co-Pub).

1. Regardless of the political party you identify with, this is a great informative read if you are interested in US politics, especially in this day and age with our failing economy.



2. I've been searching for some data on how well off people are during the different rules and along came unequal democracy. If you now people that keep trying to convince you that if you vote for the Dems, you will be over taxed to the gates of hell, this is a must read. It's a text book but very readable.



3. I would hardly trust a political scientist to do the work of an economist - and this is what this author attempts to do. A basic fallacy taught in introductory economics is "post hoc ergo proctor hoc" - after the fact, therefore because of the fact - and could it not be that Bartel's causation works the same way? His assertions are causally flawed - for example, one cannot attribute the growth of the 1990's to Clinton - the economic "successes" of his administration are purely a case of a candidate that was elected at the right place at the right time. Clinton is such a shameless, vain individual that he (and now his wife) happily credit their savvy with our successes as a nation during that period. It's unfortunant that we work like Bartel's that only add to their ego.
   
   A less salacious reframing would be to simply note that the poor's position has grown over all election cycles, just like the rich. Granted, the rich's position has grown faster, but then so has our economy. The true, central failing of this text is that Bartel, like so many others, preys on peoples notion that the economy is a finite pie and if the rich have more, the poor have less.
   
   Recommended reading for the envious and political science majors who think their degree has value beyond a predictable path to law school.



4. "Unequal Democracy" presents the results of a six-year exploration of the political causes and consequences of economic inequality in America. It was inspired by the substantial escalation of this inequality in recent years. Total income going to the top 0.1% of income earners has more than tripled, from 3.2% in the late 1950s to 10.9% in 2005; that going to the top 1% rose from 10.2% to 21.8%. Further, this widening is accelerating. Despite this trend, 80% believe that though you may start out poor, if you work hard you can make lots of money - more than any other developed nation. This belief undermines motivation for change.
   
   Bartels believes that the most significant domestic policy initiative of the past decade has been a massive government-engineered transfer of additional wealth from the lower and middle classes to the rich via substantial reduction in federal income taxes for the rich.
   
   Economists have found little evidence that large disparities promote growth, or that progressive tax rates retard growth by discouraging economic effort.
   
   Meanwhile, political campaigns have become dramatically more expensive, increasing the reliance of elected officials on those who can afford to help finance their re-election bids. At the same time, membership in labor groups, a previously countervailing force, has substantially declined.
   
   On average over the past half century, real incomes of middle-class families grew 2X under Democrats vs. Republicans, and working poor families grew 6X faster under Democrats - even after allowing for differences in economic circumstances.
   
   So why do those with lower incomes vote for Republicans? Bartels tells us that contrary to the theme of "What Happened to Kansas," moral values do not trump economics as a basis for lower-income voting behavior. Bartels offers evidence that the contradiction is explained by confusion generated by mixing "working class" (defined often as those w/o a college education) with lower-income. The working class has a lot of relatively high earners that are influenced by the moral values issues.
   
   Bartels then contends that Republican success in presidential races is due to voters' overemphasis on election-year economic growth, vs. the superior longer-term performance of Democratic presidents, but lesser achievement during the last year of their terms.
   
   Finally, its on to the estate ("death") tax. Actions to reduce and eliminate it during the early Bush II years represent about 15% of the impact of the overall tax reduction package. Bartels asserts that there is enormous misunderstanding about this tax regarding the wideness of its applicability. As a result, it is a wonder that it still exists.
   
   Bottom Line: "Unequal Democracy" presents a carefully documented set of conclusions about an important and timely topic; its only drawback is that sometimes the statistics get too deep.



5. The facts stand for themselves outside the realm of Partisan politics. Idealists hate facts. Fanatics hate facts. I Love facts. Whose ideas work the best is what I want. Most Americans would Love to make more money and do better each and every year. Who can argue against that except a suicidal maniac.

5 comments about Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America.

1. I think the premise was a good idea as a whole, but I don't believe Barbara Ehrenreich was the one to present it.
   She tends to have a victim attitude in life, and a contempt for people who are successful, which I find ironic since I am sure she is not standing on a street corner giving away her profits from the book.
   
   She opens fine and the footnotes are somewhat interesting but then she goes off on tangents that have nothing to do with the book. She claims to have this disdain for others who she feels are elitists but then she turns around and does the same thing herself. One example, which has no place in this story, in my opinion is when she, as an avid atheist, decided to attend a revival for fun, then not only proceeded to mock the people who went but called Jesus a socialist among other things I would rather not repeat. My opinion of her formed very quickly from that point.
   
   She also points out that management in one of the companies she works for were simply jerks. Granted we all know the types but she didn't even try to see it from a balanced point of view. The Maid Company she worked for had some hard rules, like no water on the job, etc., which I found to be unreasonable, however she ended up blaming the homeowners, some that she never met. She had disdain for a Buddhists home who had spiritual messages throughout his house, once again she never met this person, yet felt free to judge.
   
   Also as far as management is concerned, as a business owner I realize how some people are in this position but there are also two sides to a coin. She mentions how much she dislikes the people she works for with the "rules" yet in the next breath she talks about her and the "maids" in the company car driving through a nice area with the radio blarring and yelling "F*** YOU" out the car window to moms with stollers. When they cringed she mentions how she finds this behavior hysterically funny. Gee and you wonder why they have to set up rules. I wouldn't want her representing my company.
   
   The book is not balanced. Last but not least, she claims so many of these people are in poverty, yet I can't help notice how many of them have no "lunch " money yet have plenty of funds for smoking and having kid after kid. Just an observation. It's too bad really the subject matter would have been good had it not been so tainted by attitude.
   
   I have no doubt there are a great deal of working poor who are making ends meet and having a hard time. Those are the people she should have sought out. I believe she was too blinded by her anger or perhaps guilt over her own success to see it clearly.



2. If you'd like to hear the voices of the real working poor, get a copy of Without A Net: the female experience of growing up working class, edited by Michelle Tea. It is more poignant than a journalist's game of dress up.



3. Another book explaining how we as a superpower are continuing to do a disservice to our own people. We can spend Billions on other countries to insure they have high-speed internet, but fight when it comes to guarnteeing medical for our children. It is not just that the system is not working... it is so far broken that it has been forgotten. How do we fix this? My grandma suggested an atmoic bomb, and although I thought this was ludicrious at first, I am begining to come around.



4. Well, what Ms. Ehrenreich doesn't know is that there is MUCH MUCH worse to come!! In just a few years when the greatest depression in US history (13 years long) is visited upon us, surviving on the minimum wage will seem like the good old days. Sadly, people will be glad to work under the conditions she's explored. Everything is relative. Don't think it's going to happen? Read Arnold's The Great Bust Ahead ([...]). The Great Bust Ahead: The Greatest Depression in American and UK History is Just Several Short Years Away. This is your Concise Reference Guide to Understanding Why and How Best to Survive It.



5. The only reason I gave two stars to this book is because at least Ehrenreich tried to write about an important topic. But her execution falls well below the mark, and the book turns out to be more about a journalist pretending to be a low-income worker than about the lives of the low-income workers she's supposedly studying. It is, by turns, whiny, preachy, self-righteous, facile, and annoying -- much more often than it's insightful, which it is maybe a handful of times (if that) throughout the book. (The footnotes were actually among the most informative parts.) At times she even seems to be making fun of the workers with whom she briefly shared her life. And the "experiment" is flawed from the start, as the author herself more or less acknowledges, in that someone who knows that she can return to her real life any time is very different from someone who works for $7 an hour and has no choice. One also has to question the ethics of a decision to take a job that someone else really needs. Finally, as the book progresses, the author makes some bumbling attempts at humor that just aren't funny -- it feels like the writing of someone who thinks she's being clever but the jokes are flat or obvious, or someone who utters banalities as if they were profound insights. (Please, leave satire to the satirists.) One line in the book stood out for me as a reflection of everything that is wrong with it, and it was hard for me to keep reading after that. In the chapter on her experience in Maine, Ehrenreich asks the reader, "If you hump away at menial jobs 360-days-plus a year, does some kind of repetitive injury of the spirit set in?" Well, DUH. As my partner pointed out, that sounds like the kind of idiotic "wisdom" that might show up on Carrie Bradshaw's computer in "Sex in the City."
   
   So Ehrenreich gets some points for effort and for "humping away" at these jobs for as long as she did, I suppose, but as far as offering any real insights into or solutions for the lives of the working poor, this book leaves much to be desired. In the end, it's a book about Barbara Ehrenreich.