Money: Who Has How Much and Why (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Two things tantalize us about the people we know and many we don't know..." (more)
Key Phrases: corporate chairmen, United States, New York, Social Security (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A staple of American conversation, from barstools to sermons to op-ed pages, is that money isn't everything. And yet it seems that nowadays, nothing else counts nearly so much. In this book, Andrew Hacker, an eminent sociologist, uses his knack for making statistics come alive to address such questions as "Has affirmative action helped African-Americans financially?," "Do the same professions that used to ensure lifelong economic security still do so?," and "Are the rich getting richer, and if so, why aren't the poor doing better as well?" Hacker doesn't conclude with a call for income redistribution--he doesn't think it would be heeded--but the facts he amasses tell the story of a country that inordinately promotes non-social ambition and, just as excessively, penalizes children. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In his best-selling Two Nations (LJ 3/15/92), political scientist Hacker examined the role of race in the social and economic life of America. In his latest work, he argues that an equally enormous financial division separates Americans. He explains why there are increasingly more individuals at the extremes of the income scale while the middle is contracting. Besides the income gap between blacks and whites, Hacker shows where immigrants stand on the income scale, and he assesses the financial disparities between the sexes. He also explores how other elements?e.g., greed, talent, and education?are factored into the income gap equation. Hacker combines detailed data on individual incomes and wealth in the United States with an exceptional analysis of economic and social class divisions. His well-researched work will interest scholars and students as well as the general public. Recommended for academic and public libraries.?Ali Abdulla, East Carolina Univ., Greenville, N.C.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Scribner Paper Fiction; 1st Touchstone Ed edition (April 9, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684846624
• ISBN-13: 978-0684846620
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #950,484 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Our Free Market Economy and the Resulting Trends, July 21, 1998

By	Bryan Carey "Bryan Carey" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Money: Who Has How Much and Why (Hardcover)

In "Money: Who has how much and why", Andrew Hackermakes a decent attempt to illustrate the changes in the American economic profile. He uncovers some interesting and surprising facts from time to time and he provides the reader with more than enough statistics for one book.

The main focus of "Money" is the economic trends of the past twenty to thirty years. Hacker points out some of the important changes that have taken place and he is careful to emphasize that while these trends are a step in the right direction, there is still much room for improvement. Examples would include the overall increase in pay for women, the movement of women into non-traditional, higher paying jobs, and the upward mobility of blacks into higher social classes.

There are several other areas where the economic trends have not been necessarily favorable. The most obvious is the growing income inequality between rich and poor. While this is usually viewed in a negative light by most people, Hacker does not say much about the possible consequences relating to the income inequality gap or what can be done to stop this trend. He merely states that these financial inequalities are a fact of life, a direct result of the capitalistic system.

With subjects as diverse as economic trends, causes, predictions, etc., this book could have easily been double, perhaps triple, in length. Hacker provides a quick overview with lots of economic statistics in a relatively short amount of space.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Brief Response to Brian Carey's review, February 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Money: Who Has How Much and Why (Hardcover)

As a former student of Professor Hacker, I've developed much respect for the man. While that certainly biases my opinion of his books (as I do view him as the God of Political Science), I know that I will always be getting a fresh perspective as I've never known anyone who could "cut the crap" better than Professor Hacker.

One of the most important lessons I learned from him is to always read between the lines; so that we may learn to think beyond the 68% norm. While Dr. Hacker could certainly fill hundreds of more pages with his insightful comments and statistical analyses, he knows that in between the lines, there is a whole other book yet to be created by the reader. I regret not having learned that until after he had already given me my final grade.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting look at how money gets distributed in the US., July 10, 1999

By A Customer

Andrew Hacker's Money is a great look at who has the money in America and how they got it. He talks in great detail about how the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor. I was astounded to read that in 1997 there were 137 individuals who claimed over $1 billion in income. Almost 70,000 tax returns claimed an income of at least $1 million. There are far more rich people out there than I thought and it leads me to believe that if they can do it, so can I.