4 comments about Illegal People: How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants.

1. This is a must read for anyone feeling pinched by a job loss in the US or who is boiling mad about illegal immigration to the US. This book goes a long way toward developing a context and the reasons for the mass migrations of labor throughout societies. If you are not mad at the US government and the Corporations who own it- you soon will be!



2. I cannot agree more with the author about revealing the fact that illegals are needed by both the government and corporate America to minimized cost to any service/product in this country. Both slaves and illegals have been making possible the American dream for the original invaders of this land. And they will continue to...
   
   Those who shout "illegals go home" profit the most. Lou Dobbs and others like him should read this book and shot their mouths once and for all. This book also, should be read by all those occupying a possition at any of the three branches of government in the US. And army and police personnel too. Maybe every American should...



3. I give the author credit for one position he takes: NAFTA was an absolute disaster for both the U.S. and Mexico. Notwithstanding, I can't endorse this book. It is intellectually dishonest. Like many open-border advocates he uses dishonest language--such as saying (repeatedly) that conservative politicians are "anti-immigrant." No, they're anti-illegal immigration, which isn't at all the same thing. He uses, as open-borders advocates always do, the very misleading term "undocumented immigrant." Many illegal aliens, in fact, have many false documents in their possesion. This dishonest word obfuscates the issue.
   
   It is also untrue that a hard line against illegal immigration cost the Republicans a number of seats in the 2006 election--a lie the open-borders Wall Street Journal made repeatedly. My own Congressman, Brian Bilbray of San Diego, was easily reelected on a stance of tough border security. J.D. Hayworth, a strong opponent of illegal immigrantion, lost his reelection because of ties to Jack Abramoff, not his position on border security. Every opinion poll done nationwide shows support for immigration restrictions. A well-known poll by the Chicago Council of Foreign Relation--not a right-wing organization-- showed 70% of the Americans polled wanted strict limitations on immigration.
   
   There was another disturbing part in the book, namely the invocation of the Ku Klux Klan to smear anyone who does not support open borders. This is the argument: the Klan opposes illegal immigration, the Klan is racist, and therefore all opponents of illegal immigration are racists. QED. I cannot recommend Illegal People as a legitimate study of the contentious issue of immigration, legal and otherwise. I suggest Carol Swain's balanced and fair look at the issue in Debating Immigration.



4. David Bacon has been fighting for the rights of working people for decades. This book is a monument to a life well spent. Bacon goes through the issues around immigration in a highly readable way. The impact of NAFTA and Neoliberalism. The dangers and hardships faced by economic refugees, documented or not. The exploitative conditions that employers force economic refugees to work under. Bacon is very good on the history of guest worker programs and how they oppress its participants. His book is a great mix of hard facts and analysis plus heart wrenching stories from the front lines. I fear that anti-immigrant sentiment may turn even uglier as the economy weakens. We desperately need the information that Bacon provides to counter the bigotry and ignorance in our work places and among our friends and family.

5 comments about The Labor Progress Handbook: Early Interventions to Prevent and Treat Dystocia.

1. It's clear that the book is writen for professionals because of the jargon, and in my opinion every professional should read it! I am on my way to become a doula and unfortunately this book is not on the required reading list, I think it should be. It is an important tool for when labor doesn't progress 'as it should', and offers options and ideas to try before the drugs and machines are introduced to speed up labor are introduced.



2. This book is wonderfully full of information, however, as it is called a "handbook", I expected it to be more concise, and so more quickly usable in a labor setting - more of a quick reference book. It is more of a textbook than a handbook. I think I've read everything that Penny Simkin has had published. I am a fan of her writings, just disappointed that this was not more concise.



3. The Labor Progress Handbook, though a bit pricey, is an excellent book. It contains a tons of labor information and is complete with many illustrations. It's a nice compact size, which makes it easy to carry with you (great for doulas, midwives, etc.). I love it!



4. I own the last edition and find it invaluable in my practice. Can't wait to see what's new and exciting here



5. Having children and reading anything about pregnancy, labor, birth and postpartum has lead me to investigate labor, especially during my fifth pregnancy. I have also sat in with a few friends and family members during labor and really wanted to read more. This was a great book and I'm sure I will continue to look back to it.

No comments about Motivating and Preparing Black Youth for Success.

5 comments about The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker.

1. Greenhouse's focus is to ask "Why, in the world's most affluent nation, are so many corporations intent on squeezing their workers dry?" Corporate profits, economic growth, and worker productivity have grown strongly, while pay has languished. Median income for non-elderly households in 2006 was $2,375 lower in real terms than six years prior. Income inequality now more closely resembles a 3rd-world country than an advanced nation - if it was the same as in 1979, the bottom 80% would receive $8,000 more in yearly income.
   
   Almost one-fourth of the workforce earns less than $10/hour, and generally also lack benefits. Health costs now account for 16% of GDP, up from 5% in 1960. Meanwhile, the proportion covered by pensions (especially defined-benefit - eg. IBM) is declining, and large corporations (eg. United, Delta, and U.S. airlines, LTV and Bethlehem Steel) are defaulting on existing obligations.
   
   Corporations flaunt overtime laws (eg. Wal-Mart, Target), and even fail to pay workers for all their time worked (H-P, Wal-Mart). Circuit City has twice replaced its longer-term workers earning higher salaries with new recruits at lower pay scales, while Microsoft, H-P, and others make the term "temporary" workers an oxymoron in a bid to deny benefits to large numbers of long-term employees.
   
   Three decades ago employer-provided health insurance protected 70% of private-sector workers - now it is down to 55%, and their coverage is no longer as extensive. "Independent contractor" status is extensively exploited (saves Social Security, etc. payments) by eg. FedEx, and their use of the tactic is expanding (to FedEx LTL) despite adverse court rulings.
   
   What fuels these actions? Greenhouse answers - takeover threats, deregulation (airlines, trucking), pressure from jobs lost through automation (also used to create an environment of close supervision), outsourcing, streamlining (eg. delayering, eliminating overheads), increasing costs of employer-funded health care (especially vs. non-coverage by Asian firms), and the "Wal-Mart" effect (low employee pay and benefits; forcing suppliers in the same direction).
   
   There are few heroes in "The Big Squeeze." The most obvious is Costco - higher pay, benefits, sales, and profits/employee than Wal-Mart and Sam's Club, while much lower employee turnover and shrinkage. Greenhouse also suggests Las Vegas casinos (courtesy of strong employee unions) and Timberland shoes - however, both are exempt from strong commodity-like or foreign competition and thus not as impressive as Costco's achievements.
   
   Don't economists agree that globalization to the max is good for us? Not all - Paul Samuelson, Nobel Prize winner in economics, says: "If you don't believe (offshoring) changes the average wages in America, then you believe in the truth fairy."
   
   Unions used to be a strong offsetting force vs. management. However, just 7.5% of private sectors are now in unions - the lowest rate since 1901. Yet, 53% of non-management, non-union workers say they would like to join. What holds them back? Greenhouse suggests that one reason is the 2,000+ "union-avoidance" consultants 9Only 100 in the 1960s).
   
   Greenhouse also suggests a need to improve organizing tactics, and offers the SEIU's approach to organizing janitors in Houston as a good example. They began by getting elected officials who were pension-fund overseers with large real-estate holdings to urge Houston building owners to press cleaning contractors to cooperate. The SEIU also promised not to begin bargaining until at least 55% of the employees' contractors were organized (no "unfair" disadvantages). Finally, they leveraged their strength by picketing opposing janitorial firms with work in other cities.
   
   Greenhouse's Recommendations: Increased Social Security taxes (to ensure its stability), increased income taxes on those with higher incomes (benefited most from globalization), changing health care to a single-payer system (much less overhead), and working to restrain health care costs.
   
   Reading "The Big Squeeze" sometimes hurts as one sees how people are taken advantage of. My only criticism is that Greenhouse does not lay enough blame at the feet of globalization.



2. Book is easy to read. Author presents lots of examples of how our American middle class is being squeezed out, and the increasing differential between the poor and the rich, or upper class. His answers are dissapointing unless you are left wing liberal. He places blame on the awful big/greedy companies. Thinks the era of the 50's/60's was our best because we had big Unions to get benefits for workers. His answer now is basically for the government to contol most everything, and to return to the area of big Union representation. Never mind much of our American industry is crippled in the global economy due to the huge legacy costs to workers brought on by the Unions before we had to compete in a global economy. Yes, we have big problems today, but this is not the answer that will solve things.



3. I imagine that many conservative talk show hosts who have heard of or even read "The Big Squeeze" will dismiss out of hand Steven Greenhouse's new book as just more predictable liberal negativity. After all, according to Sean Hannity on one recent afternoon program it is possible for everyone to become rich in America if they are just willing to work hard enough. This is hogwash, Mr. Hannity. Everyone is not cut out to be an enterpreneur or a stockbroker. The reality is that in America today 10% of the population controls nearly 50% of the wealth. The gap between the richest Americans and the rest of us has been increasing at a alarming rate. Good paying jobs are being shipped to other nations and millions of Americans employed in retail or service industries are being forced to work in miserable conditions just to scrape by. "The Big Squeeze" is about the sobering new realities facing an ever increasing number of American workers today. And for the most part what Steven Greenhouse has discovered is not a pretty picture.
   It would appear that the American worker is under attack from all directions. Over the past two decades the U.S. has been inundated by millions of illegal aliens from places like Mexico, Guatemala and Haiti. The presence of these additional workers helps to depress blue collar wages in this country and places a strain on the public services we all have to pay for like schools and hospitals. Meanwhile, despite that fact that Americans are among the most productive workers in the world U.S. corporations have accelerated the outsourcing of good paying white collar jobs to places like Pakistan and India where workers are happy to work for a fraction of what his American counterpart makes. Greenhouse spotlights a number of instances where American workers were actually forced to suffer the indignity of training their foreign replacements or else risk losing their severance packages. This one hits especially close to home because my wife found herself in just this situation a few years ago.
   As the grip of "The Big Squeeze" gets tighter and tighter, increasing numbers of Americans are forced to accept lower paying positions at outfits like Wal-Mart and Family Dollar. Steven Greenhouse hightlights a whole host of appalling working conditions too numerous to mention here that employees at these retailers are forced to endure. To me the most disturbing one was that in many smaller stores Wal-Mart employees working the overnight shift were actually locked in the store with no manager present and with absolutely no ability to get out in case of an emergency! How can they get away with that?? In the course of "The Big Squeeze" Greenhouse does give kudos to both the discount retailer Costco and the accounting firm Ernst and Young. He praises these companies for the value they place on their employees and cites them as models for other companies to follow. Greenhouse also believes that if the challenges facing American workers today are ever to be reversed then labor unions must play a major role, particularly with those doing lower-paying jobs like janitors and nursing home workers.
   For most Americans, what Steven Greenhouse has to say in "The Big Squeeze" will really come as no surprise. The problems outlined in this book are myriad and the implications for most workers are quite frightening. Steven Greenhouse argues that America should take a second look at globalization and perhaps make some adjustments along the way. "The Big Squeeze" is a highly readable and informative book. Recommended!



4. I read a lot of books on the economy and workers, and unfortunately too many of them are plodding and overstuffed with statistics. That's why the Big Squeeze was such a pleasant surprise. It's a wonderfully big-hearted book, and it's also a terrific read. It's the best book on American workers that I've read in recent decades (or at least it's a tie with Barbara Ehrenreich's wonderful Nickel and Dimed).
   
   The Big Squeeze is unusual because it tells very moving, very human stories about two dozen individual workers -- the software engineer who has to train the worker from India who was to replace her, the "temp" whose company keeps her as a temp for 10 years, the Air Force veteran who works for three retailers in a row that erase hours from employee time cards to save money. Depressing, but very gripping stuff.
   
   What's also impressive about The Big Squeeze is it sees the trees and the forest. Better than any other book that I've read, it explains in detail how American workers are being systematically squeezed--on wages, health insurance, pensions, job security, pressure to work harder and smarter. The book also examines in a intelligent and accessible way the many complex forces that are causing this squeeze, e.g. globalization, Wall Street's push for greater profits. The book deals with some complicated matters, but it moves quickly, never getting bogged down.
   
   Greenhouse tells one eloquent story after another about how Americans are being squeezed at work. With things getting worse for the nation's workers, Barack Obama and John McCain should be required to read this book so they could see what's really happening in the American economy.



5. The many interviews for this book help to engage the reader's interest, and make the reality that we face more real. but the book isn't just interviews. there's also a lot of good factual data to back up his critique of "what is." Employers have been aggressively screwing workers for the past several decades, and often in ways that are illegal, and this does come out here.
   
   The book is a bit limited in what it offers as solutions. He's very much within the political mainstream and does pick up some good reform proposals, such as extending Medicare to cover everyone. Getting rid of the private insurance companies is key to the solution but the author doesn't really lean enough on that point. the main limitation is that he fails to recognize that things aren't going to substantially change unless and until American workers figure out how to engage in large scale organizing and actions to fight back. The "good times" in the decades after World War 2 didn't happen because "enlightened political leaders" saw the light. They happened because of the pitched battles, general strikes, workplace sitdowns and wildcat strikes of the '30s and '40s. The feds and the corporations were forced to make concessions.
   
   The author of this book has some rather misplaced ideas about American unions. He says they need to be more "cooperative" with employers. But the leaders have long preached "cooperation" but the employers have decided they don't want to cooperate. And the old union leader "cooperation" with employers often led to sellouts and the unions getting a black eye in terms of how workers view them. The author proposes all sorts of invasive and paternalistic legislation to micromanage unions by the government -- ignoring the lesson he should have learned from employer domination of the National Labor Relations Board. It would be more relevant to provide info about more grassroots controlled unionism and forms of action and organizing workers can do themselves.

5 comments about Encore: Finding Work that Matters in the Second Half of Life.

1. With people living longer and having the opportunity to remain in the workforce longer, this is a book that needed to be written. Americans have more options than ever upon reaching retirement age. We can continue to work, we can retire, we can travel, etc. The author, Freedman, spells out in delicious detail those choices, and the result of whatever one we choose.
   
   The book makes a point that others have made, but perhaps spells it out more directly. That point being that you may live longer, and be healthier, than your grandparents, and even your parents. Thus you had best be prepared, financially, mentally and emotionally.
   
   I found the book to be a rather fast read and always interesting. I'd go so far as to say it's the best book about the second half of life I've read. The FUNNIEST book on the subject is Martha Bolton's "Race You To The Fountain of Youth." Hysterical. Race You to the Fountain of Youth: I'm Not Dead Yet (But parts of me are going fast)
   
   I think Freedman's book about the second half of life is worth reading for anyone approaching retirement age. You have important decisions to make. Make then wisely or possibly pay for them later.



2. As a career counselor for individuals in the second half of life, I found Encore to be an excellent resource for seekers as well as those of us guiding the next generation of "non-retirees". Freedman aptly describes the frustrations that this pioneering group faces as they attempt to identify their next endeavor and find or create an appropriate match in the marketplace. I hope that Freeman's comprehensive work is recognized by policy-makers, funders and employers who will support the evolution of encore careers and the generation of individuals who will serve in them.



3. Society may never see another demographic group like the baby boom generation - people born between 1946 and 1964. During the 1950s, their great numbers dramatically changed everything, from manufacturing and construction to education and health care. The boomers' idealism and social activism branded the 1960s and 1970s. In subsequent decades, baby boomers changed the workplace and all other areas of life. Now, as this generation enters its retirement years, it is shaking things up again. Unlike previous seniors, boomers are not content to trudge quietly off the stage. Instead, many are choosing second careers in public service. In the process, boomers are redefining not only retirement but also work. Marc Freedman discusses this phenomenon and what it means for society by presenting profiles of baby boomers who took up second, service-oriented careers when they reached retirement age. Their stories are inspiring. getAbstract recommends this book to professionals in their late 50s and beyond who want to put their hard-won expertise to work on behalf of others.



4. This is an amazing book with anecdootes and resources for anyone looking for an encore to their life's adventure. I recommend this to everyone and appreciatethe focus and passion. It is a perfect complimant for Three Cups of Tea!!!



5. Tabloid-style headlines have infected even mainstream magazines and newspapers in recent years. Articles about the coming "Social Security Disaster" vie for attention next to those on industry's inability to overcome the "Loss Of Baby Boomer Talent" or even fears that "Baby Boomers Will Retire Into Poverty." And these are not all the ravings of radio talk show hosts trying to build audience share. Experts like the Federal Reserve's Ben Bernanke and Alan Greenspan have aired similar views on occasion.
   
   Now comes author and social entrepreneur Marc Freedman to suggest that such doom and gloom are not necessary. In his new book Encore, Freedman insists that demography is not destiny. Sub-titled Finding Work That Matters In The Second Half Of Life, this excellent volume describes a number of alternative futures that could benefit us all. Freedman argues that actions we take today could simultaneously improve the national economy, strengthen our society, and improve the lot of aging Boomers throughout the land:
   . For the sake of the economy, he asks that Boomers choose to - and be allowed to - remain productive;
   . For the sake of society in general, he encourages Boomers to continue sharing their talents and experience; and
   . For the sake of individual Boomers, he recommends changes that will allow them to remain gainfully employed, self-sustaining, and engaged in meaningful roles.
   
   Today individual choices are often limited either to: a) 30 years of mind-numbing TV, golf and shuffleboard in the "Golden Years;" or b) greeting bargain-seekers as glorified doormen in the "Wal-Mart Years." While such retail sector bridge jobs might provide needed sustenance, they do little to maintain self-esteem or to benefit society in general. Freedman shows many ways in which tomorrow could be better than today, through a series of individual portraits of new American pioneers. As he describes them, "Instead of the freedom from work, they are searching for the freedom to work; instead of saving for a 'secure retirement,' they are underwriting an encore career."
   
   So what could Boomers do in Freedman's bold new world? As he shows in his examples, they could:
   . Stay on in their current roles instead of retiring, perhaps with more varied schedules or lesser work demands;
   . Turn to helping professions such as teaching or nursing, which desperately need staff in many parts of the country;
   . Learn and grow into entirely new careers, either in new interest areas or simply in response to changes in the economy; or
   . Take on social entrepreneuring activities, much as Freedman has himself, in order to improve the world around us.
   
   He also suggests ways in which today's rules about retirement could be modified, in order to help everyone involved. For example, retirees may now earn additional Social Security benefits by working from age 65 to age 68, but gain nothing more by continuing past that point. Further, they are discouraged from doing so by being forced to pay into Social Security even when they could be receiving payments from it. Similarly, employers are forced to provide equal benefits for all, even if some could be covered by Medicare. Changes to each of these policies, among others, could encourage both employers and employees to rethink today's typical forced-retirement scenarios.
   
   Those facing medical or other issues should certainly be protected by the same options and benefits available today. Others, however, might value the opportunity to continue as productive citizens. Many, in fact, will have no choice but what Freedman calls "the practical necessity of extending working lives" - there's certainly more than a few grains of truth in all of those stories about Boomers not being financially ready to retire. Even those who do have adequate funds might not want to be set out to pasture, however. Leading-edge Boomers today, as a group, are healthier than any such age cohort which has come before them. They are likely to remain physically and mentally able to be productive for ten, twenty or even more years into the future.
   
   Marc Freedman, by the way, does put his own energy where his mouth is. As founder and CEO of San Francisco's Civic Ventures, he has helped establish new activities including the Experience Corps, the Next Chapter, the Lead With Experience Campaign, and the Purpose Prize. You can learn more about these and other new ideas at his website, www.civicventures.org.
   
   His book is a clearly-written and exciting vision of an alternative future that we can begin building today. Buy it now and start own encore career!

5 comments about The Joy of Not Working: A Book for the Retired, Unemployed and Overworked- 21st Century Edition.

1. The book is filled with alot of experience and wisdom to ponder. An excellent read if you are considering a major career change but do not know what you want. The book does not suggest you keep a stiff upper lip and take it, so do not read it if you do not want change. You will not be able to look at work or your life the same way when you have finished.



2. I bought the book because my husband and I are thinking of retirement soon.
   I read the whole book and I like it. The aim of the book is to promote active
   and purposeful retirement; to enjoy leisure and not to be too concerned about acquiring a lot of
   money in order to enjoy the life "after work". Retirement is a mind set.
   The book gives a lot of excellent ideas to enjoy retirement.



3. This book gives a lot of encouragement to people who may be unhappy in their jobs or considering retirement. It's not enough to just get away from your job. You have to have something to go to. This book helps you think about what you will do with your time when you retire or stop working. People who have something to do handle not working better. Encouragement is the best feature of this book. It is not a how to book.



4. I have read both of Ernie Zelinski's books. The result of which is that I am now retired and living my dreams



5. I am getting to within 5 years of retiring from my 1st career and I'm getting ready for my 2nd career. I ordered this book to get some more information about retirement.
   
   The author recommends to keep looking for a job which is something you like doing. His rationale is that since Americans change jobs about every 4 or 5 years......you should keep looking for a job you enjoy. I have seen many people stay in jobs they hate...and it is not a pretty picture for them or their co-workers.
   
   The author's advice to minimize your expenses so you can retire as early as possible is sound advice. I find the balance of the author's financial planning advice to be very weak. I don't know too many people who can get along on only $6,000 annual income in the US. Many studies (Bengen and the Trinity Study) have shown that for long periods of time (30 years), about the most you can withdraw from your portfolio is 4% annually with an annual inflation adjustment. If you are thinking about retiring before Social Security kicks in and you have no traditional pension....to have an income of $50,000 per year requires you to save an accumulate a portfolio of $1.25M (25X of your income). The other issue in this situation is paying for health care in early retirement.
   
   Probably the most valuable part of this book is the section on identifying what activities/hobbies might interest you in retirement. I do agree with the author that people who retire and have no hobbies/interests except for work......usually die within 2 years of retirement. I also agree with his recommendation to plan your retirement several years before you retire and implement some of your new activities before you retire.
   
   All in all, this is a good book for identifying what activities/hobbies might interest you in retirement.
   
   As far as financial planning advice to accumulate enough assets for retirement, I would suggest reading some of the books noted below.
   
   Index Mutual Funds: How to Simplify Your Financial Life and Beat the Pro's
   The Richest Man in Babylon
   Bogle on Mutual Funds: New Perspectives for the Intelligent Investor
   The Millionaire Next Door
   The Four Pillars of Investing: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio
   A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing, Ninth Edition
   The Coffeehouse Investor: How to Build Wealth, Ignore Wall Street, and Get On With Your Life
   The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

1 comments about The Comeback: Seven Stories of Women Who Went from Career to Family and Back Again.

1. This book shares some wonderful stories about women who took time off from the work force to take care of their children-and made it back. It is somewhat inspirational, but mostly just interesting biographies of vastly different proffessional women and their experiences.

5 comments about The Wealth of Nations: Books 1-3 (Penguin Classics).

1. This Book is a classic. I would not go so far as to add it to the western Canon, but it contains the foundations of modern Economics. Its explaination for how economies work is still unsurpassed. Division of Labour, the invisible hand of consumer demand and the uses and mis-uses of taxation are all here. It should be stressed however, that this edition does not include books IV and V which concern the proper role of govt. It is also the section most ideologues forget to read and contains all the rudiments for a minimal welfare state and and active role for govt. in planning FOR competition, NOT the planning OF competition --- a very important distinction and one lost on those who see no positive role for the state in the economy.

   It is unfortunately most used as a classic for those seeking a rationale for exploitation. Smith did not intend it as such and to see it as that is indeed to read it very selectively. The invisible hand is a useful interpretation for demand economics, but it is, like all other things only a description of market forces as they operate. It is not always the best way to organise everything as modern day ideologues would presuppose. It is of course the basis of business --- and it should be --- but Smith also has lots to say about how other economic factors operate in society.

   One thing to make clear is this: Smith is not anti-State, as some ideologues in the US would like to think. He is balanced in his view of the state --- it is best left out of economic planning --- but it does clearly have an important role to play. The role of the State is to

   1) create the conditions for the smooth flow of capital and its allocation into its most efficient uses and not to erect barriers in the process.

   2) It also must necessarily collect taxes since the smooth and efficient operation of the state and the benefits its provide is in the interest of the accumulation of Capital.

   3) The State also directly participates in the economy when projects which are obvious to the public benefit, but "which to no one would accrue an economic profit" --- he offers such examples as lighthouses and some roads and defence --- areas where there is an obvious public good, but to which no one would make a profit. Lighthouses are good examples, but like everything else in today's economy an interpretation for this could be made for universal health care and, of course, education; the mere fact that people do not have to worry about providing for education or health allows them to carry on in amassing capital in other endevours. Of course there is a slippery logic here but such is the rationale for the limited, but much greater role, the state provides in most developed economies outside of the United States.

   4) Taxation policy is here as well. In the last book, Book V (not included in this edition), Smith describes the foundation of taxation and where it works best. He starts with the idea that "those who benefit the most from the smooth functioning of the state, should also be the ones who pay more." While not a prescription for progressive taxation policies it is the right way to think about tax and certainly would never excuse preferential taxation policies for the rich (such as in the US) but could be used as a foundation for a universal flat tax.

   Such a tax is perhaps the best, but as Smith points out, where and how to collect it is always the difficulty. He comes out more or less in favour of a consumption tax policy since it would approximate the wealth the people earn in the first place and would not, for example overburden companies or people with high income taxes when they may not have high earnings.

   There is however little in here about social policy, but Smith does see it as the right of the State to, in his time, provide welfare in the guise of work houses (19th Century hell holes). But that was as good as public welfare got in those days so we can posit that Smith would have carried his logic somewhat forward and provided for some social programmes --- though the extent of them would be a subject of no doubt fierce debate.

   Overall a book that every thinking person should have on their shelf. Like most things it has some warts over time, but it is still the logical Tome on which capitalism rests its bones. Not until Marx did someone really challenge its dictates --- Smith basically won the argument on most points. But willingness for those with an inability to think critically, to use this book as justification for the domination of the weak by the strong, has little to do with Smith --- it has everything to do with those who are looking for justification of Greed --- and Gordon Gecko and Adam Smith have little in common.




2. This is one of the truly great books produced by the Western world. Although much has been written on economics since, it considerably broadened my perspective to read it in the original.

   I can't help feeling that those who pan Wealth of Nations as an apology for exploitation simply haven't read it. That�s simply not what the book is about. For if you really do care about the underpriveleged masses -- and it's imminently clear that he really does -- then you better consciously organize your state in such a manner that money will flow naturally where it's most needed.

   I'd been told before I read it by several people that AS was, for example, apologizing for the East India Trading Company? Does his apology for EIT include the lengthy chapter which discuss in full detail how and why the East India Trading Company was responsible for an wide array of abuses in the Far East, and why no similar company would be legal if a society were fully moral and knew its own best interest?

   Nor is it a blind apology for laissez faire economics, though it does recommend non-intervention by the government insofar as that is possible. Still he fully recognizes the need for social services, rightly understood and rightly executed.

   In fact, I can't see how anyone who reads it could view it as an apology at all -- it's simply a statement of fact. Adam Smith is not the one carrying an ideology around on his shoulder. You may not like it that the world works this way -- that's another matter. But that IS the way it works... you are made to see that for yourself. It is not imposed on you as dogma.

   And after reading AS, I'm left feeling very happy that that's the way the world works.

   I think the most fundamental idea I am left with after reading all those pages, is that wealth is a verb, not a noun. Land and labor (i.e. food and farming) are the bottom line of economics. Treat your farmers well. Unjust practices in trading will ultimately backfire.

   The dynamo which runs the machine that creates wealth lies within each individual - it is the individual�s will to better his or her condition. To the degree that this aspect of human nature is given the power to express itself , the nation will be vitalized internally.




3. The Wealth of Nations handles a lot of economical phenomena in a concrete but sometimes complex way. On one hand the book is filled with ideas, some convincing, some out-dated, some fundamental to the current believe in free-markets. These ideas are combined with appealing (or appalling) examples of the injustice done to people by disturbing the free-market. On the other hand however, I find that certain sections of the book require a lot of concentration. The book is an interesting, but slow and at times difficult, read.
   
   Essentially, it is a treatise on the power of individuals to maximise their own wealth and therefor a support for the natural liberty of men and an argument for free-markets. Not as a perfect system in which there will be no misery, but as a system that gives individuals the greatest (and most just) opportunity to gain happiness and which will be the quickest to respond to changes in supply and demand (and therefor decrease the misery which is created when governments ignore gaps between supply and demand).
   
   It is not a book that believes in the pure goodness of companies (but explicitly states that companies have a interest which is directly opposite to that of society as a whole. I.e. the interest of companies is to create a supply shortage so they can ask prices above costprice), but says that the best way to break the power of these companies is the allow free competition. It also reveals that political decisions that at fist glance seems compassionate, might in fact be inhumane, cruel and the cause of much suffering (because on the long run they lead to a supply shortage). The examples given here, are still relevant to view the decisions made by politicians in today's so-called free market countries.



4. "The market price of every particular commodity is regulated
   by the proportion between the quantity which is actually
   brought to market, and the demand of those who are willing
   to pay the natural price of the commodity."
   [The Wealth of Nations]
   Not easiest book to read, nor shortest one. But it deserves attention of serious student of Economics. It constitutes the baseline from which all modern Economics theories developed. Kind regards, Mario.



5. The first three "books" (the term for "chapters" in Smith's age) of the Wealth of Nations are the most important of the book. The introductory essay by the Smithologist Skinner also provides great insight into the book per se, Adam Smith and how Wealth of Nations fits into Smith's other works. This is despite the fact that it is only about 70 pages long. THis essay is much more enlightening than many books on either Smith or the Wealth of Nations. The price of the book is worth that essay alone.

5 comments about The Employer's Legal Handbook.

1. For a small company, this book was just what we needed. It outlined different state requirements, some common pitfalls, and provided sample text for editing. Overall, just what we needed to be a professional little business.



2. I have not yet read this book but have skimmed through the pages and can see it is a useful tool for keeping up with legal issues in the workplace. The book arrived in great condition and in a relatively short time frame.



3. It has been over one month since I have ordered this item and it is still not here. Contacting customer service.



4. This book is enjoyable and easy to understand, especially for those new in the HR field or those wanting to understand the HR function. The book covers topics with general information and not for those who are looking for in-depth decription of "how-to" or "what-to-do" in each of the HR functions. Overall, I think it is informative.



5. Nola does an excellent job of reviewing Employment Laws in an easy to understand and concise manner. Human Resource departments could benefit by making sure every manager has this book and understands the content. They would save themselves a lot of time backtracking after the fact with when legal issues arise that could easily have been prevented.

5 comments about The Working Poor: Invisible in America.

1. The book was excellent. It gave me an intelligent insight of the struggles of so many Americans who can't deal with the American Dream.



2. I never received the book, so I don't know how I can review it. Do you have any logical suggestions?



3. The poor are very visible in our society. What's far less visible is "The Working Poor", people who have jobs, but who face consistent problems of lower health,low income,no benefits,little education and training, single parenthood,and so on. Pulitzer Prize winning author David Shipler has done a marvelous research job giving flesh to problems many of us may think we have some handle on. After reading his outstanding book, I found that I hardly had a clue. Dozens of interviews have produced a truly heartrending, and sometimes hopeful tableau, of what it means to live on the edge.
   
   This is an important book. I read segments of it to my college students --the parts that emphasize how easy it is to fall into the crevasses of the working poor by either not obtaining a college degree or by not getting training in a field with demand. I recommend this book highly to anyone and as a must read for anyone thinking about dropping out of school or a training program.



4. In this book you should not expect to find any outlines of how unjust the economical system in America is, nor any suggestions what should be done about it. There is only numerous short stories about the lives of the working poor. Expect to read how certain individuals spent $10 on this, and $4 on that, and how they couldn't pay their medical bills, etc... I think the author goes too much into the boring details.



5. On this Thanksgiving Day, I reflected on the fact that I am part of an interdependent society, and that the work and circumstances of many people made my own life possible. "Working Poor" by David Shipler illustrates how things people take for granted, from plastic bags to clothes to carpets come to us through the hard work of low-wage workers. Shipler does not engage in sociological analysis, but gives case studies of individuals, who have to struggle to make ends meet, work long hours, and through circumstances both within and beyond their control, are left out of opportunities (i.e., college education) that are available to others. It seems to me that in our country, we need to find a balance between personal and social responsibility, and lately we have lost sense of the latter. I highly recommend this book so that we can at least have a conversation about how to better strike that balance and give more Americans better opportunities and a better quality of life.