Customer Reviews

Shifting Fortunes: The Perils of the Growing American Wealth Gap

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This was a great read. Not having a background in economics, I found this book gave me a birds-eye view of the story behind the current "economic miracle," and put a lot of everyday things in startling perspective. A lot of the time books like this are dense and lose their usefulness by not connecting to day to day happenings. On top of the information, the charts and graphics are bright, clear and, startling. They play out the story of the book in crisp detail. I found this book also extremely helpful in talking to other people about why things are not what they seem. Shifting Fortunes also does not dwell on the negatives as it offers a number of clear policy alternatives beyond its rationale for sharing our country's wealth. When I read recent news coverage on CEO pay and current policies, this book served as a helpful "spin-detector."

For anyone who stays abreast of current affairs there is nothing new in this very briefest of books (pamphlet). Several charts and tables detail the following: the stock market boom and the huge increases in net worth of those who own the majority of stocks, that is, the rich; the loss of wages for production workers over the last twenty years; the rise of debt, bankruptcies, and college costs; the loss of defined benefit plans; and reduced savings.

This is not a book that attempts to explain these trends. No mention is made of the reversal of the post-WWII social compact, the rise of political conservatism, neoliberalism, free trade, globalization, etc. Without that kind of context there is little basis for evaluating some short proposals for wealth-gap reduction such as KidSave Accnts, ESOPs, Individual Development Accnts, USA Accnts, or various types of wealth taxation.

Unless one is just oblivious to wealth gap trends there would be no reason to buy this book.

This is a brief account of the wealth gap and would be good to get a simple grasp -- especially for those with little previous understanding. For in depth needs it is not recommended.

This is a brief account of the wealth gap and would be good to get a simple grasp -- especially for those with little previous understanding. For in depth needs it is not recommended.

Despite the last ten years of booming prosperity and an ever rising stock market, most American households have a lower net worth today than they did in 1983. Nine years into the longest peacetime expansion in history, average American workers are still earning less (adjusting for inflation) than they did when Richard Nixon was president. All to many people have found themselves having to work longer hours and go deeper into debt in order to support an average middle class life style. The "wealth gap" poses serious social, political, personal, and economic consequences to American democracy and civic life. Shifting Fortunes: The Perils Of The Growing American Wealth Gap is a badly needed wake-up call to the American public if we are to insure and strengthen national prosperity in the 21st century.

Hey, if you have been living in a cave for the last hundred years, or if you are not American, these communist ideas might be new to you.

Unfortunately, it is the same garbage that has been promoted in American Universities since most were built. The media has never stopped promoting these same simple ideas. The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer!

Like we care! Just more wolves whining at the piece of meat that can't have.