Customer Reviews

Broke: The Plan to Restore Our Trust, Truth and Treasure

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Broke, the latest release by Beck, is a surprisingly entertaining text to
be sure. It's engaging, easy to read and designed as an unapologetic
agenda...Beck style. It's also packed full of information that is sure to
create a "teachable moment" among even the most vocal opponent. As a college instructor and business writer, Beck is one of the personalities that tends to draw a lot of attention and followers/critics; for that reason I attempt to stay somewhat up to date with what he/others are doing however, I'm not a "fan" of Beck per se. Although I consider him in the realm of "entertainer" rather than serious economic or political leadership, Beck has done a very real service with the publication of this book if for no other reason than the historical and educational value of the first 2/3 of the book. Also, despite the fact that this is an early review of the book (versus my own personal opinion and/or agenda), please note that this is a verified purchase unlike others. If you want to debate the pro's and con's of the "agenda", the tea party, republicans vs democrats, liberals versus conservatives etc...this is NOT that review.

Basics About the Book

First of all, this is a 400 pages of facts, figures, charts, explanations,
history, examples and action-steps. It contains plenty of resources, ample
visual impact and a clear concise style that encourages the reader to
continue reading. This is the hardcover version with dust-jacket and I'm
happy to say that it was well designed for maximum readability and
audience appeal. Whether you are the type that sits down and reads 400
pages at once or just likes to browse a bit here and there, this book will
work equally well. Plenty of conversation with oodles of tidbits and
factoids.

Who Should Read

Beck Critics - Those that dislike Glenn Beck will not be disappointed - he
provides plenty of fuel to fire-up even the most reserved of his critics.
In fact, even hard core Beck advocates are likely to take issue with a few
items here and there due to "spin" so commonly used by Beck when
interpreting information and data. Like the old adage, there are lies,
d-mnded lies and statistics...the cited data is often used for/against
both sides of a debate, definitions are distorted to the benefit of both
sides and the usual chicanery is alive and well throughout the book. Yes,
I cringed at times but let's face it, that is a daily event for most
Americans that haven't already tuned out entirely. Critics of Beck will
find ample opportunity to criticize the details, the proposed plan of
action and even the man himself. However, there is a good chance that even
the most critical opponent of Beck will actually learn something from this
book! It is interesting and packed full of relevant historical detail as
well as food for thought.

Beck Fans - If you enjoy Beck, this may be his best book to date. It's
packed with information and is unapologetic in the proposed agenda set
forth. It's funny. It's informative. It's entertaining. It's educational.
Without a doubt you will want to buy a copy for yourself, a couple to loan
out to friends and at least one to keep on hand for naysayers and critics.
Unless they are so closed to anything other than their very own agenda,
every thinking person is likely to find something of interest in this
book. Yes, there is slant or angle but that is true of every "side". What
does come through (quite clearly) is the position taken by Beck and his
supporters as well as the reasons and rationale. Agree or disagree, it's
worth reading.

Teens & Those New to Politics, Economics, Tax Issues etc. - Anyone with an
open mind is likely to enjoy this book even if you don't agree...or
actually disagree...with Beck and his conclusions. This would be a great
tool for teens, home schooler and others that would like to initiate an
open conversation about what it taking place (or not) in this nation. The
historical perspective alone is well written, filled with facts and open
enough to spur endless debate.

What is Covered

With over 400 pages packed to the brim, this book provides a big bang for
the buck! It's roughly divided into three parts:

Part I - Part I begins with ancient history, the foundation of this
nation, monetary policy of Hoover, FDR, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush II and
now Obama.

Part II - Covers the crime of the century, the cover up and "the murder
weapon".

Part III - The Plan. This is Becks' call for action, response to critics
and his understanding of the role religion, government, family etc plays
in shaping our nation.

Citations, Resources etc...

This summer Laurence Kotlikoff (an economist at Boston U) published an estimate of the total debts and obligations of the US government: 202 trillion dollars- we ARE broke. The main sources of this gargantuan debt are the major Federal entitlement programs: Social Security and Medicare. The scary facts of Federal financial mismanagement discussed in this book have come out just in time for Halloween.

The most obvious question to those interested in history is how did we get into this mess? Glen Beck proposes some answers in his new book. In 416 pages Beck recounts numerous historical examples (mainly in the first part of this book) of our drift from limited constitutional government, and towards unlimited government- which in our case came to mean unlimited spending. Washington politicians have been promising us more and more over time, mostly in the form of so-called entitlements. Washington politicians have hid their recklessness from us with these unfunded entitlements, well at least from most of us. Economists like Kotlikoff, and also Martin Feldstein, have been warning us about these fiscal imbalances for decades. Now the total sum of these legislated promises is more than American taxpayers can possibly pay. The establishment of entitlements and increased spending in general was done in the name of `progressivism'. Now these supposedly progressive programs threaten future economic progress.

The most obvious question to practically minded people is: how do we get out of this mess? Beck's answer is simple- and highly plausible. Part three argues that we need to return to constitutionally limited government, one where individual states are sovereign, government is decentralized, and individuals bear personal responsibility for their actions. Beck claims that this move involves shared sacrifice, and `shared sacrifice'. We especially need to start taking the 10th amendment seriously. Beck is thinking in terms of what economists call, The Tragedy of the Commons. Nobody cares for a genuine commons because no single person bears significant private costs for depleting common resources. Our Federal commons is effectively broke because everyone takes and tries to avoid contributing. It will never work.

Beck has a reputation as a political partisan; however this book is critical of politicians in both political parties. While it is obvious that Democrats created the biggest fiscal problems (Social Security and Medicare), many Republicans have participated in "the crime of the century". Readers can draw whatever conclusions they want from this book. However, the issues this book addresses are real and important, and Beck has made a serious effort to explain all of this to the general public. This problem is not simply going to go away. America needs major fiscal restructuring, and this will require a move back to limited government.

This book will certainly ignite further controversy, and that's probably a good thing. We are broke, and must do something about our fiscal situation sooner or later. Anyone interested in either American history or America's future should at least look at this book.

Broke is Glenn Beck's third "text book" styled book. The same high gloss, colored pages are back with all your favorite wit and humor used to tackle serious issues. This book, unlike Beck's others, is much more focused in it's scope. It deals with the past, present, and possible future of the financial state of the Nation.

A great feature in this book are citations that take up over 50 pages! You may not agree with his conclusions, you may say they are reaching a bit, or paranoid, but you definitely can't say that he is simply pulling all this stuff out of thin air!

I'd recommend this book to any Glenn Beck fan, and to anyone who has never actually watched his show. If your entire view point on Beck's character is made up entirely by Stewart and Colbert, you owe it to yourself to find out exactly what it is this guy is saying.

Glenn Beck's newest book is another eye-opener and perhaps his best. Beck continues to educate America, even though it seems to be politically incorrect with some. This book is easy to read and provides clear facts and figures to prove his point that the USA is financially broke. Not only is our economy broke; we are spiritually broke; our faith in our government is at an all-time low...we are a train wreck! The author doesn't leave us without hope, but provides the facts, so that Americans can start to heal their country and themselves. This is a must read for all voters and those who really care about turning our country around before it is too late.

As a financial planner, I am always advising my clients on sound financial investments and it kills me to see our government (suposedly for the people, of the people, and by the people) got absolutely berserk with spending. Most of the facts and figures in this hefty but easy to comprehend book follow common sense and the news that you've heard recently about our country's debt problems (the $202T is new--I've always heard our unfunded obligations at $50T). It is a great resource though.

The timing of this book is impeccable- out just before midterm elections. It provides a clarion call to readers to put restraints on our government or risk some horrendous fiscal consequences (this section in Broke is excellent). Kudos to Beck for doing this at a major turning point for our nation!

I bought this book last night and read the first chapter plus the ones about Wilson and FDR. The Wilson chapter was quite an eye-opener. I hadn't realized he was such a narcissistic elitist. Or, a bigot. And, now I know who created the IRS. Another interesting fact? FDR never intended for anyone to rely soley on Social Security as their sole retirement income. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this book.

After reading the free book sample on Kindle, I decided to move on and get the audio book download on Audible. Why? Because, just by reading the sample, I realized that "Broke" reasoning and arguments are not directed to blame anybody or anything in particular. It blames us: the people. The approach of explaining today's struggles from a historical perspective on political systems that once thrived and then failed when people, by some reason and sometimes not willingly, renounced their own freedom is absolutely convincing and agreeable.

The tale of the working ant and the lazy grasshopper presented in the beginning - and that is of knowledge to the most of us - is a very comprehensible example on how to turn a stimulating and constantly growing environment into something abysmal, allowing government to take part on things that we could manage ourselves. When there's no personal savings, there's no liberty. The whole book develops around this concept which is so simple in theory, yet so difficult to put in practice. We need somebody to remind us about it from time to time.

To make a case, the book contains in several passages an "interruption" with quick facts comparing past to present data on social and economic indicators which is very hard to disagree if we look around. I believe these fast, non intrusive breaks are quite welcomed and provides to all readers/listeners not only with reasons to keep moving on until the end of the book and let everyone draw their own conclusions, but also the very reason to why this book was written.

One of the things that I think speaks well of Glenn Beck is the kind of crazed hatred he inspires in the Progressive / Collectivist / Socialist class. I am sure this book will be wildly criticized, with few to zero citations, and the non-arguments against it will be personal attacks against Beck.

But I have read this book and while no one will mistake it for Milton Friedman, David Ricardo, and Adam Smith, it's head and shoulders better than most anything we are being told by Beck's peers on radio and TV. And given the importance and timeliness of what Beck is saying, I recommend that everyone read and think about what Beck is saying. We need to wake up, people. We are broke. While we might have some cash in our wallets, our long term obligations are frightening. Changes are coming. The only choice we have is to plan and manage them on our own or wait until the train leaves the tracks and disaster forces us to change.

Part I takes us through the history and how thrift, savings, and productivity were transformed by the Progressives into bad things and what the revaluation of those values has been a big contributor to our current crisis. My only question of the material is whether or not Andrew Carnegie really did make a major contribution to the University of Chicago since it is so closely associated with John D. Rockefeller. Maybe he did. But either way, it is no big deal. Chances are, you will learn a lot by reading this section.

Part II discusses how honest government accounting went out the window during the Reagan administration and has gotten steadily worse. Beck demonstrates why we have to look at the off book spending to realize that there really was no surplus under Clinton and the deficits were always works than the Feds ever admitted. He also shows how the huge Federal Government spontaneously calls into being lobbyists to work on funneling Federal Spending to their clients in return for helping those in power stay in power. Frankly folks, the number one way to get the Feds out of our lives is to quit asking them to give you stuff. Shrink the demand, shrink the spending, and most of their power goes away.

Part III is the most controversial because you may or may not share Beck's values and his 8 step plan for restoring the values, as he sees them, that made this country wealthy, powerful, and great. What are they? 1) Realize that we have individual rights and that collective rights are an excuse to grab power and chain people to the government. 2) Realize that we have equality of opportunity and that trying to make equal outcomes is just a government way of grabbing more power to try and do something that cannot be done. 3) Believe in America and her greatness. 4) Refashion government to be closer to the people. Decentralization takes away power from the elitists who want government as free of actual control by the people as they can get it. 5) Give the Progressives a taste of the activism they have been giving us for more than a century. 6) Cut spending everywhere. A little, some more, and a lot. 7) Stop printing money. Create policies that support a sound currency with real value. 8) Live your own life so you are "out of the system". Don't allow yourself to become dependent on the government and vote for those that support liberty and responsibility rather than dependence

Can we do it? Yes! Will we do it? That remains to be seen. I hope we do.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Saline, MI

The book is well written and well documented, but there is no index. It would be helpful in looking up facts I read and would like to return to later.

This book is incredibly informative and I'm recommending anyone interested in the state of the country whether conservative or progressive to read it. There's alot in here that's good for discussion. It's the smash mouth call outs in the margins of the text that make this book punchy and lively. They back up alot of what he says.

Of course opinion will vary depending on your interpretation so it's up to the reader to decide. But when you have the likes of Thomas Jefferson calling out from the grave in the pages of this book...it's hard for people who disagree with Glenn Beck to counter his proposals and historical accounts of what's happened. Bottom line is I believe progressive thinking is in serious trouble if Glenn Beck is right in his new book.