What has gone wrong with our economy and our democracy

Great book! Very simple to understand and reads fast. I think everyone should read it as this issue is becoming more and more acute with time and what is worst - it is heading in the wrong direction exponentially.

After seeing the movies "Inequality for All" I bought this book. The book is excellent. It is written in an easy to understand manner but yet packs a ton of information and statistics. But the stats are not boring and do not lose the reader. It's an easy read, but conveys an important message. Some of his policy recommendations are a bit unrealistic, but even so this is required reading for any American who considers himself/herself a concerned citizen.

Robert Reich has always demonstrated that in a just Capitalistic Country such as the US used to be that there has always been an unwritten contract between employers and their employees. It kind of goes " If you work hard and diligently, I will pay you a good salary that will allow you to have a decent life and indeed purchase products made in our very own US Factories". As employers and Banks abandon this very logical principle, there is a race to the bottom where the Middle Class is gutted and we end up with poor employees who can barely buy food and shelter much less luxury US products. There is some logic that as our very wealthy no longer look out of their offices to see the numerous employees they need and are responsible to, we have billionaires who sit at a keyboard and are responsible unto just themselves and the Congress they buy! This is a paradigm that must change or the vast number of Americans will have a mediocre finish to their lives

This book has some shocking news about how USA is run, and by who and for whom.
You feel depressed and disappointed when you read this book because you would feel that you are betrayed by politicians.

"Beyond Outrage" is a clear and concise snapshot of what has happened to the American economy. Reich's arguments supporting possible solutions to fix the economy are excellent. The great institutions of family, marriage, moral integrity and valuing the contributions of America's senior citizenry which are not addressed in the book require major consideration to helping fix the American economy. "Beyond Outrage" should invoke each of us to take a fresh new look out what else requires fixing the American way of life. Finally, Congress should begin again with finding ways to work with across party lines and with our president to optimize the socio-economic recovery. I recommend this book.

"Beyond Outrage" is a clear and concise snapshot of what has happened to the American economy. Reich's arguments supporting possible solutions to fix the economy are excellent. The great institutions of family, marriage, moral integrity and valuing the contributions of America's senior citizenry which are not addressed in the book require major consideration to helping fix the American economy. "Beyond Outrage" should invoke each of us to take a fresh new look out what else requires fixing the American way of life. Finally, Congress should begin again with finding ways to work with across party lines and with our president to optimize the socio-economic recovery. I recommend this book.

Reich remains committed to growth-driven economics, an old approach to the economy that is inherently flawed. While I agree with many of his ideas, until we move away from the growth model we will never solve the challenges that lie before us. Steady-state economics is the way we need to go.

When you read anything Robert Reich writes whether it a book or a column he lays out the truth and offers a solution to the horrible mess we call government in Washington. The ranks of our elected officials are rife with corruption. Most Washington operators no longer observe the word integrity. Their constituency votes them in and they take advantage of their "position" and forget about the folks that voted for them. We need a way to remove the ignorance from the voting public and let them see the truth. Robert Reich does that on a daily basis. However, the "big money" will do everything they can to silence him.

A little dated now but one more excellent explanation of how the corruption works in our economic system. Easy and quick reading and a good addition to what you may already know. Worth the Kindle and paperback price and the time to read it.

Bob Reich has done a magnificent job in laying out the issues with the current trend in wealth migrating to the top of the ladder and backs his arguements up with solid facts. I liked the book although it does tend to make you wonder exactly how greedy are the rich?

His solutions for solving the problems present only half a picture. Yes taxing the rich and corporate America certainly would be fair (and about time). However, another part of the issue that he doesn't address is the fact that the tax revenue has fallen (or at least been static) due to there not being enough jobs for the low income workers and middle class. We need to stimulate small business and forget about Wall Street.

Anyway, this is a great book that every member of Congress should read.

Beyond Outrage: What has gone wrong with our economy and our democracy, and how to fix it by Robert B. Reich

"Beyond Outrage" is a plea for action for those who care about the Future of America. Accomplished author of twelve books and current Professor of Public Policy, Robert Reich provides insight to what happened to our economy and how to fix it. In a lucid and persuasive manner, Reich provides compelling arguments in support of his main thesis: that our economy and democracy has been manipulated against average working people and what can be done about it. This Kindle Single is an intellectual appetizer. This 1744 KB book is broken out into three parts: Part One. The Rigged Game, Part Two. The Rise of the Regressive Right, and Part Three. Beyond Outrage: What You Need to Do.

Positives:
1. Well written, accessible book that gets to the points.
2. Robert Reich is an excellent author with a mastery of the subject.
3. Establishes upfront the main thesis of this Kindle Single and what the reader should expect from the main body of the book.
4. Provides seven dots that when connected show why our economic system is out of whack.
5. Thought-provoking comments, "Republicans want us to believe that the central issue is the size of government, but the real issue is whom government is for."
6. The gist of the problem; the super-rich have rigged our economy in their favor and at the expense of the average American. Reich provides an overwhelming amount of data in support of his argument. Outrage indeed.
7. The issue of revolving doors with regards to regulators and the corporations they were supposed to regulate.
8. The relation between the super-rich and their political influence. The political influence that money can buy.
9. The best definition for regulation..."regulations make sense where the benefits to the public exceed the costs, and regulations should be designed to maximize those benefits and minimize those costs." Will Dodd-Frank legislation be effective?
10. What economic history has taught us. A look at presidential policies from the past.
11. The conservative agenda. The rise of the Regressive Right and their strategy.
12. A look at the Tea Partiers, their political views.
13. The ten biggest economic lies. Interesting.
14. How to make a movement.
15. An agenda with specific points. Sound policies.
16. Links to further information.

Negatives:
1. If you have read some of the author's previous books this Kindle Single may come across as déjà vu.
2. No formal bibliography or links to notes.
3. I'm never happy when a term like "Social Darwinism" is used. It's a bastardized term. Oh well...
4. Tax Reform , that is, tax simplification is needed.

In summary, if you have read previous books or have followed Professor Reich's videos this book will feel like déjà vu but if you haven't or just like the idea of having this specific thesis as a refresher or aren't familiar at all, by all means get it. Reich writes in a lucid and direct manner, and always provides thought-provoking insight into the economy. His arguments are sound and it will take you a short time to go through it. I recommend it.

Further recommendations: "Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future (Vintage)" by Robert B. Reich, "Age of Greed: The Triumph of Finance and the Decline of America, 1970 to the Present" by Jeff Madrick, "Perfectly Legal: The Covert Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Benefit the Super Rich--and Cheat Everybody Else" by David Cay Johnston, "Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer--and Turned Its Back on the Middle Class" by Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson, "The Benefit and The Burden: Tax Reform-Why We Need It and What It Will Take" by Bruce Bartlett, "The Great American Stickup: How Reagan Republicans and Clinton Democrats Enriched Wall Street While Mugging Main Street" by Robert Scheer, "The Fifteen Biggest Lies about the Economy: And Everything Else the Right Doesn't Want You to Know about Taxes, Jobs, and Corporate America" by Joshua Holland, "That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back", by Thomas L. Friedman, "Screwed: The Undeclared War Against the Middle Class - And What We Can Do about It (BK Currents (Paperback))" by Thom Hartmann, and "War on the Middle Class: How the Government, Big Business, and Special Interest Groups Are Waging War on the American Dream and How to Fight Back" by Lou Dobbs.

Extremely informative. Should be required reading for everyone. I'm 71 years old and a devotee of economic history. My parents survivied the great depression and my older brother grew up in it, so I had a lot of first hand information about the so-called Golden Age that lead up to it. There was a huge income disparity between the ultra rich and the average working person then just as there is now. History really does repeat itself, Looking a Europe's prior history of revelotutions and upheavels in the 1700 and 1800's, it's always been clear that when the middle class shrinks too much those governments doom themselves.

Democracy? Ha! The once so mighty democracy has been subverted into a dictatorship by the super rich. The general lack of a poor education, that does not encourage critical thinking, has enabled the wealthy, using the media they control, to virtually disenfranchise the poor majority through a web of lies. Robert Reich offers solutions but they will only be effective if the truth is made known to the broad majority. Other countries embarked on that path should take note! Let's hope that the internet wrests away some of the power wielded by the thought controlling media.

Information is power, and this short book provides a virtual army of facts and arguments to combat the undermining of our democracy and capitalist economy. The book is concise, informational, and ends with a call to action that is hard to ignore.
Reich bypasses the usual, formal system of notations and citations that would otherwise clutter the book and unnecessarily bloat it. This is wise and progressive at the same time: It leaves more room for basic information, and "economizes it", making it inexpensive and accessible to the average reader. He assumes (correctly) that with today's fact-checking capabilities offered through internet, the individual reader can himself assess the validity of his statistics and arguments. Besides, with many readers, including me, his "street cred." is good: He has a wealth of experience, a thorough understanding of economics, and an integrity that is unchallenged by any responsible critics.
Many passages in the book are worth highlighting and storing, because they're rife with clear, understandable information. Reich delineates our current economic and political situation with facts such as: "With declining state and local spending, total spending on education, infrastructure, and basic research has dropped from 12 percent of GDP in the 1970's to less than 3 percent in 2011." That's clear, and plenty unsettling. Other facts are startling: "Just the spending linked to the Koch brothers' network [leading up to Nov.6 elections] exceeded the $370 million John McCain raised for his entire presidential election in 2008." That's also clear-and damned disturbing.
In the most powerful section of this little book, Dr. Reich effectively dissects, and disposes of, the philosophical myths propagated by the right-wing apologists. The section "The Ten Biggest Economic Lies" should be read by any confused citizens-including Tea Party members-who want our economy and government to work for them, yet have been persuaded to continually go to the polls and vote for a political agenda that is founded on sophistry or nonsense. But Reich's arguments will probably be most useful to progressives stunned by the absurd slogans coming from the right. Professor Reich demolishes their arguments by removing their foundations: the faulty premises.
The book ends with a brief how-to manual for any citizen who wants to stop the degradation of our democracy and restore a capitalist economy that works for everyone. "Faith without works is dead", and "we the people" obviously have work to do. This compact little book offers plenty of tools to do the job.

This book is so simple & yet makes the causes of what we have been living through in this country very clear. This is an incredibly easy read, a very short book, and yet it helped my understanding tremendously.

This volume picks up where Aftershock leaves off--more evidence, more fleshed-out ideas and remedies for today's key malaise. Always worth the read and an excellent centerpiece for classroom discussion.

Clear-eyed overview of the dire situation in the USA. Quick and easy to read. Near the end of the book, the author says that nothing will be done to rectify the situation until the citizens of the country speak up and demand change. Well, short of placing the book on school reading lists, how to reach the masses?
One way might be to have this book, and others like it, read aloud over public airwaves, such as NPR Radio. And to hammer the point home, when finished reading, start at the beginning, and read aloud again. And again! Same as Rush Limbaugh does to hammer home his views. And same as a corporation would do to sell a product - exposure and repetition. Sooner or later it will penetrate the stubbornest brains, and thats when you'll see some action.

Concise book that explains the difference between regressive economic policies and progressive policies. ie, Republican vs. Democrat, and specifically Romney vs. Obama. Helped me understand the similarities between our current economy and that which existed in the late 18th century, typified by the American robber-barons John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie et al. and the events that led up to the Stock Market crash of 1929.
I had more pro-Obama leanings before I read this book, but was positively anti-Romney after reading it.
Especially entertaining were the passages where Herbert Hoover was quoted and it sounded like a speech from the 2012 Republican Convention.
Apparently Reich did all the illustrations, too. Who knew?

I liked this book. Unlike Krugman, Reich offers clear solutions to what he sees as wrong with our economy. On one of the solutions, he could have written a whole book: "...Invest in public goods - especial education and infrastructure". There were a few pages on this making the significant point that deficits are not so bad as long as you are investing in something with a positive return like education and infrastructure. This point can't be over-emphasized and too many Tea partiers and conservatives completely misunderstand it. I hope the book is widely read.

Revelations and cliche. A lot to wrap your head around. Definitely worth the read. Not sure I can go along with all his solutions (hi tax the rich=sufficient tax revenue?). However, presents enough valid points to sway one's thinking about our perilous future.

Mr. Reich makes salient point after salient point. He writes in a language that we can all understand. He not only says what is wrong but gives us ways that we can do something about the problems. Mr. Reich doesn't mind challenging the right and the left. His idea about the middle class being the largest, most important consumer group and that until something is done to help us, our economy and our democracy will falter. I recommend this book as a read for the left, the right, and the middle.

If you like to read about the financial crises to get a better understanding of it, I would recommend this book. I like clear explanations and easy to understand statements as to what went so wrong. Robert Reich does an excellent job of this. It's a good read and keeps me in touch with how 'stuff' goes on in an age with sooo much disinformation. I have lived in the US now for 30 years and have grown to love the culture. Also I have seen a lots changes like most folks, and am at times dismayed at the lack compromise in Washington. Wither Democrat or Republican there is more to be achieved, and gained if we the people stick together.
I am reminded of the old colonial saying 'divide and conquer'. Unfortunately some of the media seems to be hard at work on this very issue. This book gives you the inside story, brief history and where we need to go from here. I highly recommend it

If you like to read about the financial crises to get a better understanding of it, I would recommend this book. I like clear explanations and easy to understand statements as to what went so wrong. Robert Reich does an excellent job of this. It's a good read and keeps me in touch with how 'stuff' goes on in an age with sooo much disinformation. I have lived in the US now for 30 years and have grown to love the culture. Also I have seen a lots changes like most folks, and am at times dismayed at the lack compromise in Washington. Wither Democrat or Republican there is more to be achieved, and gained if we the people stick together.
I am reminded of the old colonial saying 'divide and conquer'. Unfortunately some of the media seems to be hard at work on this very issue. This book gives you the inside story, brief history and where we need to go from here. I highly recommend it

Robert B. Reich never fails to create something that makes me say, "damn, that's exactly the way I see it". Of course, this is not going to be something that will validate anything that the Tea Party Republicans believe. If you are intellectually curious as to how the Democratic Party thinks and believes that what is best for this country, then you will enjoy this e-book.

This is a good book about inequality, which in fact is of concern to both parties, relative to necessary tax reform. However with no source info. and the ranting, I have to rate it as a 3 star only. The one fact that I did check was the Florida State University statement that " tuition increased 35%". This made no sense to me, and in fact Florida's rate of tuition increases have been more like 5 to 6 % annually. It's not the error that is significant, rather the way the statement was made...and this invites concern with other possible statements. I have no problem with the rich making money, but when tax preferences and loopholes favor the rich, inequality is very evident, and can be rectified greatly by tax reform and having ALL income taxed, not allowing almost half of us to pay no taxes. In this assessment I am in full agreement with Reich.

A must read for anyone concerned about the future of the United States. Mr Reich expertly analyses economic, social, and educational policies. It makes me want to be part of the solution and not part of the problem.

This was an excellent read on the real forces behind the politics today and brings a level of transparency that quite frankly should be available through disclosure and Protocol to limit conflict of interests in politics and office of any public service individual. I wish these forces and issues were more widely understood as there are many voters today that are on the wrong side of the issues through lack of education.

Anyone who is middle class and feels like they are falling behind in the economy should read this book and see this film. It is an indictment of the 1% and of a society that has gone from business being for the workers invested in the company to stockholders who have investments in a company.

I like that the author comes across as informed and educated and not overly opinionated and uses research to back up arguments.
The only problem is he is a bit too idealistic and almost gives humankind more credit than we have proves ourselves to have.
It's still great to read something with a positive note!

Knew this was happening but to actually read it written so plainly did send me "beyond outrage"...in talking with people about the situation I have to just refer them to this wonderfully factual book. My outrage gets near out of control.
thank you Robert B Reich!

This is an excellent book that breaks down the wholistic problem that is facing the US. By no means an in depth analysis of the connected issues facing this generation it does provide a solid starting point for someone to think about the real problems facing our citizens.