Why We Need Smart Government for a Strong Economy

Back to Work by Bill Clinton
I highly recommend that everyone, who intends to vote in November 2012, read this timely book. If you are a democrat, Clinton has pulled together the best arguments for a proactive government. He is giving you the tools for persuading undecided voters. If you are a republican, you will be a better informed citizen if you listen to both sides of the debate. If you are an independent, you really do hold the future of our country in your hands. It is especially vital that you understand the issues because independent voters will decide the election. I believe that this book is your best way to get informed.
The Bill Clinton's eight year presidency was the last strong economic period in recent times. Employment was strong and the government had a monetary surplus. The period post-Clinton was a grand experiment in free market capitalism. Regulations were abandoned and government had a hands off policy. We were competing in an ever greater world economy. The results were very good for the richest Americans and not so good for most others. Manufacturing jobs have been shipped overseas and our infrastructure has not been maintained or improved. An unregulated banking system led to the worst recession since the 1930's. The coming election is primarily about whether we involve our government as a partner as we compete globally or whether we severely limit government to a silent and impotent role.

Clinton makes the case in the book, that the anti-government philosophy espoused first by Ronald Reagan and now a mantra for the republican party will further lead to a downward spiral for our country. The U.S.A. has already slipped from first in the world to much lower status in many categories (health, education, infrastructure, etc.) Clinton lays out a path to restoring America to its prior greatness by a lengthy list of things we could do to excel in certain industries (like alternate energy). Energy independence with an eye to clean alternatives can solve many problems at once. Freedom from buying Arab Oil is one big reason to do it and abundant jobs is another. He covers many other things that could be done to restore our economy and create jobs for americans.

Not everyone will be able to finish this book. The book is not an easy read because it is highly packed with valuable information. It is written concisely with little to no filler material. Bill Clinton has an incredible intellect and an extraordinary grasp of complex problems. You will know what I mean when you read the book. I hope you give it a try. Ralph D. Hermansen, Jan 5, 2012

Clinton's thesis is that government deserves more credit than currently given. While a huge improvement over the feeble literary efforts of ex-president Jimmy Carter, this book fails in its apology for bad government, past and present. He says there can be no improvement in our debt problem without economic growth. His prescription is to spend more money. A more realistic approach is to cope with low growth. American non competitiveness is due to labor tax burden and is permanent pay for with taxes and more debt for future generations. He says that the USA is capable of paying its debts. He doesn't say how much more before the rest of the world realizes that we are in too deep. He doesn't take seriously the $50,000 per capita debt. The current administration has no intention of paying.

The best part of the book is the accounting and analysis of SS and Medicare. Clinton shows a sensible approach to energy and climate change, much more so than Al Gore. There is a balance between renewable and existing options, especially natural gas. Another well done section is analysis of corporate taxes and the possibility of repatriation of foreign earnings of domestic corporations. He does point out that government efforts in this direction in 2004 had adverse effects.

In his economic analysis, Clinton says that the current administration is trying to fill a $7 trillion gap with an $800 billion stimulus package, implying either that more is needed or that government is powerless to control the economy. He doesn't observe the continuing failure of that effort. Government has failed with Clinton's prescriptions.

The book does add some logic to the usual liberal appeal to emotion, but his graphs show rather the opposite to what is intended. Clinton engages in whitewashing of his administration of blame in repeal of Glass-Steagal regulation and easy money policies that precipitated the real estate bubble. He gives himself credit for surpluses while ignoring that he was the beneficiary of the effects of Reaganomics as well as the peace dividend, which was mostly squandered.

Analysis of health care is mostly an appeal to emotion. He gives a rather good history of regulation, but it's mostly wishful thing that it will improve. In his taxation analysis, he doesn't count debt and currency devaluation as a tax. His education prescription cites Germany emphasis on vocational training but doesn't relate it to costs in the USA. He ignores the limited mandate to educate everyone in the nations whose education system ranks ahead of ours.

Unlike many of his liberal colleagues, Clinton recognizes the problem of debt. He cites three approaches to cut the national debt:
A. cut spending, mostly wishful thinking.
B. raise taxes. What makes him think taxes would ever be used to reduce debt?
C. he forgot about the third

In his "what can we do?" section Clinton provides a long list of options There are some good approaches that should be tried but it's mostly wishful thinking, items that current government claims to be implementing and government takeover of private functions. He says that R&D will pay for itself. No more. The USA has lost the ability to capitalize on innovation. He claims idealism rather than ideology. A revival of PAYGO is probably the best Clinton suggestion. But it will meet great opposition from his own party. He cites ideology of anti government spending, but fails to recognize egalitarian ideology motivating the current administration. He's proud of Hillary's performance as a Senator without specifics. He doesn't mention voting for the Iraq invasion with "a good conscience."

Clearly, a politician must show optimism to get elected. This fails to translate into a logical approach. This polemic deriding anti-government movement is not convincing. It rather confirms Reagan's statement that government is the problem, not the solution. Like before the civil war, we are in the midst of a series of poor administrations that are incapable of averting a bad result. Today our election options are not Clinton optimism but who will do the least damage. Lack of an index makes the book less than a serious effort.

This review is purely on the condition of the book. The book itself is a poignant read and very relevant to today. The book itself however.. for some reason when I received it, was not in good shape. The binding and cover were ok, but for some reason the edges of the pages were raggedy. They're rough and have the look and feel like they'd just been cut apart. They don't have the smooth thin ("papercut danger") edges. I have no idea why a brand new book would arrive in this condition unless it was a mistake from the printers and just got lost.

UPDATE: I was told that the "hand cut" edge effect was on purpose. It caught me off guard because I'm not used to seeing this on mass produced books. I wanted to update my earlier review rather than delete it, so just be aware that this is an intentional effect, not just sloppy printing. :)

Being an independent leaning toward a conservative I was skeptical, but I approached it with an open mind. The first two chapters were a combination of President Clinton's boasting of the wisdom of his term of office, and blaming President Obama's troubles (and some of his own) on previous administrations. The first person pronouns and derivatives (I, me, mine etc.) were numerous! Statistics were freely listed with no footnotes or documentation. Some were false. As an example he states that during his administration with the passage of the Brady Bill (1994) and assault weapon ban (1994) President Clinton claims that this was the start in the dramatic reduction in violent crime. The truth is that the graph started going down in 1991 two years before he took office! (Source: Uniform Crime Reports, 1933-1998,Federal Bureau of Investigation), , and the assault weapon ban expired in 2004 with no real increase in violent crimes. This is but one of many questionable statements. President Clinton also "cherry picked" statistics that made him and the present administration look good, and did not take responsibility or "forgot" or "overlooked" the bad. Examples include no mention of President Obama's astronomical deficit that he will leave our children, and the mortgage crisis, which lead to the recession, that he did little but lip service to stop during his administration. These two seem pale to the pittance of a deficit reduction plan that is presently being offered.

Chapter three was also lean on documentation, but he did list a "short" description of what government does for us. He does say some cuts would be possible, but goes on to show why we cannot cut spending or foreign aid. President Clinton contends that we should empower foreign governments and other independent agencies (with our money) to do their own infrastructure rebuilding instead of relying on American contractors who cheat and inflate their prices. I wonder how well that is going in Haiti these days.

Chapter four talks a lot about Social Security and offers a bit more in documentation via websites that most readers will not check. It is worth reading to see how our government has squandered Social Security assets and the so called repayment plan in bonds. He mentions New Gingrich's plan to keep Social Security solvent, and he goes into so much detail about his own plan that it will make your head spin. The truth is that neither plan is tried and true or, in my opinion, the answer to our problems.

Chapter five talks about the educational system and how we need to pump more money to help students go to college. His comparisons show that those outside the US like Finland achieved success by ramping up the competency of teachers and education before college. Yet, he also adds that we need more money to support teachers instead of weeding out the bad ones to make our system better. The President then tells us how bad we are doing compared to other countries. As per usual the comparisons are questionable if not invalid. As an example he says US children are less likely to exceed the salaries of their parents in comparison with Scandinavian countries and Canada. He also points out that per capita income is less in those countries than in the US (emphasis added). He concludes: " ... the success of the nations doing better than we are is due to government policies that equalize opportunities and prepare their people to seize them." The countries he compares the US to are highly socialized governments who lack (his words) entrepreneurs when compared to the US. It appears to me, in spite of President Clinton's denial that he thinks a socialized government is a better way to pursue the American dream! To be fair, if you can get through the complicated graphs and charts, he does extol some of our virtues.

Chapter six actually had me on his side holding the banks accountable and scolding them for not freeing up money. He had some interesting ways to help those struggling with their mortgages. This all went sour when he felt that those people who were struggling but keeping up with their mortgages for their houses, which in some cases are worth less than their mortgages, should suck it up for the good of the country! Concerning relief for these bill paying, struggling people he says: "... in normal times [it] should govern our policy. But it shouldn't control our actions today. Why? ... Because every foreclosure punishes more people ... it drives down the prices of all the houses in the neighborhood." Am I alone on this one? Reward the deadbeats?

The rest of the book presents the reader with a dazzling array of nearly fifty ways to solve our crisis and get people "Back to Work." A lot of these ideas make sense. A lot of them may be questionable or debatable. A lot of them plug the President's foundations and initiatives, President Obama, his former Vice President, friends and Hillary. Some seem confusing such as discouraging cheap nuclear power and encouraging solar and wind power because even though nuclear is cheaper the latter offers more jobs. Make sense? You be the judge. He touts solar and wind power while environmentalists, many fellow liberals and Democrats as well as some of the general public discourage them as disrupting the landscape or a threat to birds or TV reception. He discourages "non green" energy sources but seems to indicate that the controversial hydrofracking is okay. The list goes on, but I do not want to be accused of "cherry picking," so I will leave it up to you if you think he is on the right track. For even a non partisan congress it would be a legislative nightmare to implement even half of what he proposes, and it would take many years. However, there are ideas, and some are sensible and would work. Most readers will find the list confusing and overwhelming. I enjoyed, and I feel most Americans would agree with most of the points made in the Epilogue.

If you are fans of President Clinton and/or President Obama you will certainly enjoy the book. If you are not fans you will not be happy with much of it. If you are a thinker and have an open mind you will find parts that are good, some that are questionable, some new ideas, a lot of old ideas, some that are partisan, and some that seem to portray the present administration in a favorable light. You be the judge. It is a quick read, and I think it might be worth reading ... just not worth buying! In the spirit of the present economy I am donating mine to the library so that some of you don't waste your money on it.

In America today, we suffer from high unemployment, two wars and a couple of non-war war-like engagements, the looming threat of Iran and a Middle East filled with unrest, an economy that is stagnant and threatening to tumble down again, and two political parties that seem to believe that their only job is to thwart each other. Where are those who can speak calm into this storm with ideas instead of complaints and finger pointing? Apparently, only former Presidents.

The book is separated into two main sections starting with the situation we are in, then moving into some ideas on how we can get out of the malaise. The first section is the most obviously leftist section of the book as he unashamedly defends some of President Obama's actions over the last three years. But he doesn't dwell there and quickly moves into ideas and a call to work together. It is in this section that the book shines.

Clinton gives dozens and dozens of ideas on how to get the economy back on track offering them along with evidence from other countries, who have implimented similar ideas, or top thinkers in the fields saying how the ideas may work. Anyone who reads this book can't help but come away with admiration for the vastness of options offered, especially in contrast to the current President and Congress where it seems that ideas are mostly counterarguments.

Clinton's book is assuredly left-center and mostly left at times, but it is a book about ideas and ideas shouldn't have labels like left and right, rather wrong and right. Some on the right may be immediately inclined to ignore President Clinton's ideas, but that is the mistake that has America in the situation it is: stagnant where ideology rules and everyone suffers under its cruel reign.

Clinton says at one point, "If you ask the right question you may get the wrong answer, but if you ask the wrong question you cannot get the right answer." Exactly. This book is about ideas and the politicians in Washington ought to take them seriously and both parties should consider these and every other good idea to focus on turning the economy around.

Highly recommended for all concerned Americans, and especially for Republicans who would never pick something up written by a Clinton and Democrats who don't think they need any ideas because they already know everything.

A note about the audio book version: Bill Clinton does a great job reading his work and his inflection and charm shine through. Authors almost always do a better job reading their works, and having a President read their work is even more compelling and works to build empathy - something increasingly missing in America.

This audio book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.

Bill Clinton is still trying to influence us! After two terms as President of the United States, Clinton is still searching for the answers to our most basic problems in America. His service to the USA is still long debated. His indiscretions were well noted. Yes he did make mistakes, but also he was a very talented and gifted leader. All be it Clinton to me was indeed a draft dodger who in my determination of personal honor does not rate very high. Honestly his political agenda meets my beliefs. I served in Vietnam however it is my belief as I stated in my book "In Our Duffel Bags, Surviving the Vietnam Era" I would agree with Clinton's assessment of that war. However the difference with Clinton and me is that I actually experienced the combat fields of Vietnam and thus made a first-hand assessment of what happened and Mr. Clinton shirked these duties.
In looking at what Clinton brings forth is rather common sensible and erudite. It is an old saying of rather right-wing wealthy men that "it takes money to make money." Clinton exposes this theory to the utmost. We realize in Clinton's treatise that bi-partisanship has become obsolete. In reality in the past 30 years the concept of bi-partisanship has gradually gone away.
Just recently as I read this book, I was discussing the theories of Clinton who advocates in various scenarios to make investments in infrastructure, social programs and business development to advance economic development and additional employment opportunities to grow our economy. Most of what Clinton says is correct and makes absolute common sense. As I told my wife of these assessments, she said that she agreed with me but as much as they were needed they would not come to play. Why is that? It is my wife's basic theory that America has become a country that only thinks of itself. It has become the "Me Generation" that only considers itself. We have become hedonistic and have no concern for anyone else.
The rich are only concerned with themselves. They want low taxes and more income for themselves. They are not concerned with our infrastructure or the concerns of the people with no jobs, no shelter and no medical benefits. They are enamored with the play out of what the markets dictate.
The bi-partisan politics of compromise and the seeking of a settlement to solve problems and advance forward to fix and alleviate problems has gone away. Instead we have the stubborn resistance in which congressmen have taken a stance of no compromise. Hence nothing is done and we as a country cannot advance further as our forefathers did.
Even though I voted for him twice, I don't agree with all of Clinton's agenda, sometimes it is far too simplistic. However his basic thesis is solid and if implemented would result in a positive scenario. Too bad we are contending with a dysfunctional Congressional dynamic which sadly will not solve our problems. Please tell me how we can solve this crippling problem. If we don't solve this, sadly the results may ruin our democracy and our country as I have known it throughout my lifetime.

President Clinton unfortunately spend about 10% of the book addressing real & new ideas, 30% supporting President Obama, and 60% patting himself on the back. If all could be believed, the US would have been on easy street after President Clinton's two terms in office.

I think all if not most can agree with the basic concept discussed...The Federal Government has a roll in the USA, we should review the data and research to determine which programs work and should be continued, and private charities can and should lead the way in developing/promoting many new growth/concept areas of work/employment instead of government. The area that unfortunately was skipped and likely to create the greatest amount of disagreement, was the evaluation of what tasks the Federal Government should perform that are not specifically mandated by the Constitution. Since these assumptions lack review or consideration many of the recommendations are left open to debate.

At its heart the Clinton concept/philosophy discussed in this book is conceptually very similar to the "Bain way" utilized for decades by both Bain & Company and Bain Capitol (A Mormon in the White House - Hugh Hewitt).

It would go a long way to supporting the credibility of President Clinton's views expressed in this book if he and/or the Clinton Global Initiative would promote the scrapping of the Head Start program based upon the numbers presented in the January 2010 HHS impact study showing almost no bang for the $100B bucks.

While I cannot say the contents is always well supported by fact, there are many charts taken from the New York Times without additional back-up. Sometimes it appears that the data in the charts appeared to be skewed to provide for consistent impact, which unfortunately is not unusual for this type of book.

I "read" the audiobook (CD) which is also interesting because it was read by President Clinton

During President Clinton's term my company experienced a prosperity that it had seldom experienced before and since. American prosperity was imminent on a global basis and completely respected. Also, as a Senior Management and Technology Consultant with more than thirty years of experience, we were quite impressed with the American government's effective and constructive support and co-operation with free market.
When asked by the White House to act as a Silicon Valley leader and participate in "Job Creation" activity, we were eager and honored to do our best to help. We recommended that President Clinton be encouraged as the leader that helps the government in finding solutions to the double digit and crippling unemployment.
While China and India are generally known to have financially succeeded, the real long-term and most successful one is Brazil and it is ironic that Brazil can be a living example of proactive and constructive what President Clinton is based on.
This book has our complete support! Our views based on years of research in writing of our own book Jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs confirms this book's idea. In fact, we want to go further and beg President Clinton to spearhead a solution to this unemployment agony and global disaster!

Bill Clinton, our 42nd president, comes out with a new book detailing what he thinks needs to be done to get our country back on track. The democrat who beat the republicans at their own game, he reveals in these pages just why exactly he left office extremely popular (in spite of Monica Lewinsky) and remains more so today.

The GOP philosophy is this: cut taxes, create jobs. Cut taxes for rich people, and their increased wealth will spill onto the poor people with more jobs and investment. The famous theory of trickle-down economics. Let's also cut regulations! Worker rights? Community safety? What's that?! Of course Clinton came in and raised taxes (to a burdensome top rate of 39.6%) and created 23 million jobs. The average unemployment rate went down year after year after year, deficits spending decreased sharply, the poverty rate dropped a few significant points, and Vice President Gore cut back on thousands of pages of regulations. Bush came into office and cut taxes. Guess what? poverty rate goes up, unemployment rate goes up, deficits go up, and a measly 3 million jobs are created. President Carter had only four years in office and still created more than three times that many jobs!

History aside, the meat of the book is this: democrats don't try to make government big and intrusive. They just want to see government more efficient. Federal powers used wisely can promote growth, provide businesses an incentive to hire, and keep us all from handing our children a load of debt. Clinton worked with republicans to get things done, sadly after the smoke from the Florida recount battle had cleared they went on and marched their conservative army into a deep (very, very deep) sea of green. In clear, concise language, Clinton explains simple small-government solutions that could be used to promote alternative energy, greater capital investment, and more effective use of our resources.

All said and done, this is a book that anyone interested in economics should read. Maybe America will one day be back on top. When it is, Mr. Clinton's historical reputation will be further enhanced.

With his experience, it's to be expected that Bill Clinton is able to offer a solid appraisal of our current situation. In this book he rises pretty well above ideological differences to give useful practical insights. His appreciation of the fact, often missed or ignored, that we have a mixed economy (both private and public sectors) lends credibility to his positions. The need for and advantages of regulation, while respecting the requirements for growth, are well handled. His treatment of green technology is interesting and bears consideration. This book is a useful addition to the current literature and nicely supplements the more limited or specialized works available.

In this manifesto Clinton lays out a strong case of why our way forward back to a place of prosperity in a multi-polar world or not by embracing the anti-governmet movement. He builds a vision oh growing good jobs by taking ok n the green energy challenge and rethinking how business is done.

Bill Clinton's "BACK TO WORK" argues that we need government to work efficiently with the private sector to promote maximum economic growth. He provides specific examples of things that are in his view flawed with our current economic system and a second section on how he would fix it. It has a lot of great arguments like (my favorite one) how to get banks to loan out the money they have stored in the Fed. I recommend this book for those interested in THIRD WAY politics or those in the mood for a moderate-left list of government-led solutions to growing the economy in America.

The following review appears courtesy of the Washington Independent Review of Books.

Bill Clinton, America's 42nd President, has followed an established tradition observed by many of his predecessors in continuing his public involvement after leaving office, in part, through writing. The extensive literary output of ex-presidents ranges from partisan and defensive apologia to disinterested advice. Clinton, whose previous work following two terms in the White House comprises an intimate autobiography (My Life, 2005) and a treatise on philanthropy and volunteerism (Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World, 2007), displays elements of both inclinations in his latest book, Back to Work: Why We Need Smart Government for a Strong Economy, with an emphasis towards the latter.

Exercising a welcome patriotism and openness to ideas, together with a sense of purpose and hope, the former Chief of State proposes here "to get America back in the future business." He states at the outset: "America at its core is an idea -- the idea that no matter who you are or where you are from, if you work hard and play by the rules, you'll have the freedom and opportunity to pursue your own dreams and leave your kids an opportunity where they can chase theirs." Clinton looks at the current state of affairs in order to set a direction for change. In the face of the country's polarized politics, continued recession and unemployment, and excessive debt, Clinton wants nothing less than to revisit the American dream.

Clinton takes a broad approach intertwined with factual analysis throughout. Beginning with an invitation to the reader to consider the nature and purpose of government in the United States, the book has an almost philosophical scope. Clinton argues that the nation was "founded by citizens determined to resist -- then break away from -- an empire ruled by a government unaccountable to them." The framers of the Constitution created a government both limited and accountable enough to protect individual liberties and strong and flexible enough to respond to challenges and changed circumstances and accommodate people with many different perspectives. In a chapter titled "Why we need Government," Clinton continues, "the role of government is to give people the tools and create the conditions to make the most of our lives."

Clinton argues that, since the 1980s, American political life has been dominated by an anti-government ideology, which tends to see government in hostile terms. Spending is to be cut, regulations repealed, and taxes lowered. Yet, lack of financial oversight helped to create the recession and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, among other things, increased spending while taxes were reduced. Clinton believes that such anti-government ideology blinds its supporters to considering concrete problems with factual analysis, and, moreover, obliterates the traditional differences in liberal and conservative approaches to American politics, both of which he maintains we need. He writes, "In a positive political environment, liberals and conservatives could learn from each other and advance the public interest. Liberals want to use the government to solve problems and are usually eager to experiment. ... True conservatives are more cautious, reminding us that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is." Much may be learned from Clinton's restatement of the liberal and conservative tendencies. In discussing the 2010 election, Clinton observes perceptively that the results were due in part to the failure of the Democrats to articulate a national vision and sense of purpose to compete with the anti-government rhetoric of many of their opponents.

Back to Work is divided into two large parts titled "Where We Are" and "What We Can Do." In the first part, Clinton begins with an analysis of the causes of the recession and meltdown in 2008. He asserts that the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) was largely effective in alleviating the worst of the crisis and in preventing unemployment from rising to even higher levels. In later sections, he offers thoughts on the difficulties involved in reducing expenditures within the 85 percent of the federal budget that is spent on Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, defense, and interest on the public debt. On increasing revenues through taxation, Clinton has particularly insightful, balanced comments on America's corporate tax structure. He concludes the first part of his book with a lengthy chapter replete with statistics and charts, comparing an array of current quality-of-life data points with those of both the United States from post-World War II to 1980 and other highly developed countries today. There is much room for improvement.

For the second part, "What We Can Do," Clinton offers a series of 46 recommendations with varying degrees of breadth and magnitude of discussion on moving forward into the future. His recommendations might be grouped under headings such as mortgage relief, corporate tax structure, energy and infrastructure development, creation of incentives for domestic manufacturing, tourism, and trade and export. Perhaps the most succinct is Clinton's recommendation No. 32: "Sell, sell, sell."

The value of Back to Work lies primarily in the feeling Clinton conveys of optimism, persistence and patriotism in the face of difficulty. The former president tries to redirect debate from considering how to weaken the scope of government to questions such as "How can we move back to a full-employment economy with good jobs and rising middle-class incomes? How can we restore American leadership for peace and prosperity and leave our children and grandchildren a brighter future? What do Americans need government to do to achieve these goals?" As Bill Clinton writes, "There is simply no evidence that we can succeed in the twenty-first century with an anti-government strategy." For those reading the book, emphasis should be placed on understanding the nature of a problem rather than upon whether the reader agrees with the specific recommendations Clinton proposes. Americans from across the political spectrum have much to contribute in answering these questions and will gain a great deal by reading Former President Clinton's book.

Robin Friedman

You may not agree that government is doing you any favors. But Bill Clinton thinks otherwise and he tells you, point by point, why. It's a persuasive argument, along with volumes of data and links to reports posted on the Internet. Clinton doesn't suggest a thing he can't back up with numbers. His final words - "What We Can Do" - details 46 suggestions to turn the United States back onto the road to recovery. A positive thinker, Clinton's ideas are well worth the time to read.

recommend to anyone that thinks govt is cause of social and economic problems of usa. gives a good insightful view of value, need, and reasons for taxes, balanced budgeting, subsidized public programs, and laws. reducing taxes, reducing govt spending, and reducing govt intrusion into private lives is not always good for the whole society to benefit in achieving a productive and prosperous lifestyle. very interesting reading and brings some hope to struggling citizens.

"Back To Work" by Bill Clinton showcases the various ideas and viewpoints in relation to creating a stronger American society. For instance, on page 105 Clinton expresses natural concern on strengthening the quality of life in America that would be competitive to such countries as Canada, Finland, Sweden, and Norway. On page 142, he also discusses monitoring energy consumption as one of the ways to increase national security.

The first chapter feels like a monologue spoken out loud to Mr Clinton himself, while standing in front of a mirror, deciding what his next book should be about. Random, arrogant, and almost unreadable. I don't know weather he just had so many ideas and decided to cram them all into a short book, or if he was just rambling.

Rent it from the library and give it a quick once over. There is nothing new in the way of problem solving. Like another reviewer said, 'You already know what he is going to say before he says it.' If you lived through the 90's, this book is useless.

Parts of his book read as if from a teleprompter at an Obama rally.

'Back to Work' is pure voting persuasion.

First let me say I generally vote democratic and voted for President Clinton, twice.
Back to Work is a book that this reader had to slog through, and it caused Bill's halo to finally slip for me.
Maybe I am getting older but I don't remember things being as wonderful during Bill's administration as he repeatedly reminds the reader of Back To Work.
And all the blaming of republicans for this and that; it gets old.
And the repeated claim of budget surpluses, when in fact, they "balanced" the budget by raiding the social security trust and other funds, spending the cash, and leaving a pile of IOU's that this senior hopes congress won't renege on.
Perhaps I missed it in all the Back To Work financial commentary, but no where was it mentioned that Pres Clinton signed the bill that repealed Glass Steagall, which many economists will tell you led to the financial collapse of 2008. Also missing was a mention of the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994, which repealed restrictions on interstate banking. And then there was a bill signed in 1993 that removed the power of the US treasury to issue, US Notes, granting exclusive monopoly on issuance of money to a group of private bankers known as the Federal Reserve System. One could reasonably say that Bill Clinton was a Wall St bankers best friend.
But the thing that depressed me the most was, when President Clinton wrote on page 141,
"As we know, the Fed earns, even in normal times, a lot of money on its investments, mostly Treasury issues, then turns the income over to the government. I don't know if the Fed has the legal authority to invest in..."
If the President of the US doesn't clearly understand the immense monopoly power over the wealth of a nation that issuance of money confers on a private banking cartel, the Fed, then I fear the Republic is doomed. Where is Jack Kennedy, the last president to understand the Fed and try to counter its power by issuing US Notes, when we need him.
For those readers who want to learn what President Clinton's Treasury Secretary and Goldman Sacks man Robert Rubin, apparently didn't explain to him about the Fed and banking, I recommend the following books:
The Secrets of the Federal Reserve by Eustace Mullins, The Creature from Jekyll Island by G. Edward Griffin, The Secret World of Money by Andy Gause.

As the book says, Clinton stresses that we need a strong private sector that works together with the gov to restore prosperity and progress, demonstrating that whenever we've given in to the temptation to blame government for all our problems, we've lost our ability to produce sustained economic growth and shared prosperity. Such a great read!

Not unexpected glossing over of the Clinton years with no counter points or historic assessment of the results such as letting Bin Laden go, the banking fiasco of subprime loans that started an economic downturn before he left office and later Bush was blamed for, a free trade agreement to benefit Mexico, but not the US,etc. Sure don't need another Clinton.

Fans of political nonfiction who are tired of partisan negativism will find a positive, optimistic and balanced presentation about government in Bill Clinton's Back to Work: Why We Need Smart Government for a Strong Economy. Packed with great charts, Bill can engender contagious optimism about the future, and, as usual, there's no shortage of specific policy details to consider.

Rating: Three-star (Recommended)

Clinton has some wonderful ideas, if only we could get a majority of our congress to buy into them. While I don't agree with all of his points, I was happy to see that some one is thinking of these issues. Sadly I do not hear much talk about this book.

Whether you love him or hate him, Bill Clinton manages to simplify complex problems in a way no other President has been able. We are all in this together and need to realize that we had better work together soon to keep the American Dream alive for future generations. We are each entrusted with securing this destiny and President Clinton offers viable solutions. America should listen.

This is a great political handbook. Mr Clinton sets for the case for an effective Government while eviscerating all of the anti-government theory of the last three decades. He then sets out a way forward for the US, and any other country in a similar situation. The book is readable and backed by strong factual analysis. A must read for any modern liberal, or anyone who loves politics.

This is a great political handbook. Mr Clinton sets for the case for an effective Government while eviscerating all of the anti-government theory of the last three decades. He then sets out a way forward for the US, and any other country in a similar situation. The book is readable and backed by strong factual analysis. A must read for any modern liberal, or anyone who loves politics.

It was refreshing to read that a president thinks he was wrong during his presidency or could have done more. I enjoyed his analysis of how the government could have reacted to the financial crisis and how jobs can be created. It was interesting to read his take on the Democrats during the 2010 election period and learn more about what's in the health reform law. Reading his take on foreign assistance, budget appropriations and managing the national debt was refreshing.

Watching the Republican debate of Nov. 9 was to witness another display of demonizing the government as the bad guy while fabricating fantasies about the free markets, the wisdom of the states, the superior expertise of individual families and doctors and, of course, acknowledging the lone exception to the misery index (Texas). People without jobs, facing ever higher prices with fewer resources, and with unpaid mortgages that exceed the value of their homes, applaud each speaker mindlessly as though he (or she) were offering a solution to the pain rather than prolonging the agony. What kind of "solution" is it to overlook the widening divide between haves and have nots with more blustering about how well the unregulated markets could work?

Bill Clinton knows that government got us into our present mess and that it's also the key to getting us out of our predicament. To pretend otherwise may preserve the world's most unfair tax structure but it won't address and redress the problem of an egregiously miscalculating, hubris-blinded administration that crippled our nation economically, intellectually and morally. The government is not the "other," it is not "them," it is not the enemy. The government is us--necessarily imperfect, sometimes reflecting our best selves and at other times mirroring the ugliest face of America and, at least since the disorienting event of 9/11, acting in ways so extraordinarily reckless and wrong that we have yet to measure the full effects of the damage. (We are fortunate to have in the executive seat an American whose name, ethnicity, and courage could mitigate some of the incalculable damage by a nation seen by the rest of the world as conducting a "crusade" against one of the world's two biggest religions.)

But the answer is not to walk away from our actions and pretend that things will take care of themselves. Instead, we need to learn the lesson of our own past misjudgments and choose our leaders more wisely. It is they who represent "the American people" (a phrase that's constantly tossed around as though it represents some transcendent, collective voice of wisdom), and it is we who must strive harder to ensure that those leaders represent our best self, a liberally educated citizen who is an heir to the ideals of the Enlightenment and who practices an examined life before pretending he or she can make choices that are in the best interest of our diverse nation, our international neighbors (who simply will not or cannot languish concurrently with our success), and our responsibility to future generations to pass on a world no less wondrous and alive than the one we left.

In short, Bill Clinton "gets" it. Whatever you think of him personally, his message is on point.

Bill Clinton pens an excellent book full of common sense and practical suggestions for getting people moving again. It's a short read or listen and gives hope that our leaders might once again lead. Economist Robert Reich provides a right-headed approach to forge a long-term way out of an economy that collapsed under the weight of too much wealth consolidation. But former President Clinton has enough stature to create immediate forward motion and enough smarts to understand what economists like Reich are saying. Clinton is one of the great communicators of this age.

I read a great book - 'An economy that works: Job creation and America's future' by the McKinsey institute - and then thought I'd see what Bill had to say. Bill complains his way through the book about Republicans and brags about how good of a job he did. It really says nothing. The book typifies what's wrong in Washington today - the other party is to blame.

I'm far more impressed about the analysis and proposals made in the McKinsey study.

I enjoyed the read. Historical and objective views of the past 30 years. The good, bad and ugly of government. The best part I thought was his global views of what is working around the world and what we can take from that and build on it. You may not like him but he is a genius.

Bill Clinton makes being a wonk look cool. The general policies are not anything new, but it seems that Clinton has basically looked at successful modeling all over the world, from cities in the United States to countries that have maintained a successful export market (i.e. Germany). Space obviously didn't allow for him to breakdown any of these in the sort of wonky wankfest that I'd like, but that's why America invented Google. People forget that as President he liked to have meeting until the wee hours of the morning (remember the Simpsons joke where he's kidnapped by aliens and says, "Is it noon already?") because he was just that big of a nerd? The only actual mention of an economist is Kenneth Rogoff (co-author of "This Time is Different")and it's obvious he read Rogoff's recent book and then devoured some of his recent work. While not footnoted (a lot of these policy papers are not free)it has plenty of further reading spliced in through websites on reports he mentions. A good starter for anyone interested in going further and reading who is experimenting with new ideas.

This was surprisingly easy to read given the subject matter. Clinton paints a clear picture of our economic state and provides us with an insightful recap of the history of the last few decades leading up to the mess that we are in today. If you liked Rebecca Costa's The Watchman's Rattle The Watchman's Rattle: Thinking Our Way Out of Extinction or Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers Outliers: The Story of Success you will enjoy this book.

Bill Clinton uniquely shares his experience that has created his wisdom on success in public and private. He understands the challenges that we face in this country and how we can only solve them by working together for our greater good.

'There simply is no evidence that we can succeed in the twenty-first century with an anti-government strategy.' Continuing, author Clinton says that discussions seem to occur in a parallel universe of inflated rhetoric and ferocious, often inaccurate attacks. Reality is not that the financial crash and our subsequent failure yet recover were not caused by too much government taxing, spending, and regulating, but by over-leveraged banks holding too many risky investments (subprime mortgages and the securities and derivatives spun out of them).

Secondly, the meltdown did not become a depression because of government action. The Federal Reserve invested $1.2 trillion buying securities and guaranteeing loans, of which TARP comprised only about $400 billion (out of $700 billion authorized). Most of the TARP monies have been repaid, with only $104 billion outstanding. Estimates of the final cost run from $19 billion (Sloan and Burke, Washington Post, 7/8/11) and a $40 - $100 billion profit ('Fortune' analysis, after taking interest-income into account).

Third, the $800 billion stimulus, along with the rescue-restructure of the auto industry kept unemployment 1.5 - 2% lower than it otherwise would have been, per most economic analyses. About 30% of the money went to state and local governments to limit layoffs - after this funding expired their payrolls fell by about one-half million persons. Only a third went into direct jobs creation - bridges, roads, etc. and loans, grants, etc. for new energy sources.

Republicans now oppose all new taxes, even on the upper-income individuals who reaped most of the gains during the last decade (90% went to the top 10% of earners, 60% to the top 1%, and over 20% to those with incomes exceeding $9 million).

Our primary problem today is weak demand, acerbated by the drag of the unresolved mortgage crisis. Our economy has become too unequal in incomes, too unstable (eg. the rapid spread of the financial crisis), and unsustainable (eg. climate change). Even before the crash, the economy had produced only 2.5 million jobs in the prior 7.75 years, while median family income had fallen $2,000.

The most successful nations have both strong government and private sectors, and are less ideological - focusing instead more on what works. Unfortunately, 'the greatest accomplishment of the anti-government Republicans was not to reduce the size of the federal government but to stop paying for it' - $6.1 trillion in debt was incurred during Bush II's eight years, $1.9 trillion during Reagan's eight, $1.5 trillion during Bush I's four years, $1.4 trillion during Clinton's eight years, and $2.4 trillion so far under Obama.

We need government for security, assisting the most vulnerable, advancing economic interests (such as China does), financial market oversight, and fostering large-scale investments in new areas such as solar power. Another need, per Clinton, is enforcing trade agreements - somewhat ironic since the NAFTA treaty he agreed to in office has been a major source of job losses, and also reportedly driven many Mexicans to move to the U.S. Suggests reviving our economy via energy efficiency retrofitting and research, letting those with government-backed home loans refinance at the current lower rates, repairing/upgrading our infrastructure. 'Back to Work,' however, omitted at two key other government roles - pushing improved fuel efficiency/reducing government gas subsidies, and limiting health care prices as done in most all other OECD nations.

Former President Clinton's 'Back to Work' is an excellent, balanced overview. Why am I confident of the 'balanced' - because he's leery of turning off support for his initiatives to reduce poverty and improve health around the world. We need to face up to these inconvenient facts.

In this book President Bill Clinton very clearly demonstrates his brilliance and capacity to master an ocean of complex details in order to get the big picture right. Clearly this is why his two terms as President now stand out as shining exceptions to the increasingly sorry state of US Politics before and after him. Ideology is not the solution. No, the devil is the details as Mr. Clinton shows in this book.

America, I have suggestion for you: Elect him President again!

In "Back to Work," President Clinton offers a compelling argument that the most critical problem facing America today is a lack of support for smart and effective government -- and in particular the inability of the public and private sectors to work together in the best interests of the country. Clinton begins by laying out the history of the Republican war on government that started with Ronald Reagan. Republicans have consistently argued that, in every area except national security, "government is the problem -- not the solution." The result has been self-fulfilling as conservative politicians have gained power and then worked actively to destroy the effectiveness of government, rather than work to improve it.

Clinton compares our current situation with that of other developed countries, virtually all of which are able to achieve a workable synthesis of government and business. The United States, for example, is the only industrialized nation with a complete inability to leverage smart government in a way that offers some control over escalating health care costs. The result is diminshed confidence in our future solvency, and the discouraging reality that nations significantly less wealthy than the United States are able to provide far better social safety nets for their citizens.

Clinton also shows that today's political disfunction and idealogical gridlock is NOT characteristic of America's history. The book lists a number of Republican presidents -- including Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Eisenhower -- who believed that government was an essential tool for the public welfare and made substantial investments in infrastruture and other areas.

Perhaps the most important sentence in the book is this: "There is simply no evidence that we can succeed in the twenty-first century with an antigovernment strategy." This statement is abundantly true. Things seem to be moving at a faster and faster rate, and the economic environment is ever more complex. Financial innovations on Wall Street are beyond comprehension. Climate change is a looming threat we seem unable to confront.

The book contains a number of good ideas for moving forward and returning to national competitiveness. My only criticism is that I don't think the President fully grasps how extraordinarily fast the changes are likely to come over the next decade and beyond. Information technology is accelerating and will have a dramatic impact on the jobs and livelihoods of Americans and on the overall economy.
President Clinton's call for an end to anti-government rhetoric and the development of a smart private/public sector partnership could not come at a more crucial time.

Bill Clinton is a very bright man, a good compromiser, and has some excellent ideas. I bit on the title "Back to Work........" and assumed Clinton would be setting out a plan for reinvigorating the economy. Instead it is fuel for Obama's re-election compaign, a blast at all Republicans, and a glorification of Clinton's presidency. You knew all about everything in this book before you read it. It wasn't very expensive, and wasn't worth the money.

Mr. Clinton essentially ascribes to the Republicans all that is wrong with America's current situation. He enacted the largest(at the time) peacetime tax increase in the history of the USA in 1993 in order to pursue his dreams of added/expanded govt. programs. At the same time, his wife was attempting to take over the nation's medical care system. In 1994,the US electorate rose up and threw the Democrats out of their majorities in both the House and the Senate due to their sense that the Clintons were overreaching in their grab for power. The annual budget surpluses only began after the Republicans took over in 1995. The budget surpluses(for which Clinton is quick to take credit) were a result of the unconcealed hostility of the House & Senate toward the Clintons and their desire to "get him." The end result was six years of relative restraint in govt programs & spending coupled with good economic growth - the American people being the ultimate winners for those six years.
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Bill (Slick Willie) Clinton - a one-man war on women - completely re-writes the history of his own corrupt administration and hands out advice he himself didn't take when in office!

So, what does the unindicted rapist and unconvicted sexual harasser have to tell us? Well, he tells us that his administration gave us the greatest economy in the last 1000 years because of his ideas. Actually, we were in recession during his first two years when the Demoncrats were in charge and then the GOP took both the House and the Senate and Slick Willie told us that the era of big government was over! That's when the economy began to right itself again.

When you think of all the women this evil man has abused and all the lies he has told, it's amazing that anyone could be stupid enough to buy his book! They must be even more stupid than we previously thought possible.

During President Clinton's 8 Years in Office, He created over 23 Million jobs, the most of any modern day president(gw bush only created 3 million) so the man must know what he is talking about! I urge everyone to read this book and learn something from the Master!

Just received book "Back to work"by President Bill Clinton.I'm a big fan of Mr Clinton however not of the publishing and or manufacturing company.First impression of this book is very poor.It looks as though it was made in some 4th world country.Surprise made( if you can call it that)in the USA. This company has done Mr Clinton a great dis-service releasing such a inferior product.I'm sure he would be embarrassed to hold my copy in his hand.Every single page of this book is of different length and is tattered as though it were cut by a two year old with a jagged rock and the low grade paper is know bonus either.Visual impression is dime store junk and thats being kind.the store should ashamed to let such a disgraceful looking product out of the warehouse. Only saving grace is the wisdom of President Clinton.This publishing company dose not deserve to have him on the cover of their books

This was my first and probably last Kindle purchase.

I previously bought the audiobook, which I've been enjoying greatly, and then bought the Kindle version so that I could easily quote small portions from it in electronic political discussions with friends. Unfortunately, the Kindle apps will not allow me to copy and paste even one word from this book, leaving me unable to discuss it in a substantial manner.

DRM is, as always, terrible for everyone involved - including the seller. Mr. Clinton obviously wants his ideas to take root, but the inability to copy and paste is a major stumbling block to this goal.

Everybody made such a big deal over Dick Cheney accidently shooting his campaign contributor on a hunting trip,but what's the difference between him and Slick Willie??? Ole Billy Boy shot his intern in the face!!! So that makes the Dems and Republicans even doesn't it??!! Ha

Material = great. Book itself = garbage. 5 stars to Clinton, 1 star to the store. I have received 2 different copies of this book and both were deckled edges, but it never mentioned this when I ordered the book. Nor did anyone when I returned 2 copies. So if you like crappy "deckling" aka shredding of pages on a book, that's great. I personally don't like the shredded look :) Happy everyone?

Slick Willy was impeached for lying to a Grand Jury. I know the leftwing media has done it's best to try to give this low life an air of respectability , but his actions speak much louder than their words.
Would you trust your daughter around this low life.? I lived in Arkansas during his years as the Gov. He was well known for using State Troopers to procure women for him. He had his way with them
willingly or not. Juanita Broderick was held dow by "Slick Willy" by grabbing her upper lip in his rotten teeth, kind of like the way a stud donkey bites and holds a jenny, until he's done with her. Slick
told her to put some ice on it and left. She was actually a volunteer for his campaign. Just ask Kathleen Willy, about Slick's gentlemanly habits. This man has to be the biggest hypocrite ever.

He now has the gall to preach to the rest of us to do the "right thing". This man will rot in hell. Don't waste your money on this pervert's ramblings.

President Clinton is plugging a new book scolding Wall Street and Republicans and offering his "solutions" to an economic mess he helped cause. His gall knows no bounds.

The media portray Clinton, who acts as if he were still president, as some kind of hero riding in to save the economy. But it was his own policies that wrecked it.

And now he's covering up his fault by blaming others, when in fact he forced banks to make high-risk loans in the name of diversity.

"When President George W. Bush took office, it was the first time anti-government Republicans had held both houses of Congress and the White House. They could do whatever they wanted," Clinton intones in "Back to Work: Why We Need Smart Government for a Strong Economy." "It soon became clear they wanted less regulatory oversight" of the financial sector.

In fact, the problem was too much regulation, not too little.

Starting in the 1990s, banks came under siege by regulators who politicized their mortgage-underwriting decisions on Clinton's orders.

He added teeth to anti-redlining laws under the Community Reinvestment Act, and made it nearly impossible for banks to expand if they didn't pass CRA lending tests.

Then he ordered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy and bundle the riskier mortgages into securities to meet the higher "affordable-housing" lending quotas he slapped on the publicly created mortgage giants.

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These policies carried over into the Bush administration, which was a big mistake. But it was Clinton who fundamentally changed the rules for risk and the home-finance market for the worse.

"I made some mistakes too," Clinton said, without elaborating, "though not the ones I've been most widely criticized for (such as) aggressively enforcing the Community Reinvestment Act."

He insists the 1977 law, which he rewrote in 1995, did not compel banks to make bad loans.

"Conservatives blame the CRA for forcing banks to make risky mortgage loans they wouldn't have made otherwise," Clinton wrote. "It's true that my administration vigorously enforced the CRA requirement (but) making mortgages available to people in the community didn't cause the meltdown."

In fact, the Fed estimates half the subprime loans were at least "indirectly attributable" to the CRA.

Clinton concedes that Fannie and Freddie "eventually contributed to the severity of the collapse." But he claims that far from plunging them into the subprime market, he tried to warn Congress about their risky underwriting.