The Working Poor: Invisible in America

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The Working Poor examines the "forgotten America" where "millions live in the shadow of prosperity, in the twilight between poverty and well-being." These are citizens for whom the American Dream is out of reach despite their willingness to work hard. Struggling to simply survive, they live so close to the edge of poverty that a minor obstacle, such as a car breakdown or a temporary illness, can lead to a downward financial spiral that can prove impossible to reverse. David Shipler interviewed many such working people for this book and his profiles offer an intimate look at what it is like to be trapped in a cycle of dead-end jobs without benefits or opportunities for advancement. He shows how some negotiate a broken welfare system that is designed to help yet often does not, while others proudly refuse any sort of government assistance, even to their detriment. Still others have no idea that help is available at all.

"As a culture, the United States is not quite sure about the causes of poverty, and is therefore uncertain about the solutions," he writes. Though he details many ways in which current assistance programs could be more effective and rational, he does not believe that government alone, nor any other single variable, can solve the problem. Instead, a combination of things are required, beginning with the political will needed to create a relief system "that recognizes both the society's obligation through government and business, and the individual's obligation through labor and family." He does propose some specific steps in the right direction such as altering the current wage structure, creating more vocational programs (in both the public and private sectors), developing a fairer way to distribute school funding, and implementing basic national health care.

Prepare to have any preconceived notions about those living in poverty in America challenged by this affecting book. --Shawn Carkonen

Book Description

“Nobody who works hard should be poor in America,” writes Pulitzer Prize winner David Shipler. Clear-headed, rigorous, and compassionate, he journeys deeply into the lives of individual store clerks and factory workers, farm laborers and sweat-shop seamstresses, illegal immigrants in menial jobs and Americans saddled with immense student loans and paltry wages. They are known as the working poor.

They perform labor essential to America’s comfort. They are white and black, Latino and Asian--men and women in small towns and city slums trapped near the poverty line, where the margins are so tight that even minor setbacks can cause devastating chain reactions. Shipler shows how liberals and conservatives are both partly right–that practically every life story contains failure by both the society and the individual. Braced by hard fact and personal testimony, he unravels the forces that confine people in the quagmire of low wages. And unlike most works on poverty, this book also offers compelling portraits of employers struggling against razor-thin profits and competition from abroad. With pointed recommendations for change that challenge Republicans and Democrats alike, The Working Poor stands to make a difference.

Customer Reviews:

must read.......2007-09-30

This was an excellent book. A real eye opener into a whole other world. I'm giving it to my college student daughter, to make sure that she graduates. The last book that inspired me in the same way was Barbara Ehrenreich's Nine to Five. This is journalism at its best, excellent writing, excellent research. I only hope that its message gets through.

well researched.......2007-08-06

I found Working Poor to be well-researched, and I prefer it's tone to Nickel and Dimed. Shipler was thorough and balanced in his view of the poor in America. In the various stories, Shipler takes us into the psyche of the "working poor", showing the different circumstances that allowed these individuals to remain, or get into poverty.

Phenomenal.......2007-05-14

If you've ever taken pause to consider what makes the world go round as it relates to commercial or economic pursuits, you owe it to yourself to read this book.

It's a great start, but...........2007-03-08

Let me start by saying what I liked and appreciated about this book before I go on to say what I didn't. First of all, it's great that most of the focus has been placed on individual families and circumstances. He's not just rattling off statistics; he's actually taking you to the living rooms and workplaces of real human beings and for the most part letting them tell their own story. It is also clear that Shipler does not have a political agenda; he acknowledges the failings of both the left and right to address this issue on pretty equal terms. The author is not blaming the individuals in question entirely for their situations, nor is he completely blaming society or "the system;" rather, he shows in an extrodinarily clear and sober manner the variety of circumstances which cause poverty and which continually leave those afflicted in its grasp.

The main problem that I have with this book is that I feel it left out a lot of people and a lot of problems that could have easily been addressed. For one, most of the people in the book are urban minorities, and that seems to be where most of the focus lies. There's not a lot of emphasis on the rural poor (with the notable exception of migrant farm workers) among whom circumstances are quite different and in many ways even harder than those of the urban poor. In addition, Shipler is constantly noting the lack of education among poor people but doesn't ever mention the fact that ever-rising and insane tuition costs prevent many perfectly capable *middle-class* people of getting to college in the first place, thus rendering them just as poor as the people who started out that way. (Financial aid actually favors the very poor, and the middle class are often left in the limbo of "too much income to qualify, not enough money to pay out of pocket" and the only way to go is through financially crippling student loans.)

I also wanted to say something about the Earned Income Credit, because it is something that Shipler thoroughly sings the praises of throughout the book. First of all, it's not that easy to get it. As a personal example, from 1999-2005, even though I made hardly any money and should have qualified, I did not because I was under 25 (a stipulation that Shipler neglects to mention.) This year, I am 25, but I still did not qualify because I had gotten married. (Which is another big issue Shipler neglects to mention: the marriage penalty.) If you are married you have to make an absurdly low amount of money to qualify, so if you both work full time like good Americans without taking any other government money (which you wouldn't qualify for anyway unless you have children), even if you both make minimun wage and are barely scraping by, you still wouldn't qualify. So it's really not the panacea that he makes it out to be.

There are a lot of other relevant issues that Shipler never brings up. For example, why does someone who makes $15,000 per year have to pay the same percentage of their income to Social Security as someone who makes $75,000 per year? What about all those people on Social Security, anyway? Why are people without health insurance forced to pay for someone else's Medicare? Why doesn't a high school diploma mean anything anymore? There are a billion questions that, as a poor person, I wanted answers to, which is the very reason I bought this book. But there is so much emphasis in here about one very specific type of poor person (urban minority female with way too many children) who also happens to be the most stereotypical kind of poor person, without giving everyone else who is struggling to survive a very equal voice. But like I said at the beginning, this book is a good starting point. If you are poor, or have ever been poor, you may not get as much out of it as a wealthier person. If you have a lot of money or are otherwise quite comfortable financially, please read this book. It may not give you the entire picture of poverty in America, but it will put a real human face on the problem.

YOU HAVE TO READ THIS!.......2007-01-28

This should be required reading for everyone in this country. This book does what "Nickle and Dimed" could only dream of doing. This is not some man just trying on poverty to see how it feels. Shipler gets down to the bare bones of poverty and details the web of causes and effects. Speaking as someone that's been to hell and back when it comes to poverty this book was spot on in detailing the vast array of circumstances that all rely on and influence each other. He does well to point out that poverty is a mix of bad circumstances and bad choices and that it's all a painful cycle. He also does a great job at illustrating the way the working poor live not only paycheck to paycheck, but crisis to crisis and disconnect notice to disconnect notice.
Not only does Shipler highlight all the gritty details of the life of the working poor he outlines very reasonable and more importantly POSSIBLE solutions to combat poverty. His solutions are more common sense and can be done if everyone gets on board to recognize the problem and agree to work on solving it.
We will never get rid of poverty, some people will always make the negative choices that keep them poor. But there is no excuse for such a wealthy country to build it's empire on the backs of the poor and then refuse to let them in the door.
Read this book, then pass it on. You will learn more than you ever thought you could about the people that you never thought to notice.

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

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Calculations are only as good as your numbers
Pants on fire?
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
Very Interesting
History as Science Fiction

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2913621058

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Contemporary Business with Xtra! and Audio CD-ROM

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Contemporary Business with Xtra! and Audio CD-ROM
Louis E. Boone , and David L. Kurtz
Manufacturer: South-Western College Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Accessories:

Study Guide for Boone/Kurtz's Contemporary Business 2006, 11th

ASIN: 032418820X

Book Description

CONTEMPORARY BUSINESS, 11th Edition, is the most widely used introductory business text and it is even better than before! Containing all the most important introductory business topics, this text also includes the most current information available in any business text, and the best supplementary package in the business.

Life 2.0: How People Across America Are Transforming Their Lives by Finding the Where of Their Happiness

Average customer rating:

All Hype and Ego with a few scattered stats easily found elsewhere
Good content could do without the witty pilot narrative
Interesting, but a little creepy
An excellent resource
Life 2.0

Life 2.0: How People Across America Are Transforming Their Lives by Finding the Where of Their Happiness
Rich Karlgaard
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0609810316
Release Date: 2005-10-25

Book Description

Do You Know Where Your Happiness Lies?

In The Purpose Driven Life, I consider the question “What on earth am I here for?” This book considers another important question: “Where on earth should I be living?” Is where you live worth the stress? No one is forcing you to stay where you are. It’s your choice. —From the foreword by Dr. Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life

Would you be happier if you lived somewhere else? A place where the quality of life is greater than the cost of living? Such places do exist—you just have to look a little harder to find them. The answer probably doesn’t lie in the big coastal cities: the cost-of-living gap between those urban areas and the heartland is an immense chasm. And yet the “sophistication gap” between these regions is steadily shrinking—cable tv, computers, fax machines, cell phones, and broadband Internet access are making it possible to work almost anywhere.

Forbes publisher Rich Karlgaard wanted to explore the new appeal of “flyover” country, and he decided to sky-hop around America in a single-engine Cessna, talking to people—those with a nose for entrepreneurship, a faith in technology, and the willingness to take a chance—who found their bliss in places like Green Bay, Wisconsin; Des Moines, Iowa; and Bozeman, Montana.

America offers up scores of these gems—cities and towns with a winning combination of low cost of living and high quality of life—and Karlgaard provides an in-depth look at the country’s 150 cheapest (and greatest) places to live.

Life 2.0 is the story of those who are living larger lives in smaller places, and a road map for those who want to follow their lead.

Where is your happiness? Check out Life 2.0’s “150 Cheapest Places to Live” section, featuring dozens of cities and towns that offer the good life at a great price.

Customer Reviews:

All Hype and Ego with a few scattered stats easily found elsewhere.......2007-06-10

I was quite disappointed with this book. Having lived on both coasts as well as Alaska and the Heartland, I was expecting a book about the quality of life in various locations as promised in the book descriptives. It's not about quality of life -- it's all about how much more a high six-figure income (if moved as is) goes in one place vs. another (readily available on dozens of web sites). If you are the founder of an enormously successful hedge fund or the software guru behind a recent IPO that broke records -- then this book is for you. It talks about others just like you that have left NYC for Idaho. It's all about how much more you can buy in Montana than you can in San Francisco - assuming you have the financial ability to fund a move away (geographically) from your current source of income. It's not about re-inventing yourself or about "2.0" of your life as a departure (something different) from 1.0. It's all about the cost of big houses and country clubs in Big City XYZ vs Beautiful Small Town XYZ. The second most dominant charactertistic of the book is the author's piloting prowess ("I make a steeply banked turn left and keep it going round for a full 180 degrees...I go for the slip....it works...not a bad piece of flying for a rookie...") What those missives have to do with the book title is beyond me. I can usually find something useful in most any piece of non-fiction, but this book is a complete waste of time unless you're interested in flying trivia (someone else's) and stories about Fortune 5 execs deciding to move.

Good content could do without the witty pilot narrative.......2007-04-12

The narrative on his flights around the country became distracting, but at the end of the day his points are made in a compelling way, this was the book i was hoping for when I bought it...

Interesting, but a little creepy.......2006-12-01

I could relate, at first, to the author's feelings that a good salary doesn't buy much anymore on America's coasts. But after reading for a while I got pretty creeped out by how much the author is into status and competing with the Joneses. If you have to move to some ugly backwater town just so you can afford to belong to a "country club" and buy nice golf outfits, go ahead! I'd rather live in a condo in a place that has more going for it than neighbors who are transplants and care only about having a 3,000 sq ft house! Boooring. Who wants a huge house in a place where there's nothing to do!
I feel that the topic of how the middle class is suffering under oppressive home prices is a very important topic, but the author misses what matters. It's not that we need 3,000 sq ft houses! We just need something nicer than a rental apartment. Most people don't care so much about status that they're willing to live in the sticks in order to afford the ridiculous extravagances that the author seems to assume are a part of a middle class professional lifestyle: "private schools, European or tropical vacations, private club membership, a housekeeper who comes at least twice a week, a lawn crew that comes once a week, wardrobes that are contemporary, come from nice stores, and are plentiful enough to fit any occasion...serious business meetings, sports coats and golf shirts, and weekend garb for boating or fly-fishing." Come on!

An excellent resource.......2006-11-03

I was really looking for a book just like this in deciding where to move and I wasn't disappointed.

He does talk a fair amount about flying which wasn't as interesting to me, but it doesn't really detract from the point of the book.

If you are considering a move or particularly if you are interested in geographic arbitrage, this book goes a long way to helping you find places to investigate further.

Life 2.0.......2006-08-20

If you live on one of the expensive Coasts, this is a must read if you are serious about your future!

Strapped: Why America's 20- and 30-Somethings Can't Get Ahead

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Review
Good Story, Bad Conclusions
Good book, but doesn't focus enough on specific point
Not A Self-Help Book
Mixed feeling but good read!

Strapped: Why America's 20- and 30-Somethings Can't Get Ahead
Tamara Draut
Manufacturer: Anchor
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1400079977
Release Date: 2007-01-09

Book Description

Drowning in student loans? Can’t afford to get married, buy a home, have children? Up to your ears in credit card debt? At last, a book for the under-35 generation that explains why it’s not their fault, and what can be done about it.

Strapped offers a groundbreaking look at the new obstacle course facing young adults. Getting ahead, argues commentator and policy maven Tamara Draut, is getting harder. A college degree is the new high school diploma–and costs a fortune to obtain. Good jobs are scarcer thanks to stagnant wages and disappearing benefits. And, the cost of everything–starter homes, health coverage, child care–keeps going up. Witty and wise, Strapped brims with ideas for fashioning a new kind of America in which every young person can go to college, buy a home, and start a family. The future starts here.

Customer Reviews:

Review.......2007-10-22

Very well written. It gives an eye-opening account of why people are so strapped by debt.

Good Story, Bad Conclusions.......2007-09-29

The first 2/3 of this book is basically well researched and many of the author's assertions are quite convincing, particularly about the evils of the credit card and college loan industries. The last 1/3 of the book is abysmal. The section "Creating More Good Jobs" is horribly inadequate, and the main point is just that more people should unionize. When did that ever CREATE jobs? The section "Spread the Wealth Incentives" suggests eliminating tax deductions for mortgage interest, property taxes, IRAs, 401(k) plans ... and instead making taxpayers give young people tax refunds (even if they do not pay taxes) and matching their home down payments. Another recommendation is that taxpayers should give $2 for every $1 that a young person saves. The section "Building a Family Trust" demands universal child care and 6 months of paid parental leave paid for by - you guessed it - taxpayers. The author particularly falls short in her "solutions" for college. What exactly (page 219) is the "American ideal of college for everyone"? You can imagine her solution ... taxpayers should fork over their hard-earned money to any young person who wants to go to college. If the author is so interested in having the Government solve all the problems experienced by young people, then perhaps the Government should establish a quota system for college degrees. Too many young people suffer from college debt because colleges tricked them into paying for worthless degrees - political science, anthropology, psychology, lesbian studies, journalism, sociology - when the Government should have been protecting these hapless young people by disallowing them from college. People thereby allowed to attend college would be able to pay back their loans, since they would be able to get jobs with their "real" degrees, and the author's lust for Big Government intrusion would be satisfied.

Good book, but doesn't focus enough on specific point.......2007-08-24

I just finished reading this book after a few hours (I am a voracious reader), and wasn't surprised at all by its revelations, rather, I am disturbed by the prospects of the future. I had already heard that many people I'd known from workplaces in the past and present (age ranges from about twenty to thirties, or even mid-thirties), were heading to other states, Texas and the South especially, because of the extremely high cost of living in my city. Most could not afford housing here. Most could not "make it," unless somehow supported by parents who were either already rich or just very unusually generous; some moved back in with their parents or cohabitated with groups of others around their age range in small apartments and dingy little houses. Most of us in this age range went into serious debt; this happened to me during my last year at a private university; I certainly didn't receive enough money from student loans either, so I had to survive on credit cards. This is all very familiar to me from Draut's book (which looks like she autographed it herself). Thank God I don't have kids or else I'd probably have to kill myself! I mean, the state we're in right now is just deplorable. Even after we get our entry-level jobs, we're stuck with incredibly high car loans and rental fees, not to mention paying back student loans (mine is more than $30,000 right now). In sum, I truly understand what Draut is writing about here, but I have more to add to what she's telling us. Unlike others, I have been somewhat politically aware and trying to be involved, but then I noticed that no one else really seemed to care! This can be a bit unnerving, but I guess I understand the reason for complacency -- why fight what you can't win against? In the end, I think the entire problem lies in greed. The baby boomers have been typically typecast as being greedy, wanting more more more, at our expense too, at their own childrens' expense. Just take a look at all of the products and surgical procedures for anti-aging -- they'd do anything to stave off death and look young forever by purchasing Creme de la Mer at $300.00 an ounce or getting some plastic surgery instead of helping out their own kids. They want us to grow up (and we're trying) but they refuse to do so. And take a look at who voted for Bush! Was it people from our age range? They also want more when they retire. I'm interested to see how things will turn out, despite the fact that I'm a bit terrified to see how things are going to be for those who can't even afford to buy new houses and save money for their own children, retirement or savings -- still, the b.b. generation *will* expect those who can't afford these things to support them in their retirement years. As one example, Draut writes about communities of "grays" who don't want younger families around, so prices soar and younger people move away! Is that humanity? God, that's awful. I treat animals better than these people treat eachother! I know my review will garner hatred from those in the b.b. group, but let it be known that the truth speaks louder than words; while doing a search for "baby boomers greedy," I came upon many articles of the same nature. As one noted: "Boomers have destroyed much of America . . . They will go down in History as the worst generation ever." Another said, "Sorry but as a Generation X, I don't need to see the media portray the boomers, I have seen it first hand and it is not pretty. My parents are boomers and turned out great luckily, but most have not."

Not A Self-Help Book.......2007-02-06

Tamara Draut's main assertion (I think it's actually more of an observation, really) seems fairly inarguable: things have gotten tougher, economically, over the last few decades. And not just for youthful big-spenders with an unhealthy sense of entitlement, an incorrigible narcissism resulting from being spared the rod as children and a subsequent inability to adapt vigorously enough to market forces. I'm not sure if any of the negative comments take issue with Draut's description of the fundamental economic differences between 2006 and, say, 1976.

The negative reactions seem to circle around the question of whether or not "Strapped" is a self-help book. It's not. It's clearly not a book about how to get ahead, win friends and influence people. There are no doubt plenty of more rewarding tomes on how to increase one's net worth and raise children with impecabble moral values. Which is why harping on Draut for not offering more strategies for success seems curiously beside the point. Personally, I prefer Horatio Alger, Emerson's "Self-Reliance" and a few old, eminently-cherishable Hopalong Cassidy paperbacks.

Will there be financially successful individuals in every generation? Indubitably. Does this tell us anything about general economic forces, patterns and trends? Afraid not. That is, unless you believe that some collective attitudinal sea-change is responsible for the income polarization that we've seen over the last 25 years and the skyrocketing cost of unthinkable luxuries like tuition and health care.

Individuals will adapt to these changes of course. How could they not? Draut chronicles some of these downwardly-mobile, not terribly sympathetic, predominantly middle-class individuals who have moved back in with mom, cut up their credit cards etc. The cross-section doesn't seem particularly broad, in either racial or class terms. Whiny? Perhaps. Take it or leave it. There aren't first-person interviews in picturesque, thriving Appalachia or deep in the bowels of the Lower Ninth Ward.

And the title? Whine-r-riffic!

Let's take a walk on the supply-side. Conservatives and libertarians would have you believe that property taxes are somehow the root of worsening income inequality and America's global economic decline, that it's imperative that we starve the left hand of the government (social "entitlements" like Medicare and Social Security) to feed its right (military, corporate welfarist) hand. That the seemingly unstoppable rightward drift of American politics and economic policies over the last few decades hasn't contributed to a growing sense among Americans that something is dreadfully, systematically wrong.

As for solutions, Draut is indeed a liberal animal, proffering what would have seemed like commonsense solutions to restore the equality of opportunity (socialist? hardly) available to some during the long post-WWII boom. Whether or not set the clock back or forward (toward more ambitious goals perhaps) is obviously beyond the scope of Draut's book, but I think these are questions worth pursuing regardless of the fact that a little elbow grease, entrepreneurial spirit and delayed gratification might potentially improve individual financial outcomes.

Mixed feeling but good read!.......2007-01-27

I have 3 Gen X kids and relate to this book, it's right on the big current issues. But I hope readers will try to figure out how to save themselves, I see don't any message but the politicians letting us down. The problem Tamara covers however may not be a political issue as much the dawn of a new competitive generation of global competition raising standard of other countries as our economy and government deals with the problems of international trade and our own internal problems. Which is wonderful for business but hard on average workers. How can our society do more for the people when the real problem may be a bigger age changing event?

Tamara needs to follow up this book with a "How young people can make the system work for them in spite of problems" and not count on the government for entitlement because that is not going to happen in our lifetimes. It's not a good time for young people, not a good time for Democrats, and not a good time for Republicans. We need new thinking in our government and were not getting it because all we have is the old guard career politicians in-fighting and bashing of each other to get votes. Politicians are more intent on getting re-elected and satisfying big campaign contributors rather than watching the store and helping our young people get a leg up.

But I think this book has relevance! I recommend this as a good read. Tamara is a talented writer and has done her homework. Just think for yourself how not to become a victim of things that you can not control.

Contemporary Business 2003 with A Guide to Your Personal Finances CD-ROM

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Contemporary Business 2003 with A Guide to Your Personal Finances CD-ROM
Louis E. Boone , and David L. Kurtz
Manufacturer: South-Western College Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0324185480

Book Description

Boone and Kurtz's Contemporary Business 2003 has proved to be the premier introduction to business text and package, edition after edition. With each new edition, this best-selling author team builds and improves upon their past innovations, creating the most technologically advanced, student friendly, instructor supported text available. Contemporary Business 2003 is packed with innovation, giving students up-close, hands-on experience with the dynamic world of business. As the hundreds of footnotes reveal, the text is as up to the minute as publishing will allow. Instead of just offering students a glimpse of the 21st century marketplace, this updated text provides a firsthand, personal experience, enabling readers to feel the excitement of wrestling with real-world business issues.

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Price on Contemporary Estate Planning
John R. Price , and Samuel A. Donaldson
Manufacturer: CCH, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Perfect Paperback

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ASIN: 0808090569
Release Date: 2006-12-01

Product Description

This completely new edition is a mine of information and expertise packed with valuable practice tips; this is the most current and comprehensive single-volume estate planning resource available. Providing theoretical grounding and a practice-oriented approach, Price shows how to handle the full range of estate planning problems and techniques, including: -Client counseling -Durable powers of attorney -Living wills -Private annuities -Charitable remainder trusts -Life insurance -Lifetime noncharitable gifts -Closely held business interests -Community and marital property -Retirement plans and IRAs -Post-mortem planning -Professional responsibility, and more! Helpful practice tools include numerous real-life examples illustrating application of principles, ready-to-adapt forms, and checklists.

The New Normal: Great Opportunities in a Time of Great Risk

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Just OK
1st half is Druckeresque
More than Investment Advice
A lot of fluff, some substance
Long on insight, short on hype

The New Normal: Great Opportunities in a Time of Great Risk
Roger McNamee
Manufacturer: Portfolio Hardcover
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1591840597
Release Date: 2004-11-18

Book Description

Back in the 40s, 50s, and 60s, it was fairly easy to plan for a secure future. People picked a career, a spouse, and a place to live, and those basic decisions put them on a predictable course for the rest of their lives. Especially if they were lucky enough to land at a big corporation with great benefits and smart enough to buy stocks.

In the 70s, 80s, and 90s, technology and global competition transformed the world. An increasingly strong economy masked spiraling instability in the workplace and the world. A rising stock market lulled people into thinking they were in control of their lives.

But now we've entered a totally new era, which Roger McNamee calls the New Normal. It's a time of great uncertainty—about terrorism, corporate scandals, the outsourcing of jobs overseas, and much more. The old safety nets aren't coming back, even when the economy recovers. But the good news is that the New Normal also offers tremendous opportunities. This book—by one of Silicon Valley's most insightful and successful investors—explains how to make the most of your life, career, and money by embracing the future.

The New Normal is the era of the individual. In companies large and small, each person now matters more than ever before. The Internet has finally made it easy to launch and grow a real business. For entrepreneurs and managers, the global economy opens previously untapped sources of supply and demand, cost savings and innovation. Individual investors now have access to tools and knowledge that were, until recently, restricted to professionals.

Roger McNamee has written a sweeping book in the tradition of Megatrends that clarifies this new era and gives readers a practical blueprint for success.

Customer Reviews:

Just OK.......2005-05-10

Good insights, but you can get the same info from following Wired or Google News. The book just seems forced to me, as if the author had something to say in about a chapter or two and then just extended it several more chapters. Why spend $$...check it out from the library.

1st half is Druckeresque.......2005-02-12

According to the author, globalization and technology will substantially change our world. This is nothing new, but the author provides a forecast of what tomorrow's business climate will look like. The individual will have more power than ever as employees and consumers. Independent contractors and will be far more in demand as well as service organizations designed fill a niche for larger ones. Anyone who has strong specialized skills will have far more leverage in the company. China and India will be a powerful, if not dominant, force in the global economy. The stock market will be influenced more by individual investors. Most business will require longer operations, requiring workers to work longer hours and be on alert for 24/7. Technology will enable smaller business to effectively compete against larger business better than any other time in history. Scale matters less than ever. Overall, we are moving towards a very favorable long term trend towards the global economy where especially the talented will be richly awarded, but those who lack specialized skills might be left out of the all the wealth generated by the increase in globalization and technology.

The author is a very deep business thinker, almost as insightful as Peter Drucker, which is really saying something. The author is gifted in forecasting the future trends based on the present data. The 2nd half of this book wasn't nearly as good. Maybe the author was writing fillers (as many authors are forced to do to meet page quotas mandated by the publishers).

More than Investment Advice.......2005-01-20

If you're looking for a "how-to" book to help you find your way in the new economy, there are countless insights in "The New Normal" that will help you understand the major issues facing investors today. If you are looking for an honest account of how an individual in his twenties with good instincts and a willingness to do research, created his own place in the world, this book is for you. What was valuable to me in reading "The New Normal" were McNamee's strategies for thinking outside the box, and his suggestions about how to develop a sound approach to entrepreneurship. The book also gives the clear message that technology IS the future. No matter what field you are in, there are ideas and points of reference here that will enhance your career and heighten your success. In this book, you will find no-nonsense, sound advice based on experience, intelligence and a genuine desire to help others achieve their goals.

A lot of fluff, some substance.......2004-12-30

Bought this on a whim. Like many business books, it offers a tantalizing insight into a successful person's life. But like many business books, it is long on broad, overarching concepts but short on actual reccomendations. I too can be a pundit and sagacious by saying, " To make money, all one has to do is pick the correct stock and buy it." - but without reccomendations on what that one might be, it is less useful advice.

I think this is a useful book for someone who is in their mid 20's and is beginning to make their way in the world. The advice it offers about a constant state of change in the future is valid, but it doesn't offer much concrete information on exactly what to do with that information. An enjoyable read, but not a must-read or a first line book.

Long on insight, short on hype.......2004-11-26

A "rock star venture capitalist" in the literal sense, I was curious to hear McNamee's views beyond the two-minute clips aired on CNBC. Unlike many of the business books penned by one-hit wonders from the last few years, McNamee has posted super-size returns on early stage and public investments for two decades. While the title suggests a total paradigm shift in today's market economy, the chapters are refreshingly rooted in basic business fundamentals. McNamee doesn't attribute his success to a genius mind or visionary powers -- he writes about working smarter (utilizing technology, exploiting your own competitive advantages, cultivating your network). The New Normal echoes multiple authors: Horatio Alger (get out and do something); Howard Schultz (love what you do); Peter Lynch (invest in things you understand...learn from your mistakes); Warren Buffett (buy and hold...stay the course). McNamee layers in enough self-deprecating stories to remind you he's not Superman (despite succeeding in life, work, music, etc.). His investment theories offer good counsel to portfolio managers and college students alike (e.g. innovation comes in three phases: infrastructure, enabling technology, content & applications. Know what phase we're in to avoid investing in good ideas before their time.). He seems like the kind of guy you'd want to invest your money (he stays in Best Westerns on the road!), serve as your mentor or professor, negotiate multilateral trade agreements, play guitar at your wedding or babysit your kid. Good read.

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You can't believe everything you see and hear, now, can you?
Outstanding perspective on the decline of rights in America
Learn the WHOLE truth about many important topics

Whatever Happened to the American Dream
Larry Burkett
Manufacturer: Moody Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Debt Free Living

ASIN: 0802471757

Customer Reviews:

You can't believe everything you see and hear, now, can you?.......2000-12-04

Burkett brings to light the full repertoire of the liberal spin doctors in one concise volume. The terrifying thing in this country is the way most people believe what they are told by the government and what they hear on the news without ever stopping to ask themselves, does this really make sense? After you read this book, you'll never take anything for granted without considering what someone has to gain by convincing you. A must read for any modern day patriot.

Outstanding perspective on the decline of rights in America.......2000-02-29

I was both pleased and angered by this book. Larry presented his facts in a well written, no nonsense fashion. He provided all sources for the information he used. It gave me an entirely new outlook on how government intervention in every aspect of our lives has hastened the erosion of our basic "rights" as free Americans. I have read it three times and it continues to infuriate me.

Highly recommended.

Learn the WHOLE truth about many important topics.......1998-10-11

This book opened my eyes to the deceptions that are being feed to each of us today. Larry Burkett exposes the EPA for who they are and gives evidence that proves the hole in the ozone layer scare is not to be believed. You will be outraged at the injustices people are sujected to by a government that is much too big and too busy tending to matters that were never meant to be handled by our law makers. Every Christian and/or person who wishes to be exposed to another version of the stories we here every day should read this book because it will reveal how important it is that we not believe something to be true because the media says it is or some government agency says it is. My way of thinking has been forever changed by reading this book.

Contemporary Business with Personal Finance Module and Student Companion CD-ROM

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Packed With Information
Contemporary Business, 9th ed.
Best business book
The top book in the field with the 1997 version stiill #1

Contemporary Business with Personal Finance Module and Student Companion CD-ROM
Louis E. Boone
Manufacturer: Delmar Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0030343631

Book Description

Boone and Kurtz's Contemporary Business has proved to be the premier introduction to business text and package, edition after edition. With each new edition, this best-selling author team builds and improves upon their past innovations, creating the most technologically advanced, student friendly, instructor supported text available. Contemporary Business 10th Edition is packed-literally-with innovation, giving students up-close, hands-on experience with the dynamic world of business. As the hundreds of footnotes reveal, the text is as up to the minute as publishing will allow-and the frequently updated Boone and Kurtz Web site complements the textbook with late-breaking news and updates. Instead of just offering students a glimpse of the 21st century marketplace, this entirely new book provides a firsthand, personal experience, enabling readers to feel the excitement of wrestling with real-world business issues.

Customer Reviews:

Packed With Information.......2000-09-16

I'm taking an on-line college course, and this is this textbook. It's full of up-to-date information that relates well to today's business world. An excellent introduction book to the fascinating world of business.

Contemporary Business, 9th ed........2000-03-29

It is very helpful and interesting.

Best business book.......1999-03-04

Best book written ever in the field of business. Ideal for any students either majoring or non majoring in business and acctg.

The top book in the field with the 1997 version stiill #1.......1997-08-23

Boone and Kurtz continue their mastery in writing business books for business and nonbusiness students with this edition. The original version was in hard cover and an interim edition was put out in paperback: The 1997 version has just been released and it excels, too. The chapters are very well written with superb examples, great end-of- chapter video cases, and a solid support package. The instructor's manual is very helpful and comprehensive, too. Sadly, the authors joined the pack by relegating business law to an appendix. However, sometimes even leaders follow. If there is a better intro. to business book than this, let someone present it. At least a few graduate schools use it at the beginning of their master's programs in business and management, too. The best news is that the new version is out. However, this version can be used with relevance very appropriately over the next decade.

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