America: Who Stole the Dream? [Paperback]

Donald L. Barlett (Author), James B. Steele (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1996

The Pulitzer Prize-winning authors of America: What Went Wrong? examine public policies in trade, taxes, employment, and education that have reduced the economic fortunes and expectations of America's beleaguered middle class. Original. 100,000 first printing.

Product Details

• Paperback: 276 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing; Original edition (June 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0836213149
• ISBN-13: 978-0836213140
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #678,268 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Left winged or right winged this book is well researched, February 5, 2002

By 

Dan E. Ross "Dan Ross" (Frisco, Tx USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: America: Who Stole the Dream? (Paperback)

America, Who Stole the Dream, was a WONDERFUL READ. I find myself leaning more to the right, from a political perspective, but the authors arguments are EXCELLENT at times and they definitely bring up some great points.

This book is the most well argued book I have read about the current demise of the middle class in the U.S. After reading it I would definitely have to say that I have more concern about political decisions being made in Washington as the authors illustrate that consistently the politicians don't do the right thing for the country.

The authors bring up several concerns

1. Middle class demise via outsourcing of manufacturing to lower cost areas
2. Growing disparity of wealth (the rich own more in % terms)
3. The outsourcing of the 'HIGH TECH JOBS' that are to be the savior of the country.
4. Commentary about various social programs set up and how ineffective they are.

In conclusion I would say this book was extremely well researched and I therefore give KUDOS to the authors. While I don't agree with everything they wrote I believe they have put forth an excellent piece of work.

My main contention with the book is that it focuses on the demise of manufacturing and low-end jobs, along with some high tech. The U.S. is expensive from a labor perspective. As we have outsourced much of our manufacturing we have been able to purchase products at cheaper prices in the U.S.. Imagine what some products would cost if we were paying for labor that was, in some cases, 10x higher than current wages in developing countries? NOWHERE in the book do the authors mention the BENEFIT to our standard of living because we can buy more with our dollars than we would be able to do so otherwise. In general, this book is WAY to the left so reader beware.

My background is a B.S. in Acct., an MBA in finance and current interests in economic and social policy development so I found this to be quite an interesting read.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be read by all working people, October 22, 2000

By 

snowleopard (Oregon) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: America: Who Stole the Dream? (Paperback)

There is little refuting the fact that over the last 15 years the split classes, between not just the rich and poor, but the rich and the working class, has grown sharply. Equally obvious is the control that big money has over every political level, on both sides of the political fence. What this marvelous book does is show specifically how this came to be, what policies caused it to be that way, and is loaded with in depth statistics cementing it's case. It also gives some good examples of how we might remedy the growing plutocracy.

I recommend this book for all working persons, regardless of your political stance.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Informative but unenlightening, October 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: America: Who Stole the Dream? (Paperback)

The book is another installment of the authors' concern for what might be called the `hollowing out of America'. Like the previous books, this one includes valuable facts and figures detailing the decline of America's working class. Much, however, is also repetitive, so not much new ground is broken. Nevertheless, the theme can support retelling since repercussions from the massive shifts in wealth and manufacturing continue to be felt throughout the land. It should also be noted that this decline is ongoing despite the so-called boom economy, whose benefits - as the numbers also show - have overwhelmingly flowed to one wealth bracket,. the upper 10%

One fresh feature in "...Dream" is the mounting assault on skilled high-tech salaries now underway. By and large, this is being done by either contracting out software programming to increasingly skilled Third World countries like India, or by importing these same skilled workers at a fraction of American salary. The latter operates under a legal cover that requires the company to advertise the job before turning to foreign workers as last resort. Apparently, however, compliance is left to the good faith of the company which unsurprisingly applies it insincerely. Viewed cynically, there is perhaps poetic justice in this whitecollar decline after the years of unchallenged blue-collar retreat.

The authors' discussion of the trade deficit reveals an important shortcoming in books such as this that focus mainly on statistics. As B&S show, the numbers indicate that the trade deficit continues to grow despite all the hand-wringing and tough-talk from Washington. Even so, the authors treat this economic negative as something of a mystery, blaming it on a lack of will on the part of successive administrations, as if the only ingredient missing is political gumption. In capsule, an issue such as this highlights a major failing of conventional expose's. On one hand, they focus strongly on the basic reality of class struggle, without, of course, ever using those words; on the other, their brief analysis of an issue like trade relations remains blandly conventional, repeating nothing more than unenlightening nostrums that leave the reader badly misdirected.

Instead, what is called for is a peek at the postwar world of capitalism and America's role since 1947 as arbiter of international capital and regulator of international markets. From this less conventional perspective, reasons for an apparent lack of government resolve readily take shape. In order to avoid consensus damaging trade wars, America has in the last few years opened its domestic manufacturing markets to low priced foreign competition. That is, in order to prevent competitive chaos from breaking out in the rush for international markets narrowed down by an expanded world-wide capacity, the US has sacrificed major portions of its own manufacturing sector, a move that has the collateral incentives of both quelling domestic inflation and undermining the strength of organized labor. Thus the overall interests of capital are served at the expense of one of its parts, a manufacturing sector whose owners have been well-compensated with tax write-offs for their sacrifice. Meanwhile middle-class bluecollar jobs are replaced by low wage service sector employment and the 'hollowing out' continues. From this perspective, a politically explosive one, it is not gumption our administrations lack, it's honesty about real policy and whose interests get served first.

The main problem with books like Barlett and Steele's is not their focus on numbers; it's ultimately their herdlike conventionality that is at once both informative and unenlightening