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167 of 174 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding!, May 9, 2006
A summary of Sirota's book would point out that millions lack health care, and even more struggle to afford it. Politicians claim they care, then pass legislation that provides more profits for drug companies and insurers. At the same time, inflation-adjusted wages have been largely stagnant, while corporate profits have skyrocketed. In this instance, politicians "help out" by further depressing wages by continuing to allow millions of illegal and temporary legal immigrants into the U.S., and additional millions of jobs outsourced overseas. Despite an obvious need for energy conservation, our government takes its lead from V.P. Dick Cheney and does nothing. Welcome to today's world of lobbyists', lies, and legislation for sale.
The "really bad news" is that they're not satisfied. Possible future legislation includes a flat income tax (a huge tax cut for the wealthy, and a huge tax increase for everyone else - per Reagan's '82 Treasury Dept.), permanent elimination of the estate tax (only 2% were paying, and half the receipts came from the top .1% with estates over $5 million), and reducing corporate taxes from their 35% level - "fourth highest" in the industrialized world (a '04 GAO report concluded that 94% paid less than 5%, and that 60,000 government contractors owed $6 billion in unpaid taxes), more personal tax cuts (to justify further cuts in veterans' healthcare, inadequate/non-funding of Army armor and New Orleans' levees - the pre-Katrina official protesting the latter was immediately fired).
Not upset yet - read on. USA Today reported in late '05 that while the 60 worst performing companies in America lost 4769 billion in market value in the prior five years, their top five executives were paid an average of $8 million/year. Meanwhile, University of California researchers in '04 found that jobs in the bottom third of the pay scale were growing almost twice as fast as those in the middle.
"Hostile Takeover" also puts to rest the myth of "free" trade. Provisions include insuring U.S. access to potentially hepatitis-carrying Mexican vegetables and Canadian beef with mad-cow disease, while banning importation of cheaper drugs and limiting other nations' ability to produce generic medicines. In '01, economists estimated that three-fourths of U.S. workers lost about 12% of current wages because of trade deals. At least we still have some - the New York Times reported the loss of over 2 million manufacturing jobs between '01 - '04, while Gartner Research estimated over 30% of high-tech jobs could be shipped overseas by '15 and University of California researchers estimated up to 14 million jobs are now at risk of outsourcing.
There's more: Harvard researchers found that 90% of personal bankruptcies were due to illness, medical bills, job loss, death in the family, and/or divorce. Meanwhile, the Kauffman Foundation's '05 study concluded that 20% of recent bankrupts had been operating a small business. No matter - the myth of deadbeat debtors ruining credit card companies persists, and Congress recently made personal bankruptcy laws much tougher.
At least we can count on retirement - not! In '02 AP reported that 8 million workers saw their retirement plans converted to "cash balance" payouts only - a loss of up to $200 million, according to government sources. As for Social Security, a top University of Chicago economist estimates Wall St. would make $400 billion - $1 trillion in fees under the Bush privatization plan. No matter you say - Chile and Galveston, Texas have proven the concept's superiority. Unfortunately, the World Bank found that up to one-third of Chileans' retirement money went to fees (the public version went bankrupt - hence, no comparisons are available), and several government reports have concluded that many/most/all Galveston employees will receive LESS than they would have from Social Security.
Well, at least some of us have our health. Hopefully the growing number without health insurance will not get sick; as for universal governmental coverage - private insurance made over $10 billion in '03, with top executives raking in $85 million each. As for the innovative drugs many can't afford because of high prices "required for research" - the former New England Journal of Medicine's editor states that they "come almost entirely from publicly funded research done in government and university labs." Further evidence: Princeton's Uwe Reinhardt says that "R&D spending (as a % of drug industry revenues) is equal or higher in Europe (with price controls) as here" - specifically, 20% in Britain, vs. 14% in the U.S.
Finally, "fuel efficiency kills people," or so opponents say. On the other hand, University of Michigan, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory researchers and a government panel all have concluded that cars can be made as safe/safer than most SUVs, and especially better than most pickups.
Truly an encyclopedic work documenting how business has stolen and perverted American democracy. While Sirota offers specific recommendations in each area, the biggest problem involves providing a means for voters to see through all the lies and mis-statements. Publicly-funded elections may be the answer.
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73 of 79 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Serious Book for Serious People, June 16, 2006
I bought and read both this book, and John Stossel's Myths, Lies and Downright Stupidity: Get Out the Shovel - Why Everything You Know is Wrong This is a serious book for serious people. Stossel's book is full of trivia and generally a waste of time.
This author focuses on the substance of taxes, wages, jobs, debt, pensions, health care, prescription drugs, energy, unions, and legal rights, and he does it in an engaging methodical manner that discusses the issue, highlights in turn myths, lies, and half-truths, and then ends with proposed solutions, all of them sensible.
It merits comment that this book is endorsed on the back cover by many people I respect from Al Gore An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming to Bill Greider Who Will Tell The People? : The Betrayal Of American Democracy and The Soul of Capitalism: Opening Paths to a Moral Economy to Jim Hightower Thieves in High Places: They've Stolen Our Country and It's Time to Take It Back.
The bottom line is clear: the U.S. government at the political level, whether Republican or Democratic, is completely corrupt. Every Congressman and every President, every Senator, have so many conflicts of interest as to be incapable of representing the people honestly. Congress no longer represents the people. Let me repeat that: Congress no longer represents the people. They are either bribed by special interests or forced to follow the party line. See, with reviews: Running on Empty: How the Democratic and Republican Parties Are Bankrupting Our Future and What Americans Can Do About It; The Broken Branch: How Congress Is Failing America and How to Get It Back on Track (Institutions of American Democracy); and Breach of Trust: How Washington Turns Outsiders Into Insiders.
This author ends with a sensible bottom line: engage from the bottom up, and push for public financing of elections (I would include free television time from the PUBLIC airwaves), and until then, contribute to honest politicians who will forego campaign contributions.
The Unity '08 movement established by Hamilton Jordan proposes to field an Independent candidate fully funded by the people. As Joe Trippi and Howard Dean demonstrated, the people CAN out-spend and out-vote the corporations if they have a mind to. Jordon is half-way to the right answer--the rest of the answer is a Democratic President, a Republican Vice-President, two new Deputy Vice Presidents (John McCain for national security, overseeing Defense, State, and Justice, and Bill Bradley for everything else), and a COALITION cabinent. Separately a NON-RIVAL party has been created, the Citizens Party, to post a transparent national budget that is also balanced, and to engage voters from ALL parties in support of one single public interest issue: electoral reform in 2007, in time for an honest election the extremist Republicans cannot steal as they stole in 2000 via Florida and in 2004 via Ohio.
Lest anyone doubt the depth of this book's documented concerns, see my review of The Case for Impeachment: The Legal Argument for Removing President George W. Bush from Office by Dave Lindorf and Barbara Olshansky, and also How Would a Patriot Act? Defending American Values from a President Run Amok by constituional lawyer Gleen Greenwald.
For a list of 23 documented high crimes and misdemeanors by Dick Cheney,see my review of Vice: Dick Cheney and the Hijacking of the American Presidency
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44 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book -- and I'm no publicist, June 11, 2006
I really liked the way Sirota handled each of the topics he covered, even though I didn't agree with all his recommendations or even all his interepretations of the issues. The health care and prescription drugs chapters where interesting to me in this way because I am in favor of universal health care, but don't necessarily see that what he's said will convince anyone who isnt'. On the other hand, in the areas of taxes, wages, jobs and unions, his comments and recommendations were on target and helpful. The legal rights and pensions chapters covered things I didn't know, so I was glad to learn about those. I went to a reading/Q&A with Sirota where I bought the book, and it was filled beyond capacity. He was quite insightful, dealt deftly and expertly with his subjects and the audience. He had the facts well in hand and exuded the confidence that comes with being prepared.
Since college 15 years ago, when I first became aware of the political power of corporations, I've been bothered by it. But it wasn't until about ten years ago that I started putting it all together. I became angry. Now, after having worked for the Man, voted for the Man and been ripped off by the Man in all sorts of ways, I've become motivated. I am a policy junkie and avid CSPAN watcher, but I haven't read many other books like this. I'm glad to have read "Hostile Takeover" and am looking forward to reading other books in this vein. I did see the documentary "The Corporation," which added fuel to my indignant, anti-corporate fire.
To reviewer B Struhl, I'd have to say that perhaps you've sat around reading a few too many of these books to realize that most people don't have the time to read all of them and compare/contrast in a personal academic exercise. Many people, myself included, ARE volunteering with clean-money campaigns and other things. And even if they aren't, if they're just talking about these topics, bringing them up in polite conversation, it's helpful.
"whenever a book suggests a solution for fixing major problem (sic) such as this one it usually only has academic value"
Come again? How does suggesting actual solutions, especially solutions that people could take part in and advocate for, amount to a purely academic exercise? And I've got to say that, even though I'm a registered Democrat, simply volunteering for the Democratic party or voting for every Democrat or Democratic position on a ticket is stupid. I'm angry at the Democrats and have been for a while because I want more populism in my politics. They are beholden to corporate interests just like the Republicans are. At least Sirota's recommendations for helping the country aren't as shallow and jaded B Struhl's.
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