America: What Went Wrong? [Paperback]

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

Book Description

Release date: January 1, 1992

Asking the question, "what went wrong," two Pulitzer Prize-winning authors present a sweeping critique of the last two decades of American history, concluding that short-sighted greed in business and government has undermined the American dream. Original.

Product Details

• Paperback: 252 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing; Original edition (January 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0836270010
• ISBN-13: 978-0836270013
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #53,956 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #41 in Books > Business & Investing > Economics > Development & Growth
  • #86 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Specific Topics > Political Economy

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 61 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Still highly relevant September 8, 2000

By Douglas Doepke

Format:Paperback

This is a book that really helps ordinary Americans understand what is happening to the economy. Though somewhat dated by being written before our so-called period of prosperity, the trends emphasized in the book not only continue, but in some instances have accelerated. In that important sense, B's & S's work remains as topical today as it was yesterday. It's also an excellent companion to Kevin Phillip's more recent *Politics of the Rich and Poor*, though the former aims at a more popular audience. Many of the statistical comparisons of Phillip's book were originated here: the junk bond plunder of healthy companies, the massive export of high-wage jobs, the decline of pension funds and health care, et.al. And a sorry, sorry tale it is.

Several pressing topics not included in Phillip's book are discussed here. "Net operating loss" is perhaps the most egregious method of transferring wealth upward. This highly biased tax allowance allows struggling companies to write off last year's net operating loss on this year's tax bill, forcing taxpayers to pay for operating losses incurred by private sector firms. Similarly, Chapter 11 bankruptcies allow indigent firms to continue operating with present management but immune from creditors. The net effect of both measures is to lessen risk and encourage reckless speculation, thereby undermining long-term market health. Included in the book are other degenerate measures deriving largely from the 1980's: Deduction of interest from corporate borrowing, Tax-free government bonds (deriving from early 1900's), Untaxed stock transactions, et.al. The overall result is to transfer the tax burden from wealthy categories to middle-cass brackets.... For more far-sighted conservatives, this amounts to an alarming social and political development.

Though much the same ground has now been trod in other books, the story can stand multiple retellings, since middle-class decline is perhaps the most important domestic trend of our time. What distinguishes this book's original telling are the vivid personal profiles amidst the welter of relevant statistics. These cameos have the crucial effect of reminding the reader that behind the abstractions are real people whose lives are shaped by tax legislation, wealth transfers, and job export. The result is a little like Studs Turkel meets the tax collector.

Recommended for those interested in the social contours of the future. Read more ›

27 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars EYE OPENER January 22, 2004

By Larry Lively

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book was bought as one of the text books I needed for my college civics class. Of all the text books I have bought, this is the only one that I read from cover to cover. This book will make you angry with what is allowed to happen to the average American. Most of the incidents that are talked about are not general public knowledge. I don't feel that it is a fatalistic book as other reviewers have indicated. It does bring out some disturbing issues that should not have happened or allowed to happen.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Oh One Star Reviewers, Where Are You Now...? January 18, 2011

By Garreth Heidt

Format:Paperback

Interesting that there are no one star reviews after the economic downturn of 2008--present day. We see only what we want to see, t'would seem. Thus, when Bartlett and Steele's "doomsday" arguments bore fruit in 2008, we ought to note that they were on to something. I read this book when it was first published as a serial piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer, and then later in the book form. I've been citing their work for just as long.

Can't wait to see Bartlett and Steele's latest work: What Went Wrong: The Betrayal of the American Dream. They're working with the Investigative Reporting Workshop of the American University School of Communications. Bartlett and Steele are true examples of what used to sell papers--smart, in-depth reporting that never flinched.

20 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars What really went wrong? January 2, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

This book is really an eye opener. It cuts through all the bull that we normally get in the press or from politicians. It suddenly puts everything in focus and you realize why things are the way they are now, especially if you were around in the 50's as a pre-baby boomer or a baby-boomer. I think it's even more important that people born in the 70's read it so they can get a grasp on where this country is headed. Intelligent, clear, well documented writing, it should be included in every school curriculum as required reading.

11 of 16 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Made sense of the confusing business of "Reganomics" December 7, 1998

By Craig Duncan

Format:Paperback

I recall, when Regan's "simplified" 3-tier federal income tax code took effect, conducting a simple experiment: I calculated the tax on several incomes, from poverty level to over $200000, both before and after the change. Although the gross tax dropped, the percentage paid by the lower incomes increased, while the upper decreased. This, I remember thinking, does not look good.

Barlet and Steele's book gave substance to my suspicion, and helped to form my current understanding of US government, which is, I believe, increasingly under the sway of a wealthy elite.

Particularly interesting were the parallel the book drew between the early '1920s and the '80s.

While the book does well in illuminating the problems faced by our republic, it does less well in suggesting a cure, though, in its defense, this is a less easy task.

I recommend this book to every serious, thinking person I meet.

5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone should read this. February 28, 2013

By D.H.

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Great book filled with information everyone should be aware of to be informed of the workings of the government behind the scenes

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read, Needs Updating, but worthy of one's time! February 20, 2013

By David R. Burns

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Prescient in many, many ways. Reading this book, published in 1992 reads like it is a 2013 NYTimes best seller. The truth is crispy clear and nothing has change with the possible exception that things are only getting worse. For a student of the many recent calamities of political history, this is nearly a "must read". The fact that the author could see the simple facts as though they were clear to everyone, is not unusual. What is unusual is the delivery of these simple facts, overlooked by most people. With the ridiculous amount of time politicians give themselves away from their Washington D.C. office, I wish they would grab this book and READ it!