Starred Review. According to economist and author Bernstein (All Together Now: Common Sense for a Fair Economy), the endless parade of economic legislation and corporate criminality that keep the rich getting richer are all a direct product of economic knowledge being monopolized and manipulated by the rich, keeping the middle and lower classes woefully unprepared to understand, much less stand up to, the economic forces aligned against them. Fortunately, this accessible overview should clear things up for even the most befogged reader. Answering questions from an average American perspective-"the ones in the vise grip of the crunch"-Bernstein explains murky topics like health care reform, minimum wage laws, the Federal Reserve, immigration and budget deficits with a clear, friendly manner that sidesteps any scholarly (and/or sinister) obfuscation. His progressive "we're all in this togther" philosophy, though seemingly familiar, is backed up with enough data and savvy to illuminate what's wrong in the dominant "self-reliance" narrative of American political discourse. This down-to-earth, populist guide to the pressing economic issues of our time is a clarifying, useful and empowering resource.
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Review
No mere populist rant, Crunch is organized as a broad primer on U.S. economics that uses inequality as a starting point for understanding this wider subject. Bernstein's concise explanations of issues like unemployment and health care expenses are meaty and engaging, offering laypeople tangible insight into how the economy functions and what it takes to ensure that those who make it work also share its rewards. -- Utne, Book Review, May-June 2008
Product Description
Is Social Security really going bust, and what does that mean to me? If I hire an immigrant, am I hurting a native-born worker? How much can presidents really affect economic outcomes? Why does the stock market go up when employment declines? What's a "living wage?" Why do I feel so squeezed?
If you'd like to know the answers to these questions, premier economist Jared Bernstein is here to help. In Crunch he answers these as well as dozens of others he has fielded from working Americans by email, on blogs, and at events where he speaks. Chances are if there's a stumper you've always wanted to ask an economist, it's solved in this book.
From the Inside Flap
Is Social Security really going bust, and what does that mean to me? If I hire an immigrant, am I hurting a native-born worker? Why does the stock market go up when employment declines? Should I give that homeless guy a buck? What's a "living wage"? How much can presidents really affect economic outcomes? What does the Federal Reserve Bank really do? Why do I feel so squeezed?
If you'd like some straight answers, premier economist Jared Bernstein is here to help. In Crunch he responds to dozens of questions he has fielded from working Americans, questions that directly relate to the bottom-line, dollars-and-cents concerns of real people. Chances are if there's a stumper you've always wanted to ask an economist, it's solved in this book.
Bernstein is fed up with "Darth Vaders with PhDs" who use their supposed expertise to intimidate average citizens and turn economics into a tool for the rich and powerful. In the pages of Crunch, Bernstein lays bare the dark secret of economics: it's not an objective scientific discipline. It's a set of decisions about the best way to organize our society to produce and distribute resources and opportunities. And we all can, and must, participate in these decisions. "America is a democracy," he writes. "And in a democracy all of us, not just the elites and their scholarly shock troops, get to weigh in on biggies like this."
Our economy will be only as fair as we can make it. In this lively and irreverent tour through everyday economic mysteries, Bernstein helps us decode economic "analysis," navigate through murky ethical quandaries, and make sound economic decisions that reflect our deepest aspirations for ourselves, our families, and our country.
From the Back Cover
Economics for the Rest of Us
Economics isn't as mysterious or arcane as some economists make it seem. And Jared Bernstein is not one of "those" economists. In Crunch he strips away the confusing jargon and gives straight answers about topics everyone wonders about: Social Security, immigration, globalization, homelessness, job security and more. But ultimately economics is a matter of making choices, not right and wrong answers. Bernstein shows how we can choose answers to our economic questions that will lead to the kind of society we all want: one that is fair and equitable as well as efficient.
"Jared Bernstein's new book is a must-read for everyone who cares about restoring economic fairness in an America with the greatest income inequality since the Great Depression. Drawing on everyday examples, Crunch is an accessible explanation of economic principles presented with equal parts of insight, humor, and stimulation. In the process, Bernstein explains how we got to where we are, what to do to fix it, and why fighting for a fair society is so important"
--Senator John Edwards
"The sprightliest writer working in the dismal science since the heyday of John Kenneth Galbraith."
--Harold Meyerson, Washington Post columnist
"Jared Bernstein has written a fun, user-friendly primer that tells you everything you need to know about the economy. I liked it, you'll like it, and if you read it you can stop feeling guilty that you forgot everything you learned in that freshman econ course."
--Jonathan Chait, Senior Editor, The New Republic, and author of The Big Con: The True Story of How Washington Got Hoodwinked and Hijacked by Crackpot Economics
"Crunch is a dangerous book. Anyone who reads it will be armed with new ideas to start kicking back at the false economic theories that have ensnared this country. The book is witty, irreverent, and easy to read, but don't let that fool you. It's powerful."
--Elizabeth Warren, Leo Gottlieb Professor of Law, Harvard Law School and coauthor of All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan
"Jared Bernstein--the rare economist who writes lucid English--has a gift for making difficult topics easy to grasp without dumbing them down. Bernstein's latest superbly timed book,Crunch, is a must-read guide to the economy's current slide and its effect on us all."
--Robert Kuttner, Founding Co-Editor, The American Prospect
About the Author
Jared Bernstein is senior economist and director of the Living Standards Program at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, DC. He is the author of All Together Now: Common Sense for a Fair Economy and is the coauthor of eight editions of The State of Working America. His work has been published in The American Prospect, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times and the New York Daily News. As well as being a featured weekly commentator on a variety of CNBC programs such as Kudlow & Company and The Call, he makes regular appearances on various NPR programs, including Morning Edition and Marketplace.
