The PointIssue 4
Spring 2011
Biannual
Review by Joanne B. Conrad
The Point is a sophisticated 187-paged Chicago-based literary magazine about contemporary life and culture. The Spring issue's most frequent theme is sports entertainment and rationale, although its five sections, "Letters from the Editors," "Essays," "Art," "Symposium," and "Reviews" include other topics. It's good that it is a biannual, as its many articles require, more often than not, erudite engagement, and certainly more than one sitting.
The "Letters from the Editors" consists of six pages of quotes about freedom by politicians, authors, musicians, philosophers, and economists, from Member of Congress Michele Bachmann to Milton Friedman, from Thoreau to Lenin, Kant, Sartre, et al.
The "Essays" cover such things as games, theology, hermeneutics, education, and digestion with articles such as "Did Drugs Kill Sports," "Pornography as a Way of Life," rap music, problems with authority, and "A Philosopher's Sickness."
The arts section, "Lifestyle," describes the "Wild Alps, a Photo Essay" by Nicolo Degiorges with twelve pages of color photos of the back-to-nature, sort of Native American, lifestyle of three families in the northern German-speaking region of Trentino-Alto Adige in Italy, who are practically self-sufficient, "estranged from industrial and technological development."
Part four's "Symposium," twenty-seven pages on soccer, cricket, basketball, American football, and healthy rivalry, explores athletic entertainment with much intellectual analysis, even an article about the ancient Greek/Athenian penchant for the sound body producing sound minds, ergo the necessity for physical education as opposed to a curricula of math, science, history, and literature. Physical competition provides more than physical fitness; it teaches participants about life. "Soccer and Schizophrenia," "The Sweatiest of the Liberal Arts," "March Madness," "Healthy Rivalry, and "Hail Mary Time" are the articles in "Symposium." "Hail Mary Time," about the 1906 football revolution, after eighteen players died and 159 were injured the year before, was particularly informative, but author Jonny Thakkar's main point was how plutocracy distorts society. One wonders, however, what the yearly injury rates have been since 1906.
"Reviews" include author/artist "Chris Ware's ANL #20," television's Sarah Palin's Alaska, the film Chicago Heights, and "Chicago's Political Theater," the latter reviewing the three stage plays Cherrywood, Detroit, and Frost/Nixon, respectively about "transform[ing] our bad present," “a fitting midterm report for the age of Obama, at a point where talk of hope has bleakly curdled," and a "delectable glimpse at the birth of politics of resentment whose echoes […] saturate our polity today."
The writers are erudite, often esoteric, and showcase their profound knowledge. The only articles that weren't so recondite were the "Wild Alps, a Photo Essay" and Jessica Weisberg's review of television's "Sarah Palin's Alaska."
Included is a separate and impressive list of "Resources," used by some of the authors and would probably be recognized only by scholars. These resources are not referenced as footnotes accompanying the articles, which is annoying, but then only the literati would recognize them anyway. Also missing is brief biographical information about the authors. Professors, artistes, and other intellectuals would like The Point.
[www.thepointmag.com]
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Magazine Review, In These Times, published 11/14/11 NewPages.com
In These TimesVolume 35 Number 5
May 2011
Monthly
Review by Joanne B. Conrad
According to In These Times, all of our economic and social problems are caused by unethical or greedy corporations, wealthy Americans, and right-wing conservatives or politicians. How strange, therefore, could the standard of living for the majority of Americans be so much better than elsewhere in the world? Nevertheless, constant vigilance is always needed and In These Times, an independent and nonprofit newsmagazine, is "committed to political and economic democracy and opposed to the dominance of transnational corporations and the tyranny of marketplace values over human values," according to their Mission Statement.
This issue may be substantively atypical compared to other issues. Its content includes nine articles in their “War at Home" section, five under "Frontline" section, two under "Views" section, and six under the "Culture" section, as well as "Letters," the "Editorial" and several sidebars. This month's cover, a pathetic photo intro to the "War at Home" theme shows a Kenosha, Wisconsin, guidance counselor demonstrating at the state capital. The photo is a demoralized, negative, and defeated woman carrying a small American flag. Perhaps the visage of a victimized woman was meant to reinforce the "War at Home," but the negativity is off-putting and particularly demagogic if she's earning $101,738 salary and fringe, according to www.wisconsinopengov.org. A recent expose' showed 324 Wisconsin guidance counselors earning more than $100K. Poor victims, indeed.
Be that as it may, the magazine covers a plethora of issues: corporate tax cheats, foreclosures, anti-coal energy, Latin American relations, nuclear energy, Sharia law, Social Security, healthcare, NPR, Ohio's anti-choice law, Michigan's emergency managers, immigration, Wisconsin's collective bargaining, unnecessary Cesareans, Chilean issues about Allende and Pinochet, internships, David Brooks’ book The Social Animal, an interview with YA author Walter Dean Myers, an SEIU manifesto for taking the fight to the streets, and a fluff piece about generational lack of technological savvy—just about something for everyone.
Creditable recognition is provided to all their writers, which is laudable and informative. A couple letter writers bemoan the magazine's inclusion of a sidebar "tea party provocateur" by Jennifer Stefano, but credibility usually increases when both sides of issues are included. It does not detract from their mission, especially because sidebars are given very minimal space compared to all their more progressive articles.
The review of David Brooks’ book The Social Animal is rather negative, but the author Chris Lehmann's verbiage is colorful: "In the depths of the present crisis, Brooks—the author of two earlier impressionistic and deeply insular Baedekers of American consumer culture Bobos in Paradise and On Paradise Drive—has produced The Social Animal, a shambolic overview of research on the alleged neurobiological foundations of human success and failure, presented in the form of a didactic novel in the tradition of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Emile and Samuel Fielding's (sic) Clarissa." Very erudite.
All the well-written articles and writers evidence thoughtful progressive views worth reading by liberals and conservatives alike.
[www.inthesetimes.com/]
May 2011
Monthly
Review by Joanne B. Conrad
According to In These Times, all of our economic and social problems are caused by unethical or greedy corporations, wealthy Americans, and right-wing conservatives or politicians. How strange, therefore, could the standard of living for the majority of Americans be so much better than elsewhere in the world? Nevertheless, constant vigilance is always needed and In These Times, an independent and nonprofit newsmagazine, is "committed to political and economic democracy and opposed to the dominance of transnational corporations and the tyranny of marketplace values over human values," according to their Mission Statement.
This issue may be substantively atypical compared to other issues. Its content includes nine articles in their “War at Home" section, five under "Frontline" section, two under "Views" section, and six under the "Culture" section, as well as "Letters," the "Editorial" and several sidebars. This month's cover, a pathetic photo intro to the "War at Home" theme shows a Kenosha, Wisconsin, guidance counselor demonstrating at the state capital. The photo is a demoralized, negative, and defeated woman carrying a small American flag. Perhaps the visage of a victimized woman was meant to reinforce the "War at Home," but the negativity is off-putting and particularly demagogic if she's earning $101,738 salary and fringe, according to www.wisconsinopengov.org. A recent expose' showed 324 Wisconsin guidance counselors earning more than $100K. Poor victims, indeed.
Be that as it may, the magazine covers a plethora of issues: corporate tax cheats, foreclosures, anti-coal energy, Latin American relations, nuclear energy, Sharia law, Social Security, healthcare, NPR, Ohio's anti-choice law, Michigan's emergency managers, immigration, Wisconsin's collective bargaining, unnecessary Cesareans, Chilean issues about Allende and Pinochet, internships, David Brooks’ book The Social Animal, an interview with YA author Walter Dean Myers, an SEIU manifesto for taking the fight to the streets, and a fluff piece about generational lack of technological savvy—just about something for everyone.
Creditable recognition is provided to all their writers, which is laudable and informative. A couple letter writers bemoan the magazine's inclusion of a sidebar "tea party provocateur" by Jennifer Stefano, but credibility usually increases when both sides of issues are included. It does not detract from their mission, especially because sidebars are given very minimal space compared to all their more progressive articles.
The review of David Brooks’ book The Social Animal is rather negative, but the author Chris Lehmann's verbiage is colorful: "In the depths of the present crisis, Brooks—the author of two earlier impressionistic and deeply insular Baedekers of American consumer culture Bobos in Paradise and On Paradise Drive—has produced The Social Animal, a shambolic overview of research on the alleged neurobiological foundations of human success and failure, presented in the form of a didactic novel in the tradition of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Emile and Samuel Fielding's (sic) Clarissa." Very erudite.
All the well-written articles and writers evidence thoughtful progressive views worth reading by liberals and conservatives alike.
[www.inthesetimes.com/]
Magazine Review, published 11/14/11, NewPages.com
Against the CurrentNumber 152
May/June 2011
Bimonthly
Review by Joanne B. Conrad
"Published […] to promote dialogue among […] activists, organizers, and serious scholars of the left, Against the Current promotes "socialism […] of a revolutionary, working-class, multinational, multiracial, feminist, and anti-bureaucratic socialist movement." A lengthy letter from the Editors bemoans the "assault on public workers and their unions in one state after another" and states, "a new massive worker-led popular movement is the need of the hour" to save collective bargaining, Social Security, public broadcasting, planned parenthood, the Patient Protection and Affordability Care Act (PPACA), public education, et al, from "the lying propaganda of the financial privateers and budget-slashing 'free-market' fundamentalists." These editors believe Republicans serve a single master—corporate capital, and that the Democrats serve two—corporate capital and labor, but will "succeed only by delivering benefits to their key voting base—labor, African Americans, others of color, and women."
Ten substantial articles about American Muslims; Egypt, Libya, & Arab uprisings; Wisconsin and Ohio anti-union activities, public education, Tennessee's Educators Association's struggles, and Michigan's Emergency Managers are enlightening and well-written.
A six-page essay about black feminist fighter Florynce Kennedy involved in feminist and black power controversies and organizing by Professor Sherie M. Randolph, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, is overwhelmingly detailed but summarizes Kennedy's "ultimate goal that organizations and activists focus on defeating…the real oppressor: the racist sexist genocidal establishment."
Five book reviews covering author Ralph Ellison, workers' revolts, Israel, Zionism, and LGBT issues are also included. All but the book about lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders, The Right to be Out by Stuart Biegel, reviewed by Eriku MC Ide are erudite, even esoteric, requiring at least two reads.
A “dialogue” about rebuilding the anti-war movement and two "memoria" for Wilebaldo Solano, a Spanish freedom fighter, and Chicago's artist/activist Margaret Burroughs round out this issue.
Against the Current seems much more scholarly than some other leftist alternative magazines. It often requires concentrated reading, even re-reading. Full credits are provided for all the contributors, which are helpful to readers. The book review by Detroit auto mechanic Jimmy Johnson of The Returns of Zionism by Gabriel Piterberg seemed particularly, but pleasurably, challenging.
[www.solidarity-us.org]
May/June 2011
Bimonthly
Review by Joanne B. Conrad
"Published […] to promote dialogue among […] activists, organizers, and serious scholars of the left, Against the Current promotes "socialism […] of a revolutionary, working-class, multinational, multiracial, feminist, and anti-bureaucratic socialist movement." A lengthy letter from the Editors bemoans the "assault on public workers and their unions in one state after another" and states, "a new massive worker-led popular movement is the need of the hour" to save collective bargaining, Social Security, public broadcasting, planned parenthood, the Patient Protection and Affordability Care Act (PPACA), public education, et al, from "the lying propaganda of the financial privateers and budget-slashing 'free-market' fundamentalists." These editors believe Republicans serve a single master—corporate capital, and that the Democrats serve two—corporate capital and labor, but will "succeed only by delivering benefits to their key voting base—labor, African Americans, others of color, and women."
Ten substantial articles about American Muslims; Egypt, Libya, & Arab uprisings; Wisconsin and Ohio anti-union activities, public education, Tennessee's Educators Association's struggles, and Michigan's Emergency Managers are enlightening and well-written.
A six-page essay about black feminist fighter Florynce Kennedy involved in feminist and black power controversies and organizing by Professor Sherie M. Randolph, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, is overwhelmingly detailed but summarizes Kennedy's "ultimate goal that organizations and activists focus on defeating…the real oppressor: the racist sexist genocidal establishment."
Five book reviews covering author Ralph Ellison, workers' revolts, Israel, Zionism, and LGBT issues are also included. All but the book about lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders, The Right to be Out by Stuart Biegel, reviewed by Eriku MC Ide are erudite, even esoteric, requiring at least two reads.
A “dialogue” about rebuilding the anti-war movement and two "memoria" for Wilebaldo Solano, a Spanish freedom fighter, and Chicago's artist/activist Margaret Burroughs round out this issue.
Against the Current seems much more scholarly than some other leftist alternative magazines. It often requires concentrated reading, even re-reading. Full credits are provided for all the contributors, which are helpful to readers. The book review by Detroit auto mechanic Jimmy Johnson of The Returns of Zionism by Gabriel Piterberg seemed particularly, but pleasurably, challenging.
[www.solidarity-us.org]
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Book Review, Beyond our Means, published 10/15/11 by Library Journal
Garon, Sheldon. Beyond Our Means: Why America Spends While the World Saves. Princeton Univ. Nov. 2011. c.480p. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780691135991. $29.95. ECON
While Garon’s (history, Princeton; Molding Japanese Minds: The State in Everyday Life) study is comprehensive (with hundreds of notes and a large bibliography), his subtitle is slightly misleading. He explains savings programs in Western Europe and Southeast Asia but not why America spends. Although the U.S. government has not promoted savings as much as other nations have, the 1910 U.S. savings rates surpassed those of all other countries except Germany—a trend that changed after World War II. Garon examines the past two centuries of world history to determine “how rival cultures of savings and debt came to be.” Savings campaigns, some intrusive or compulsory, utilized advocacy groups, propaganda, patriotism, innovative institutions, and government incentives. Rationales were not always that “growing economies required savings for capital formation” but also that savings campaigns discouraged revolts and minimized welfare costs. However, some countries with government safety nets still have high savings rates. Garon provides five suggestions for increased rate of savings: easier bank access, government encouragement, tax incentives, youth programs, and more financial inclusion. VERDICT This book will prove most informative for social policy gurus, bankers, politicians, and economically minded citizens.—Joanne B. Conrad, Geneseo, NY
While Garon’s (history, Princeton; Molding Japanese Minds: The State in Everyday Life) study is comprehensive (with hundreds of notes and a large bibliography), his subtitle is slightly misleading. He explains savings programs in Western Europe and Southeast Asia but not why America spends. Although the U.S. government has not promoted savings as much as other nations have, the 1910 U.S. savings rates surpassed those of all other countries except Germany—a trend that changed after World War II. Garon examines the past two centuries of world history to determine “how rival cultures of savings and debt came to be.” Savings campaigns, some intrusive or compulsory, utilized advocacy groups, propaganda, patriotism, innovative institutions, and government incentives. Rationales were not always that “growing economies required savings for capital formation” but also that savings campaigns discouraged revolts and minimized welfare costs. However, some countries with government safety nets still have high savings rates. Garon provides five suggestions for increased rate of savings: easier bank access, government encouragement, tax incentives, youth programs, and more financial inclusion. VERDICT This book will prove most informative for social policy gurus, bankers, politicians, and economically minded citizens.—Joanne B. Conrad, Geneseo, NY
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Magazine Review, NewPages.com, Posted 8/30/11
Z MagazineVolume 24 Number 5
May 2011
Monthly
Review by Joanne B. Conrad
Claiming to be an "independent magazine of critical thinking on political, cultural, social and economic life in the U.S" and that "seeing racial, gender, class, and political dimensions of personal life as fundamental to understanding and improving contemporary circumstances,” Z Magazine “aims to assist activist efforts for a better future.” It is published by South End Press, and is committed to “the politics of radical social change.”
Z Magazine shows, indeed, progressivism with very interesting viewpoints on subjects not often covered by traditional media. The May 2011 issue contains 8 sections: "Memorials," "Net Briefs," "Commentary," "Activism," "What Happened in Wisconsin?," "The Libya Intervention Debate," Book Reviews," and "Zaps." The enlightening article "Court Watch: Caustic Political Speech and The Supreme Court," by Stephen Bergstein in the Commentary section explains the Court's assurance that "provocative speech will not be censured as long as no one is physically injured." Bernstein, an upstate NY civil rights lawyer, includes extensive historical documentation.
The Activism section covers issues such as food sovereignty, historical preservation in Turkey, Iraq's occupation, Hezbollah in Lebanon, education in New Orleans' Lower 9th parish, the "Food Not Bombs" project, and an interview about war, prisons, and torture in the U. S. and UK. Two articles about Wisconsin protests and four Libyan intervention articles are also included and all are worth reading. The articles about Wisconsin, Libya, and radiation expose important factors for understanding and dissemination.
Accompanying cartoons appropriately editorialize their articles, and pictures are mostly captioned, except for the Turkish historical preservation article, in which some are too small and unidentified. As an environmental controversy, readers would find them more relevant if larger and well-captioned. In addition to environmental impacts, the Turkish government's rationale for constructing a hydroelectric dam and reservoir are not addressed, e.g. are there any benefits that outweigh the concern for preservation? The author, Janet Biehl, provides very persuasive preservation arguments.
Z Magazine’s articles would be extremely useful if they are archived and the data available to researchers. After six pages of searching the internet for Hasankeyf, the Turkish preservation issue, the Z Magazine article did not show up. Their articles provide helpful viewpoints about controversial social issues. Z Magazine's international scope and relevant current content show impressive progressive philosophies. Another project of Z Magazine is their Z Media Institute which was started in 1994 by the co-founders of Z Magazine and South End Press to teach radical politics, media, and organizing; the principles and practice of creating non-hierarchical institutions and projects; and a special emphasis on vision and strategy for social change. Classes are held in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Over 750 students have attended ZMI since 1994, with ages ranging from 16 to 82.
[www.zmag.org]
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
BOOK Review, Published, Library Journal July 15, 2011.
Stoute, Steve. The Tanning of America: How Hip-Hop Created a Culture That Rewrote the Rules of the New Economy. Gotham: Penguin Group (USA). Sept. 2011. c.269p. ISBN 9781592404810. $26. SOC SCI
According to Stoute, a branding consultant and former record executive, “the adhesive of youth culture and inclusive racial diversity” has led to the “tanning of America.” Ignoring the globalization of popular culture is perilous, he argues, and he seeks “to put an end, once and for all, to the boxing of individuals based on color.” Part One traces the evolution of hip-hop and rap, showing how these forms brought success to performers who poetized their frustrations and appealed to urban teens who wanted to be cool. This section offers a detailed chronicle of early hip-hop musicians, including DJ Kool Herc and numerous others, as well as advertisers, such as Adidas and Nike, eager to increase their market share by plugging into hip-hop culture. Part Two details the “Power, Pitfalls and Potential of Tanning,” and Part Three, “The Future of the Tan World,” calls tanning a “cultural bridge” to the American Dream. “Cross-culturism is the next phase of tanning,” writes Stoute, of which the most important element is “loving one another.” VERDICT This detailed history of hip-hop as a musical genre and its genesis, development, and effects on society will appeal to historians and sociologists, as well as some fans of hip-hop. [See Prepub Alert, 12/13/10.]—Joanne B. Conrad, Geneseo, NY
According to Stoute, a branding consultant and former record executive, “the adhesive of youth culture and inclusive racial diversity” has led to the “tanning of America.” Ignoring the globalization of popular culture is perilous, he argues, and he seeks “to put an end, once and for all, to the boxing of individuals based on color.” Part One traces the evolution of hip-hop and rap, showing how these forms brought success to performers who poetized their frustrations and appealed to urban teens who wanted to be cool. This section offers a detailed chronicle of early hip-hop musicians, including DJ Kool Herc and numerous others, as well as advertisers, such as Adidas and Nike, eager to increase their market share by plugging into hip-hop culture. Part Two details the “Power, Pitfalls and Potential of Tanning,” and Part Three, “The Future of the Tan World,” calls tanning a “cultural bridge” to the American Dream. “Cross-culturism is the next phase of tanning,” writes Stoute, of which the most important element is “loving one another.” VERDICT This detailed history of hip-hop as a musical genre and its genesis, development, and effects on society will appeal to historians and sociologists, as well as some fans of hip-hop. [See Prepub Alert, 12/13/10.]—Joanne B. Conrad, Geneseo, NY
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Book Review: America's Ticking Bankruptcy Bomb by Peter Ferrara
Published Library Journal, June 15, 2011, under "Nonfiction, Economics."
Ferrara, Peter. America’s Ticking Bankruptcy Bomb: How the Looming Debt Crisis Threatens the American Dream—and How We Can Turn the Tide Before It’s Too Late. Broadside. Jun. 2011. c.448p. ISBN 9780062025777. $25.99. ECON
Beyond an economic warning, this is an ambitious roadmap to economic reform and recovery for America. Voluminous statistics, numerous sources, and substantive issues make the book extremely credible. Readers will find explanations of the 2008 financial crisis and proposals to improve the situation. They will also be disabused of media distortions and inconsistencies that mislead the public’s economic understanding. Ferrara (President Obama’s Tax Piracy)—director of the Institute for Policy Innovation, former Reagan White House Office of Policy Development member, and former associate deputy attorney general under the first President Bush—outlines the calamitous path America has traveled and proposes multiple reforms that need both liberals’ and conservatives’ attention to avoid detonating the bankruptcy bomb. The reforms repeatedly demonstrate how present policies hurt poor and low-income Americans; restrain economic growth; endanger health care, education, Social Security, pensions, and states; and create disincentives that cause increased welfare enrollment, crime, and counterproductive activities. A comparison with Chilean Social Security, for example, shows U.S. ineptitude. Ferrara’s plea: “Can we talk?” VERDICT: Enlightening for serious readers, politicians, and those concerned about America’s future.—Joanne B. Conrad, Geneseo, NY
Ferrara, Peter. America’s Ticking Bankruptcy Bomb: How the Looming Debt Crisis Threatens the American Dream—and How We Can Turn the Tide Before It’s Too Late. Broadside. Jun. 2011. c.448p. ISBN 9780062025777. $25.99. ECON
Beyond an economic warning, this is an ambitious roadmap to economic reform and recovery for America. Voluminous statistics, numerous sources, and substantive issues make the book extremely credible. Readers will find explanations of the 2008 financial crisis and proposals to improve the situation. They will also be disabused of media distortions and inconsistencies that mislead the public’s economic understanding. Ferrara (President Obama’s Tax Piracy)—director of the Institute for Policy Innovation, former Reagan White House Office of Policy Development member, and former associate deputy attorney general under the first President Bush—outlines the calamitous path America has traveled and proposes multiple reforms that need both liberals’ and conservatives’ attention to avoid detonating the bankruptcy bomb. The reforms repeatedly demonstrate how present policies hurt poor and low-income Americans; restrain economic growth; endanger health care, education, Social Security, pensions, and states; and create disincentives that cause increased welfare enrollment, crime, and counterproductive activities. A comparison with Chilean Social Security, for example, shows U.S. ineptitude. Ferrara’s plea: “Can we talk?” VERDICT: Enlightening for serious readers, politicians, and those concerned about America’s future.—Joanne B. Conrad, Geneseo, NY
Thursday, June 23, 2011
MAGAZINE REVIEW, Social Policy, Newpages.com
Published 6/15/11:
Social PolicyVolume 41 Number 1
Spring 2011
Quarterly
Review by Joanne B. Conrad
Unless one is a regular reader of Social Policy magazine, there may be some confusion, despite Wade Rathke's "Publisher’s note." He says the Spring 2011 issue is “in perfect harmony with the heart and spirit needed in these times, despite the challenges of adversity…and challenges of our…heroic strengths and weaknesses.” If Social Policy is “[the] key site for intellectual exchange among progressive academics and activists from across the United States and beyond,” it would be instructive and helpful to say so in the boilerplate masthead or logo. Their website says, “Social Policy seeks to inform and report on the work of labor and community organizers who build union and constituency-based groups, run campaigns, and build movements for social justice, economic equality, and democratic participation in the U.S. and around the world.” Again, why not say so in the magazine? Its cover does include "Organizing for Social and Economic Justice."
The articles about the United Farm Workers’ Union purges and a forty-year-old transcribed talk by Cesar Chavez are distracting. Perhaps explaining that the first two articles were historical might have helped. The first article about UFW purges, with no dates, contains twelve footnotes, but the cited references are nowhere to be found—which seems to be the publication's modus operandi as they are missing in other articles as well.
On the other hand, the articles "Social Justice Unionism," by Bill Fletcher, Jr. and Fernando Gapasin, and "The Theory of Comparative Advantage, Why It is Wrong," by Ian Fletcher are well-written and enlightening, although sometimes abstruse. Again 32 footnotes are missing cited references in the latter article.
"The Maharashtra Model" in India, by Wade Rathke, meanders about before making its point that it, Canada, and New York State are models for organizing informal workers, e.g. lower-paid workers and others. Again, footnotes are not identified.
Five other articles "Radical: A Portrait of Saul Alinsky" by Nicholas Von Hoffman; "Learning from Poverty in Canada and the U. K." by Amy Leaman; "Public Employees and the Public Interest" by Philip Mattera; "Egypt: First Cut Off the Internet" by Noorin Ladhani; and "Backstory" about the Gamaliel Foundation, a faith-based community organization, by Wade Rathke round out the issue.
Slick, with heavy gloss pages (which are expensive), Social Policy is informative if one has time and perseverance to read and elicit the information. As a quarterly, that may provide enough time. It contains minimal, but relevant, photos and artwork, but credit is missing for the back cover artwork about Wisconsin's union protests. This is not written for mass consumption, but, rather, for organizers and other progressive elitists.
[www.socialpolicy.org]
Social PolicyVolume 41 Number 1
Spring 2011
Quarterly
Review by Joanne B. Conrad
Unless one is a regular reader of Social Policy magazine, there may be some confusion, despite Wade Rathke's "Publisher’s note." He says the Spring 2011 issue is “in perfect harmony with the heart and spirit needed in these times, despite the challenges of adversity…and challenges of our…heroic strengths and weaknesses.” If Social Policy is “[the] key site for intellectual exchange among progressive academics and activists from across the United States and beyond,” it would be instructive and helpful to say so in the boilerplate masthead or logo. Their website says, “Social Policy seeks to inform and report on the work of labor and community organizers who build union and constituency-based groups, run campaigns, and build movements for social justice, economic equality, and democratic participation in the U.S. and around the world.” Again, why not say so in the magazine? Its cover does include "Organizing for Social and Economic Justice."
The articles about the United Farm Workers’ Union purges and a forty-year-old transcribed talk by Cesar Chavez are distracting. Perhaps explaining that the first two articles were historical might have helped. The first article about UFW purges, with no dates, contains twelve footnotes, but the cited references are nowhere to be found—which seems to be the publication's modus operandi as they are missing in other articles as well.
On the other hand, the articles "Social Justice Unionism," by Bill Fletcher, Jr. and Fernando Gapasin, and "The Theory of Comparative Advantage, Why It is Wrong," by Ian Fletcher are well-written and enlightening, although sometimes abstruse. Again 32 footnotes are missing cited references in the latter article.
"The Maharashtra Model" in India, by Wade Rathke, meanders about before making its point that it, Canada, and New York State are models for organizing informal workers, e.g. lower-paid workers and others. Again, footnotes are not identified.
Five other articles "Radical: A Portrait of Saul Alinsky" by Nicholas Von Hoffman; "Learning from Poverty in Canada and the U. K." by Amy Leaman; "Public Employees and the Public Interest" by Philip Mattera; "Egypt: First Cut Off the Internet" by Noorin Ladhani; and "Backstory" about the Gamaliel Foundation, a faith-based community organization, by Wade Rathke round out the issue.
Slick, with heavy gloss pages (which are expensive), Social Policy is informative if one has time and perseverance to read and elicit the information. As a quarterly, that may provide enough time. It contains minimal, but relevant, photos and artwork, but credit is missing for the back cover artwork about Wisconsin's union protests. This is not written for mass consumption, but, rather, for organizers and other progressive elitists.
[www.socialpolicy.org]
MAGAZINE REVIEW, Anarchy, Newpages.com
Published 6/15/11:
Anarchy A Journal of Desire Armed
Issue 70/71
Biannual
Review by Joanne B. Conrad
Published by C.A.L. Press, Berkeley, CA, Anarchy purports to "Disarm authority! Arm your Desires! with provocative, creative, and critical anti-authoritarian discourse and art."
The editor's "On the Winter of Wikileaks" comments on the "glut of disinformation," including Wikileaks' "uncensored and unvarnished truth" and that the "mythical Public…is so inured to talking heads spoonfeeding them soundbites that it remains questionable…whether unfiltered information can be…any use for radical challenges to statecraft." "Inside Anarchy" decries the demise of a related publication, Counterpoise, and appeals for help from contributors, subscribers, et al. Three appraisals are also cited in this issue of The Coming Insurrection, a French document by an anonymous The Invisible Committee, for which some French were arrested and later released, and promises two more reviews in issue 72. Egypt, Greece, England, and other uprisings are cited as "against all manifestations of entrenched bureaucracy and dictatorship [that] make anarchists happy."
The first review of TCI (The Coming Insurrection) by Lupus Dragonowl, aims to "develop insurrectionary anti-politics into a movement actually able to destroy global capitalism." The second review by Lawrence Jarach critiques a book about TCI by Chris Spannos that Jarach says contains "apoplectic and delirious rantings.” The third review of TCI by Wolf Landstreicher says, "the book is not anarchist; it is communist." Well, maybe issue 72 will clarify.
A "Recent Events" article, "On Violence Against the Police," in England, says "Someone has to say it: mass violence against the police is necessary as part of any social struggle….The reason is simple: the police defend the state unconditionally, the state defends capital unconditionally, and capital attacks us without remorse."
In addition to sections for recent events, book reviews, essays, columns, and letters, Anarchy contains media reviews of sister alternative magazines such as Anarchist Studies, The Anvil Review, Arena One: On Anarchist Cinema, The Authoritarian Artist, Brief History of the Working Class, Cabal-Argot, Come Hell or High Water, Fire to the Prisons, The Laugh of the Medusa, and This is Not a Love Story.
Dali-esque or Dali-grotesque artwork by Bernard Dumaine, Christian Edler, Karena Karras, Peter Van Oostzanen, Rodney Gee, Ton Haring, and others, hard to decipher, is interspersed throughout. Recognizable were distortions of Madame Defarge (Dickens's Tale of Two Cities) and Dorothea Lange’s famous picture of Florence Owens Thompson of the Great Depression. One wonders if the artists ever title their works as they must have messages. To Anarchy's credit, they do identify all artists.
Rounding out the issue are eight pages of "Letters" and four "Columns," decrying a September 24th FBI raid, saying, "We encourage anarchists to stand with the victims of these actions, for it will only be a matter of time until the FBI targets anarchists again in their quest to silence those who dissent against the global capitalist system" and "It is the U.S. government that operates as an empire with military occupations of countries all over the world…and underwriting oppression." John Zernan writes in "Love" that our "affective state is the very texture and timbre of our lives" and that "every political struggle is an affective one." Spencer Sunshine writes a review of Nietzsche and the anarchist tradition and says "give me…a social anarchism that engages with, and is inspired by the thoughts of Frederich Nietzsche."
It is a magazine of dissent and sometimes nebulous philosophies for elitist audiences, and, as one letter writer says, "Time for a serious Anarchist-Communist attempt at a solution to the current crisis or we might as well just listen to the preachers tell us everything depends on Jesus or Obama or head for the hills."
[www.anarchymag.org]
Anarchy A Journal of Desire Armed
Issue 70/71
Biannual
Review by Joanne B. Conrad
Published by C.A.L. Press, Berkeley, CA, Anarchy purports to "Disarm authority! Arm your Desires! with provocative, creative, and critical anti-authoritarian discourse and art."
The editor's "On the Winter of Wikileaks" comments on the "glut of disinformation," including Wikileaks' "uncensored and unvarnished truth" and that the "mythical Public…is so inured to talking heads spoonfeeding them soundbites that it remains questionable…whether unfiltered information can be…any use for radical challenges to statecraft." "Inside Anarchy" decries the demise of a related publication, Counterpoise, and appeals for help from contributors, subscribers, et al. Three appraisals are also cited in this issue of The Coming Insurrection, a French document by an anonymous The Invisible Committee, for which some French were arrested and later released, and promises two more reviews in issue 72. Egypt, Greece, England, and other uprisings are cited as "against all manifestations of entrenched bureaucracy and dictatorship [that] make anarchists happy."
The first review of TCI (The Coming Insurrection) by Lupus Dragonowl, aims to "develop insurrectionary anti-politics into a movement actually able to destroy global capitalism." The second review by Lawrence Jarach critiques a book about TCI by Chris Spannos that Jarach says contains "apoplectic and delirious rantings.” The third review of TCI by Wolf Landstreicher says, "the book is not anarchist; it is communist." Well, maybe issue 72 will clarify.
A "Recent Events" article, "On Violence Against the Police," in England, says "Someone has to say it: mass violence against the police is necessary as part of any social struggle….The reason is simple: the police defend the state unconditionally, the state defends capital unconditionally, and capital attacks us without remorse."
In addition to sections for recent events, book reviews, essays, columns, and letters, Anarchy contains media reviews of sister alternative magazines such as Anarchist Studies, The Anvil Review, Arena One: On Anarchist Cinema, The Authoritarian Artist, Brief History of the Working Class, Cabal-Argot, Come Hell or High Water, Fire to the Prisons, The Laugh of the Medusa, and This is Not a Love Story.
Dali-esque or Dali-grotesque artwork by Bernard Dumaine, Christian Edler, Karena Karras, Peter Van Oostzanen, Rodney Gee, Ton Haring, and others, hard to decipher, is interspersed throughout. Recognizable were distortions of Madame Defarge (Dickens's Tale of Two Cities) and Dorothea Lange’s famous picture of Florence Owens Thompson of the Great Depression. One wonders if the artists ever title their works as they must have messages. To Anarchy's credit, they do identify all artists.
Rounding out the issue are eight pages of "Letters" and four "Columns," decrying a September 24th FBI raid, saying, "We encourage anarchists to stand with the victims of these actions, for it will only be a matter of time until the FBI targets anarchists again in their quest to silence those who dissent against the global capitalist system" and "It is the U.S. government that operates as an empire with military occupations of countries all over the world…and underwriting oppression." John Zernan writes in "Love" that our "affective state is the very texture and timbre of our lives" and that "every political struggle is an affective one." Spencer Sunshine writes a review of Nietzsche and the anarchist tradition and says "give me…a social anarchism that engages with, and is inspired by the thoughts of Frederich Nietzsche."
It is a magazine of dissent and sometimes nebulous philosophies for elitist audiences, and, as one letter writer says, "Time for a serious Anarchist-Communist attempt at a solution to the current crisis or we might as well just listen to the preachers tell us everything depends on Jesus or Obama or head for the hills."
[www.anarchymag.org]
MAGAZINE REVIEW, Adbusters, @ Newpages.com.
Published 6/15/11.
Adbusters Journal of the Mental Environment
The Philosophy Issue
Number 95
May/June 2011
Bimonthly
Review by Joanne B. Conrad
This issue of Adbusters, subtitled POST—with an Arabic word insertion—WEST, is at first glance an irreverent avant-garde (the publishers probably think using avant-garde is passé) mish-mash of advertisements, graphics, photographs, art, essays, book excerpts, observations, and poetry about economics, capitalism, politics, jihad, revolution, militarism, overpopulation, aquaculture, genetic modification, anarchy, and you name it.
It is an alternative way for "a global network of culture jammers and creatives working to change the way information flows, the way corporations wield power, and the way meaning is produced in our society." It would help a new reader if somewhere in the journal was included their website concern "about the erosion of our physical and cultural environments by commercial forces" at www.adbusters.org. Based in Vancouver, BC, Adbusters is a non-profit and claims a circulation of 120,000, "dedicated to examining the relationship between human beings and their physical and mental environment." At second glance, it provides both provocative and thoughtful observations.
This issue's contents, in very nontraditional form, are "What Matters in Life, Jihad (Striving), What Matters in Death, How do I Love? and How can we be of service to one another in the world?” Seven other content titles are in either Arabic or Hebrew, so one needs an interpreter. Ads by Versace, Burberry, Boeing, Casio, Coca Cola, Lexapro (an antidepressant), Goldman Sachs, and Vogue are included as counterpoint to tradition.
Essays about military drones, enhanced interrogation, sovereign wealth funds buying cheap land in underdeveloped countries, pollution, population control, and advertising evils are included. A Finnish writer, Pentii Linkola, in "A Demographic Plan," calls for the licensing of procreation, saying every woman should be allowed to bear only one child. Perhaps he overlooks the demographic need for fertility for workers to pay for old age benefits.
A more extended essay about Beijing, China in 2010, titled "and then it hit me…in the future…we will all be Chinese," by Charles Humphrey says it is the end of the world and that Beijing is Ground Zero, a "collapse of order and reason." It is:
development without progress, change without context, work without purpose. This is the end of our psychic world… We like to accuse the Chinese government of withholding the rule of law, to blame them for the impoverishment of the Chinese spirit and eradication of 5000 years of Chinese culture. The reality is that the Chinese are merely very fast learners. Western societies have developed and imposed a model of social organization on the world that is devoid of the conceptual distinctions that are central to creating meaningful social and psychic content… Beijing is the End of the World not because China is the future, but because in the future we have chosen to pursue, we will all be Chinese.
There are diatribes against consumption, foreign aid, even old age, and a call for revolution against corporatocracy akin to the American revolution for independence from Great Britain. An essay about the Qur'an promoting "compassion, justice, and equity" is puzzling.
The mag eschews any stated goal and prints text on dark backgrounds, making it difficult to read. Its masthead information is at the back of the journal. It is very thorough about providing credit to contributors, although one wonders if advertisements require any attributions. If it clearly purported its objectives, it would be a valuable contribution to increasing intellectual dialog for concerned persons.
[www.adbusters.org]
Adbusters Journal of the Mental Environment
The Philosophy Issue
Number 95
May/June 2011
Bimonthly
Review by Joanne B. Conrad
This issue of Adbusters, subtitled POST—with an Arabic word insertion—WEST, is at first glance an irreverent avant-garde (the publishers probably think using avant-garde is passé) mish-mash of advertisements, graphics, photographs, art, essays, book excerpts, observations, and poetry about economics, capitalism, politics, jihad, revolution, militarism, overpopulation, aquaculture, genetic modification, anarchy, and you name it.
It is an alternative way for "a global network of culture jammers and creatives working to change the way information flows, the way corporations wield power, and the way meaning is produced in our society." It would help a new reader if somewhere in the journal was included their website concern "about the erosion of our physical and cultural environments by commercial forces" at www.adbusters.org. Based in Vancouver, BC, Adbusters is a non-profit and claims a circulation of 120,000, "dedicated to examining the relationship between human beings and their physical and mental environment." At second glance, it provides both provocative and thoughtful observations.
This issue's contents, in very nontraditional form, are "What Matters in Life, Jihad (Striving), What Matters in Death, How do I Love? and How can we be of service to one another in the world?” Seven other content titles are in either Arabic or Hebrew, so one needs an interpreter. Ads by Versace, Burberry, Boeing, Casio, Coca Cola, Lexapro (an antidepressant), Goldman Sachs, and Vogue are included as counterpoint to tradition.
Essays about military drones, enhanced interrogation, sovereign wealth funds buying cheap land in underdeveloped countries, pollution, population control, and advertising evils are included. A Finnish writer, Pentii Linkola, in "A Demographic Plan," calls for the licensing of procreation, saying every woman should be allowed to bear only one child. Perhaps he overlooks the demographic need for fertility for workers to pay for old age benefits.
A more extended essay about Beijing, China in 2010, titled "and then it hit me…in the future…we will all be Chinese," by Charles Humphrey says it is the end of the world and that Beijing is Ground Zero, a "collapse of order and reason." It is:
development without progress, change without context, work without purpose. This is the end of our psychic world… We like to accuse the Chinese government of withholding the rule of law, to blame them for the impoverishment of the Chinese spirit and eradication of 5000 years of Chinese culture. The reality is that the Chinese are merely very fast learners. Western societies have developed and imposed a model of social organization on the world that is devoid of the conceptual distinctions that are central to creating meaningful social and psychic content… Beijing is the End of the World not because China is the future, but because in the future we have chosen to pursue, we will all be Chinese.
There are diatribes against consumption, foreign aid, even old age, and a call for revolution against corporatocracy akin to the American revolution for independence from Great Britain. An essay about the Qur'an promoting "compassion, justice, and equity" is puzzling.
The mag eschews any stated goal and prints text on dark backgrounds, making it difficult to read. Its masthead information is at the back of the journal. It is very thorough about providing credit to contributors, although one wonders if advertisements require any attributions. If it clearly purported its objectives, it would be a valuable contribution to increasing intellectual dialog for concerned persons.
[www.adbusters.org]
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
BOOK REVIEW Outrageous Fortunes (1643 wds.)
Outrageous Fortunes: The Twelve Surprising Trends that will Reshape the Global Economy
Altman, Daniel
Henry Holt, Times Books
2011
223 pp.
ISBN 978-0-8050-9102-1
$25.00 hard copy
Published Midwest Book Review, June 2011, Reviewer's Bookwatch, Joanne's Bookshelf.
Published The Livingston County News, 6/23/11.
These intriguing predictions could have significant consequences for our world: China will become poorer? [12] The European Union will disintegrate? [ 29] A new worldwide colonialism will occur? [56] Immigration will worsen brain drains? [71] Americans will be the world’s new sales force? [128]
Daniel Altman, who has written 3 other books and teaches at NYU’s Stern School of Business, groups these and 7 other predictions into 4 categories: Limits, Obstacles, Opportunities, and Risks in his new book Outrageous Fortunes: The Twelve Surprising Trends that will Reshape the Global Economy. These categories are somewhat problematic as some of his predictions overlap categories. For example, if the EU disintegrates, he says it will “unleash destabilizing forces,” which would seem to be a “Risk” as well as a “Limit.” Similarly, a new worldwide colonialism, which is an “Obstacle,” may have some “Opportunities” if exploitation is avoided. Nevertheless, he concludes, “Reconsidering how the global economy will develop in coming decades will help us perceive new opportunities and emerging risks.” [222]
For Americans, being insular won’t cut it anymore; the world is too integrated and interrelated. The recent financial crisis also illustrates it. The U. S. Federal Reserve was making loans to banks all over the world. Activities, not always hidden, have been taking place faster than many realize. Multinational companies and sovereign wealth funds (state-owned investment funds) from all over the world are involved in numerous countries and making monumental investments. If it seems overwhelming, it is. Numerous writers, including Mark Steyn in America Alone and Fareed Zakaria in The Post-American World, along with many others, have described some of these issues as well as how the demographics in America and other countries have worldwide effects. Even economists Reinhart and Rogoff in This Time is Different have pondered the complications of a global financial economy and the complexity of financial data.
Altman first predicts China will have enormous growth for a couple decades only to be followed by debilitating consequences because of their Confucianism, lack of legal and property rights, government corruption, inefficient corporate and managerial structures, and an aging and unproductive population, the latter which will exceed other countries’. In 2005, 67% of their population was working ages 15 to 59. By 2050, that will become 54%. [26] The U. S. working age population will fall from 62% to 56% by 2050 if current immigration and fertility rates continue. Without enough people working, there aren’t enough to sustain seniors’ living standards. Nevertheless, before China’s decline, Altman joins others in saying China may replace the U.S. as a superpower, with Shanghai becoming the world’s financial sector and the yuan or renminbi overtaking the dollar in world markets. [12] Then the China flame-out.
The European Union, a 27-country bloc with a half billion people and about 1/3 of the world’s gross domestic product will suffer losses of trade and economic growth that will unleash destabilizing forces and leave the world poorer. [29-30] Conditions of EU membership are reducing corruption and budget deficits 3% or lower, but they aren’t enforced. Some will survive their aging populations, costly pensions and benefits, tax increases, debt and borrowing, but some may default.[ 37-38] This sounds familiar, judging by news media reports. Altman cites Luxembourg, Ireland, Estonia, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland as having the lowest risk and highest potential for economic growth. [39-40] Perhaps this is already changing if Ireland’s recent news is accurate.
A third trend is that a new colonialism will leave the “colonizers and colonized worse off in the long term.” [49] “Many developing countries have control over valuable assets—minerals, metals, fuels, farmland—but are unable to develop them.” [53] Their 3 options are (1) to try and develop with their meager resources, (2) get help from the World Bank, UN, or International Monetary Fund (IMF), but that help comes with strings attached, or (3) allow foreign ventures and investment, which, as mentioned earlier, have been occurring right along. [55 ff] Problems may be land and property rights, economic exploitation, retarded living standards, and instability, just like earlier colonizations. [70]
Fourthly, he says immigration policies in rich countries will worsen the brain drain from poor countries, even as they get richer. [71] “Demographically and economically, both groups of countries will be undergoing a transformation that will be simply incompatible with their current immigration policies.” [74] The richer countries will need more low-paid workers to free up their native-borns who are developing higher skills and more productivity. Many richer countries have lower fertility rates that may drag down their economies. The only choices are having more babies or increasing immigration. [75] Once the demand for low-paid workers is addressed, countries will then “cherry pick” immigrants from other countries and a worldwide competition will ensue. He says China, Brazil, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Japan will contend with such immigration issues. [79-81] (As a side note, some 2005-2010 UN statistics show China, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand with increased birth rates, and Switzerland holding at same rate as 2000-2005.) Fertility and immigration are important not only for having enough workers to support aging populations but also for accessing skilled workers such as managers, scientists and engineers.
Altman believes a fifth trend will be a backlash against capitalism, that the battle between capitalism and communism (the Cold War) has consumed more hours, resources and human lives than ever before and that the clash of economic ideologies continues. [90-91] Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the financial crisis shook the faith in capitalism, amplifying grievances with the IMF, WTO, banking, and multinational corporations. [93] Various countries swing from left to right and back again, depending a great deal upon living conditions. “Capitalism is most sustainable…when there is equality of opportunity….Socialism stalls when government controls the economy too closely.” [108] Sound familiar?
He says a sixth trend, or “Opportunity,” is that Americans will become the world’s sales force as our hucksterism is unmatched. He believes American commercial culture will spread because it reflects the American dream. [121] Although education, health care, and service sector jobs will grow, more will be needed for office support workers, sales, marketing research analysts, and public relations. [116] He warns, however, that the American ideal must be preserved or people will not covet the American lifestyle or their products.
In a fascinating chapter “As Global Economy Integrates, Middlemen Will Win,” he says the simplest and most important concept in economics is gains from trade, and online middlemen will be collecting enormous profits to connect workers and employers. [131] Private equity funds, hedge funds, and cross-border purchases will grow and may “sop up profits in poor countries, preventing masses from benefiting.” These middlemen will be engaged not only with tangible products, but also ideas, as such idea-factories like Bollywood are becoming an ever larger share of the global economy. [134]
The demise of the World Trade Organization is foreseen because the WTO requires consensus decisions of the group, which have failed numerous times, and countries have even walked out of meetings. Instead of the WTO increasing trade, sectors and blocs of countries will negotiate their own trade accords. [147] Efforts made as recently as March 2011 by V. P. Biden to help Russia join the WTO may have been a futile exercise.
In his chapters “A New Set of Lifestyle Hubs will Replace Today’s Business Hubs,” and “An Enormous Black Market will Arise,” he says the relaxing of immigration rules and the rise of middlemen will create opportunities that cut across countries regardless of their position on international trade. Electronic trading activities will burgeon, regardless of location. With every major change in how the global economy works, a new set of economic hubs is created while others sink into irrelevance, e.g. Rome, Damascus, Constantinople, Venice, Antwerp, London, New York City, HongKong. He says Singapore and Dubai are waiting to step up. [158] However, he also says, “…the new places/hubs could generate enormous financial black markets, and the next financial crisis would have serious consequences for both the black market and the regulated markets, and the new hubs may disintegrate as quickly as they arose.” [195] At the heart of financial expansion are the derivatives, which are nothing more than gambles and are largely unregulated. [177] The International Monetary Fund labeled 26 countries as “offshore financial centers,” which are attractive for privacy, ability for handling more money, having lower costs, and broader trade freedom. They will proliferate as the real big money stuff, daily trading to reap huge profits, will go offshore, like the Cayman Islands, which has 10,000 hedge funds. [193] As a result, policy makers may consider serious monitoring of foreign investments to avoid systemic risk similar to 2008. Altman describes a Star-Trekian electronic network that will collect voluminous financial data, which might address Reinhart’s and Rogoff’s concerns, and isn’t really so far-fetched. At Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM, government scientists, the Federal Reserve, and the European Central Bank have network maps of the world’s biggest payment systems. [187] An early warning system could be possible.
The last two predictions about environmental issues and impotent political institutions cite tradable pollution rights, carbon credits, et al, [201-205], which may be too expensive for poor countries and make them dirtier polluters, cause worsening living standards, and lead to conflict, even exploitation by richer countries. Altman thinks the structure of political institutions will stop the world from solving its biggest problems. [215] He faults leaders for not having longer-term insights on all these issues, that educating citizens to think in long-term planning and cooperation is needed, and that rich and poor countries need to live within their means. Where have we heard that last one before? Eighteen pages of end notes and website references provide background and useful statistics for readers who should, at the very least, be cognizant of these world-changing and very plausible trends.
-30-
Altman, Daniel
Henry Holt, Times Books
2011
223 pp.
ISBN 978-0-8050-9102-1
$25.00 hard copy
Published Midwest Book Review, June 2011, Reviewer's Bookwatch, Joanne's Bookshelf.
Published The Livingston County News, 6/23/11.
These intriguing predictions could have significant consequences for our world: China will become poorer? [12] The European Union will disintegrate? [ 29] A new worldwide colonialism will occur? [56] Immigration will worsen brain drains? [71] Americans will be the world’s new sales force? [128]
Daniel Altman, who has written 3 other books and teaches at NYU’s Stern School of Business, groups these and 7 other predictions into 4 categories: Limits, Obstacles, Opportunities, and Risks in his new book Outrageous Fortunes: The Twelve Surprising Trends that will Reshape the Global Economy. These categories are somewhat problematic as some of his predictions overlap categories. For example, if the EU disintegrates, he says it will “unleash destabilizing forces,” which would seem to be a “Risk” as well as a “Limit.” Similarly, a new worldwide colonialism, which is an “Obstacle,” may have some “Opportunities” if exploitation is avoided. Nevertheless, he concludes, “Reconsidering how the global economy will develop in coming decades will help us perceive new opportunities and emerging risks.” [222]
For Americans, being insular won’t cut it anymore; the world is too integrated and interrelated. The recent financial crisis also illustrates it. The U. S. Federal Reserve was making loans to banks all over the world. Activities, not always hidden, have been taking place faster than many realize. Multinational companies and sovereign wealth funds (state-owned investment funds) from all over the world are involved in numerous countries and making monumental investments. If it seems overwhelming, it is. Numerous writers, including Mark Steyn in America Alone and Fareed Zakaria in The Post-American World, along with many others, have described some of these issues as well as how the demographics in America and other countries have worldwide effects. Even economists Reinhart and Rogoff in This Time is Different have pondered the complications of a global financial economy and the complexity of financial data.
Altman first predicts China will have enormous growth for a couple decades only to be followed by debilitating consequences because of their Confucianism, lack of legal and property rights, government corruption, inefficient corporate and managerial structures, and an aging and unproductive population, the latter which will exceed other countries’. In 2005, 67% of their population was working ages 15 to 59. By 2050, that will become 54%. [26] The U. S. working age population will fall from 62% to 56% by 2050 if current immigration and fertility rates continue. Without enough people working, there aren’t enough to sustain seniors’ living standards. Nevertheless, before China’s decline, Altman joins others in saying China may replace the U.S. as a superpower, with Shanghai becoming the world’s financial sector and the yuan or renminbi overtaking the dollar in world markets. [12] Then the China flame-out.
The European Union, a 27-country bloc with a half billion people and about 1/3 of the world’s gross domestic product will suffer losses of trade and economic growth that will unleash destabilizing forces and leave the world poorer. [29-30] Conditions of EU membership are reducing corruption and budget deficits 3% or lower, but they aren’t enforced. Some will survive their aging populations, costly pensions and benefits, tax increases, debt and borrowing, but some may default.[ 37-38] This sounds familiar, judging by news media reports. Altman cites Luxembourg, Ireland, Estonia, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland as having the lowest risk and highest potential for economic growth. [39-40] Perhaps this is already changing if Ireland’s recent news is accurate.
A third trend is that a new colonialism will leave the “colonizers and colonized worse off in the long term.” [49] “Many developing countries have control over valuable assets—minerals, metals, fuels, farmland—but are unable to develop them.” [53] Their 3 options are (1) to try and develop with their meager resources, (2) get help from the World Bank, UN, or International Monetary Fund (IMF), but that help comes with strings attached, or (3) allow foreign ventures and investment, which, as mentioned earlier, have been occurring right along. [55 ff] Problems may be land and property rights, economic exploitation, retarded living standards, and instability, just like earlier colonizations. [70]
Fourthly, he says immigration policies in rich countries will worsen the brain drain from poor countries, even as they get richer. [71] “Demographically and economically, both groups of countries will be undergoing a transformation that will be simply incompatible with their current immigration policies.” [74] The richer countries will need more low-paid workers to free up their native-borns who are developing higher skills and more productivity. Many richer countries have lower fertility rates that may drag down their economies. The only choices are having more babies or increasing immigration. [75] Once the demand for low-paid workers is addressed, countries will then “cherry pick” immigrants from other countries and a worldwide competition will ensue. He says China, Brazil, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Japan will contend with such immigration issues. [79-81] (As a side note, some 2005-2010 UN statistics show China, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand with increased birth rates, and Switzerland holding at same rate as 2000-2005.) Fertility and immigration are important not only for having enough workers to support aging populations but also for accessing skilled workers such as managers, scientists and engineers.
Altman believes a fifth trend will be a backlash against capitalism, that the battle between capitalism and communism (the Cold War) has consumed more hours, resources and human lives than ever before and that the clash of economic ideologies continues. [90-91] Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the financial crisis shook the faith in capitalism, amplifying grievances with the IMF, WTO, banking, and multinational corporations. [93] Various countries swing from left to right and back again, depending a great deal upon living conditions. “Capitalism is most sustainable…when there is equality of opportunity….Socialism stalls when government controls the economy too closely.” [108] Sound familiar?
He says a sixth trend, or “Opportunity,” is that Americans will become the world’s sales force as our hucksterism is unmatched. He believes American commercial culture will spread because it reflects the American dream. [121] Although education, health care, and service sector jobs will grow, more will be needed for office support workers, sales, marketing research analysts, and public relations. [116] He warns, however, that the American ideal must be preserved or people will not covet the American lifestyle or their products.
In a fascinating chapter “As Global Economy Integrates, Middlemen Will Win,” he says the simplest and most important concept in economics is gains from trade, and online middlemen will be collecting enormous profits to connect workers and employers. [131] Private equity funds, hedge funds, and cross-border purchases will grow and may “sop up profits in poor countries, preventing masses from benefiting.” These middlemen will be engaged not only with tangible products, but also ideas, as such idea-factories like Bollywood are becoming an ever larger share of the global economy. [134]
The demise of the World Trade Organization is foreseen because the WTO requires consensus decisions of the group, which have failed numerous times, and countries have even walked out of meetings. Instead of the WTO increasing trade, sectors and blocs of countries will negotiate their own trade accords. [147] Efforts made as recently as March 2011 by V. P. Biden to help Russia join the WTO may have been a futile exercise.
In his chapters “A New Set of Lifestyle Hubs will Replace Today’s Business Hubs,” and “An Enormous Black Market will Arise,” he says the relaxing of immigration rules and the rise of middlemen will create opportunities that cut across countries regardless of their position on international trade. Electronic trading activities will burgeon, regardless of location. With every major change in how the global economy works, a new set of economic hubs is created while others sink into irrelevance, e.g. Rome, Damascus, Constantinople, Venice, Antwerp, London, New York City, HongKong. He says Singapore and Dubai are waiting to step up. [158] However, he also says, “…the new places/hubs could generate enormous financial black markets, and the next financial crisis would have serious consequences for both the black market and the regulated markets, and the new hubs may disintegrate as quickly as they arose.” [195] At the heart of financial expansion are the derivatives, which are nothing more than gambles and are largely unregulated. [177] The International Monetary Fund labeled 26 countries as “offshore financial centers,” which are attractive for privacy, ability for handling more money, having lower costs, and broader trade freedom. They will proliferate as the real big money stuff, daily trading to reap huge profits, will go offshore, like the Cayman Islands, which has 10,000 hedge funds. [193] As a result, policy makers may consider serious monitoring of foreign investments to avoid systemic risk similar to 2008. Altman describes a Star-Trekian electronic network that will collect voluminous financial data, which might address Reinhart’s and Rogoff’s concerns, and isn’t really so far-fetched. At Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM, government scientists, the Federal Reserve, and the European Central Bank have network maps of the world’s biggest payment systems. [187] An early warning system could be possible.
The last two predictions about environmental issues and impotent political institutions cite tradable pollution rights, carbon credits, et al, [201-205], which may be too expensive for poor countries and make them dirtier polluters, cause worsening living standards, and lead to conflict, even exploitation by richer countries. Altman thinks the structure of political institutions will stop the world from solving its biggest problems. [215] He faults leaders for not having longer-term insights on all these issues, that educating citizens to think in long-term planning and cooperation is needed, and that rich and poor countries need to live within their means. Where have we heard that last one before? Eighteen pages of end notes and website references provide background and useful statistics for readers who should, at the very least, be cognizant of these world-changing and very plausible trends.
-30-
Thursday, April 14, 2011
BOOK REVIEW, The Other Wes Moore
(432 words) Apr. 2011
Moore, Wes.
The Other Wes Moore.
2010.
Spiegel & Grau (Random House trademark).
233 pp.
ISBN 978-1-58836-969-7.
$25 hardcover.
Published Livingston County News 4/28/2011.
Also published Midwest Book Review, June 2011, Reviewer's Bookwatch, Joanne's Bookshelf.
Two Wes Moores, one a Rhodes Scholar and the other a felon. The lives of two young boys with the same name, similar backgrounds, families, schools, from Baltimore and the Bronx are chronicled by Wes Moore, a veteran and NYC financier, in his book The Other Wes Moore. The other Wes Moore became imprisoned for life for murder. ‘Two roads diverged…,’ and the author’s psyche compelled him to find out what led them on such opposite roads.
When newspapers were reporting his Rhodes scholarship, they were also reporting the other Wes Moore’s involvement in a jewelry heist and a policeman’s death. The divergence so obsessed Wes that he wrote to the prisoner. The reply arrived about a month later that he could visit Jessup Correctional and talk with the other Wes.
Poor neighborhoods where these two African-American boys lived don’t speak well of America’s war on poverty. Drugs, murders, and all kinds of inequities generate despair in the “projects.” Both boys grew up without fathers; the author’s died of a rare virus, and the other Wes’s father was just absent, drowning his despair in liquor. The author’s mother completed college, but the other Wes’s mother, accepted by Johns Hopkins University, was denied college aid, despite her Associate Degree from Community College of Baltimore. It’s difficult to determine why their two roads led to different outcomes, but poverty surely influenced the other Wes’s early decision to become a lookout for drug dealers that earned him good money. His first high from using was exhilarating and made “him forget everything else.” [62]
The Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, PA, became a turning point for the author, where his mother enrolled him because of bad grades and skipping classes. . He tried to escape, but got lost and returned chagrined. His Sergeant Austin and Cadet Captain Ty Hill taught him that people really cared about him . [115]
It cannot be said the other Wes didn’t try; he returned to high school after a juvenile detention, was reading at a college sophomore level, later tried Job Corps, and became a carpenter, but he couldn’t earn enough to support his families. The author says, “The chilling truth is that…(the other Wes’s) story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his.” [xi and 179]
A “Call to Action” by Tavis Smiley and a forty-six page “Readers Guide” of nonprofits helping youngsters overcome adversity are included. Although moving from one Wes to the other is sometimes difficult to follow, it is a book that is difficult to put down.
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Moore, Wes.
The Other Wes Moore.
2010.
Spiegel & Grau (Random House trademark).
233 pp.
ISBN 978-1-58836-969-7.
$25 hardcover.
Published Livingston County News 4/28/2011.
Also published Midwest Book Review, June 2011, Reviewer's Bookwatch, Joanne's Bookshelf.
Two Wes Moores, one a Rhodes Scholar and the other a felon. The lives of two young boys with the same name, similar backgrounds, families, schools, from Baltimore and the Bronx are chronicled by Wes Moore, a veteran and NYC financier, in his book The Other Wes Moore. The other Wes Moore became imprisoned for life for murder. ‘Two roads diverged…,’ and the author’s psyche compelled him to find out what led them on such opposite roads.
When newspapers were reporting his Rhodes scholarship, they were also reporting the other Wes Moore’s involvement in a jewelry heist and a policeman’s death. The divergence so obsessed Wes that he wrote to the prisoner. The reply arrived about a month later that he could visit Jessup Correctional and talk with the other Wes.
Poor neighborhoods where these two African-American boys lived don’t speak well of America’s war on poverty. Drugs, murders, and all kinds of inequities generate despair in the “projects.” Both boys grew up without fathers; the author’s died of a rare virus, and the other Wes’s father was just absent, drowning his despair in liquor. The author’s mother completed college, but the other Wes’s mother, accepted by Johns Hopkins University, was denied college aid, despite her Associate Degree from Community College of Baltimore. It’s difficult to determine why their two roads led to different outcomes, but poverty surely influenced the other Wes’s early decision to become a lookout for drug dealers that earned him good money. His first high from using was exhilarating and made “him forget everything else.” [62]
The Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, PA, became a turning point for the author, where his mother enrolled him because of bad grades and skipping classes. . He tried to escape, but got lost and returned chagrined. His Sergeant Austin and Cadet Captain Ty Hill taught him that people really cared about him . [115]
It cannot be said the other Wes didn’t try; he returned to high school after a juvenile detention, was reading at a college sophomore level, later tried Job Corps, and became a carpenter, but he couldn’t earn enough to support his families. The author says, “The chilling truth is that…(the other Wes’s) story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his.” [xi and 179]
A “Call to Action” by Tavis Smiley and a forty-six page “Readers Guide” of nonprofits helping youngsters overcome adversity are included. Although moving from one Wes to the other is sometimes difficult to follow, it is a book that is difficult to put down.
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Saturday, March 5, 2011
BOOK REVIEW, Courage to Stand
BOOK REVIEW (325 words)
Pawlenty, Tim.
Courage to Stand.
2010.
Tyndale Publishers.
301 pp.
ISBN 978-1-4143-4572-7
$26.99
---Joanne Conrad Reviewer
Published Midwest Book Review, May 2011, Bookwatch, Joanne's Bookshelf. Also published The Livingston County News, 5/29/11.
One of the top five most highly taxed states in the country? [9] Spending increases averaging 21% every 2 years? [135] Endless government growth a form of tyranny? [136] Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, who joins other Republicans writing books these days, and just recently announced an exploratory committee for the 2012 presidential race, chronicles his Minnesota experiences in Courage to Stand.
Much is about his growing up in South St. Paul, the Armour and Swift stockyards, his humble roots, his religious faith, and messages for individuals, states, and the nation.
During hard times in South St. Paul, the Cold War and nuclear fears piqued his interest in public policy, and, still a teenager, he subscribed to U. S. News and World Report to sate his curiosity. A poignant story portends his lifelong can-do ethic. To supplement their meager income, his father accepted a side job recycling used stockyard meat hooks. It was a sickening task yanking meathooks from bins and rehanging for powerwashing and reuse. They were covered with rotting fat and sinew, covered with flies, and the stench unbearable. He “tossed his cookies” and hoped his father would let him leave. His father, equally abhorred, just looked at him steadily and said quietly, “We have to do this,” an attitude which has guided Pawlenty through life’s challenges. [44-45]
Besides campaigning, he has grappled with a $4.6 billion deficit [6], high taxes, educational reform, health care, Minneapolis bridge collapse, sex offenders, and National Guard deployments. Accused of heartlessness and neglect, he seemed constantly embattled. Unjustly blamed for the parole of a sex offender and the bridge collapse, investigations exonerated him in both cases. His and his wife Mary’s strong religious faith is frequently cited as their strength and solace.
Overcoming undeserved attacks, his accomplishments include: improved National Guard and military support, decreased spending to sustainable levels, Minnesota out of the top 10 in taxation, education reforms that are nation-leading , market based health care reform, and even free but fair trade.[295-6] He concludes that Americans can fix things [298] and that “…the price of freedom tomorrow is the courage to stand today.” [280] Some chapter titles are confusing and there is no index, but it is an interesting autobiography that showcases his strong Christian faith and indomitable nature.
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Pawlenty, Tim.
Courage to Stand.
2010.
Tyndale Publishers.
301 pp.
ISBN 978-1-4143-4572-7
$26.99
---Joanne Conrad Reviewer
Published Midwest Book Review, May 2011, Bookwatch, Joanne's Bookshelf. Also published The Livingston County News, 5/29/11.
One of the top five most highly taxed states in the country? [9] Spending increases averaging 21% every 2 years? [135] Endless government growth a form of tyranny? [136] Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, who joins other Republicans writing books these days, and just recently announced an exploratory committee for the 2012 presidential race, chronicles his Minnesota experiences in Courage to Stand.
Much is about his growing up in South St. Paul, the Armour and Swift stockyards, his humble roots, his religious faith, and messages for individuals, states, and the nation.
During hard times in South St. Paul, the Cold War and nuclear fears piqued his interest in public policy, and, still a teenager, he subscribed to U. S. News and World Report to sate his curiosity. A poignant story portends his lifelong can-do ethic. To supplement their meager income, his father accepted a side job recycling used stockyard meat hooks. It was a sickening task yanking meathooks from bins and rehanging for powerwashing and reuse. They were covered with rotting fat and sinew, covered with flies, and the stench unbearable. He “tossed his cookies” and hoped his father would let him leave. His father, equally abhorred, just looked at him steadily and said quietly, “We have to do this,” an attitude which has guided Pawlenty through life’s challenges. [44-45]
Besides campaigning, he has grappled with a $4.6 billion deficit [6], high taxes, educational reform, health care, Minneapolis bridge collapse, sex offenders, and National Guard deployments. Accused of heartlessness and neglect, he seemed constantly embattled. Unjustly blamed for the parole of a sex offender and the bridge collapse, investigations exonerated him in both cases. His and his wife Mary’s strong religious faith is frequently cited as their strength and solace.
Overcoming undeserved attacks, his accomplishments include: improved National Guard and military support, decreased spending to sustainable levels, Minnesota out of the top 10 in taxation, education reforms that are nation-leading , market based health care reform, and even free but fair trade.[295-6] He concludes that Americans can fix things [298] and that “…the price of freedom tomorrow is the courage to stand today.” [280] Some chapter titles are confusing and there is no index, but it is an interesting autobiography that showcases his strong Christian faith and indomitable nature.
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BOOK REVIEW, Aftershock
BOOK REVIEW (346 words) 3/2011
Wiedemer, David.
Aftershock: Protect Yourself and Profit in the Next Global Financial Meltdown.
2010.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
260 pp.
ISBN 978-0-470-48156-1.
$27.95 hardcover.
Published Livingston County News 4/14/11
Published Midwest Book Review May 2011, Bookwatch, Joanne's Bookshelf
--Joanne Conrad Reviewer
Tax increases of 30-70% on total income?[217] Forty to sixty percent unemployed?[217] Social unrest, but not chaos?[218] A silver lining?[222] David Wiedemer, Ph. D., Univ. of Wisconsin, author of America’s Bubble Economy, writes in Aftershock about six bubbles in the economy that are collapsing. It may be chaotic for a while, and the silver lining of the post-dollar-bubble collapse will “…force us to confront …fundamental problems and make changes to our government and society to improve productivity.”[222]
His six bubbles are: Real Estate Bubble, Stock Market, Private Debt, Discretionary Spending, Dollar, and Government Debt.[25-55] Yet to come are the Dollar collapse and Government Debt collapse when no one will want our dollars and we can no longer borrow. It will not be like 1929 as we are wealthier, have more safety nets, and extended families will rely on employed relatives and friends, but increased public distress will occur.[214]
Wiedemer postulates the last two bubble quakes will require government to “cut, cut, cut spending and live on its income.”[209] Horrendous inflation, curtailed pensions, defense cuts, Social Security means testing, Medicare reimbursement reductions, interest payment eliminations, agriculture and commerce cuts, increased user fees, and eliminated subsidies will ensue.[211] Investment recommendations are also included.
He concludes with seven needed reforms to solve long-term economic problems: (1) Political, (2) Productivity, (3) Bubble Prevention, (4) Financial, (5) Economic, (6) Capital Creation, and (7) Targeted Stimulation.[256-258] Not included is the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (7/2010), nor the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (12/2010) or the GAO Report to Congress (3/1/2011), the latter two which could generate serious reforms.
He predicts an international currency, the IMU, pronounced “eye-mu,” an international monetary unit, because of financial globalism. This will start with the dollar, yen, and euro, and eventually include other currencies.[166] Perhaps Wiedemer also read G. Edward Griffin’s The Creature from Jekyll Island (2005) about the Federal Reserve, which mentions a world-wide “bancor,” coined by John Maynard Keynes in 1944.[544]
A bibliography, index, and a detailed website www.aftershockeconomy.com/appendixb are also provided. It is sobering, comprehensive, and quite readable.
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Wiedemer, David.
Aftershock: Protect Yourself and Profit in the Next Global Financial Meltdown.
2010.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
260 pp.
ISBN 978-0-470-48156-1.
$27.95 hardcover.
Published Livingston County News 4/14/11
Published Midwest Book Review May 2011, Bookwatch, Joanne's Bookshelf
--Joanne Conrad Reviewer
Tax increases of 30-70% on total income?[217] Forty to sixty percent unemployed?[217] Social unrest, but not chaos?[218] A silver lining?[222] David Wiedemer, Ph. D., Univ. of Wisconsin, author of America’s Bubble Economy, writes in Aftershock about six bubbles in the economy that are collapsing. It may be chaotic for a while, and the silver lining of the post-dollar-bubble collapse will “…force us to confront …fundamental problems and make changes to our government and society to improve productivity.”[222]
His six bubbles are: Real Estate Bubble, Stock Market, Private Debt, Discretionary Spending, Dollar, and Government Debt.[25-55] Yet to come are the Dollar collapse and Government Debt collapse when no one will want our dollars and we can no longer borrow. It will not be like 1929 as we are wealthier, have more safety nets, and extended families will rely on employed relatives and friends, but increased public distress will occur.[214]
Wiedemer postulates the last two bubble quakes will require government to “cut, cut, cut spending and live on its income.”[209] Horrendous inflation, curtailed pensions, defense cuts, Social Security means testing, Medicare reimbursement reductions, interest payment eliminations, agriculture and commerce cuts, increased user fees, and eliminated subsidies will ensue.[211] Investment recommendations are also included.
He concludes with seven needed reforms to solve long-term economic problems: (1) Political, (2) Productivity, (3) Bubble Prevention, (4) Financial, (5) Economic, (6) Capital Creation, and (7) Targeted Stimulation.[256-258] Not included is the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (7/2010), nor the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (12/2010) or the GAO Report to Congress (3/1/2011), the latter two which could generate serious reforms.
He predicts an international currency, the IMU, pronounced “eye-mu,” an international monetary unit, because of financial globalism. This will start with the dollar, yen, and euro, and eventually include other currencies.[166] Perhaps Wiedemer also read G. Edward Griffin’s The Creature from Jekyll Island (2005) about the Federal Reserve, which mentions a world-wide “bancor,” coined by John Maynard Keynes in 1944.[544]
A bibliography, index, and a detailed website www.aftershockeconomy.com/appendixb are also provided. It is sobering, comprehensive, and quite readable.
-30-
Friday, February 25, 2011
BOOK REVIEW, Leadership and Crisis, 2-2011
Jindal, Bobby. Leadership and Crisis
2010. 283 pages.
Regnery Publishing, distrib. by Perseus Books.
ISBN 978-1-59698-158-4.
$27.95 hardcover
Published Midwest Book Review (Reviewers Bookwatch 3/2011,Joanne's Bookshelf), Published The Livingston County News 3/24/11
--Joanne Conrad Reviewer
“The federal government was having workers clean the [BP oil-contaminated] marshes with the equivalent of paper towels.” America imports scientists and engineers because our education system “can’t produce enough of them here at home.” Trillions spent on the war on poverty for 40 years has hardly changed the poverty rate. Medicare is unsustainable.
These issues, many of which affect all of us, as well as those about congress, immigration, healthcare, energy, defense, Hurricane Katrina, and culture are Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s topics in his new book Leadership and Crisis (2010, Regnery Publishing). He joins other Republicans such as Gingrich, Huckabee, Romney, Pawlenty, Palin, and others who are writing books these days. A “zealous proponent of free enterprise and an unapologetic advocate of American capitalism,” Jindal critiques the issues and offers solutions.
It’s hard to believe federal delays led to more spreading oil in the BP explosion. For example, the “feds shut down barges” needed to deploy booms because they needed “inspections and certifications.” The feds wanted “barges to return to port so they could count life jackets and extinguishers” and refused Louisiana’s request that inspectors go to the barges instead. After the barges returned to port for 24 hours, the feds eventually allowed their resumption without inspections. A week after the explosion, one site still had “boom and other matériel sitting on docks with skimmers nearby that were idle.” A Coast Guard Admiral admitted “not requesting skimmers from Europe” because they might “take 5 weeks to arrive.” The “…system was incapable of working quickly and efficiently. It was highly centralized, bureaucratic, and often unresponsive.” He says, “The reason the federal government failed to respond effectively to the oil spill (and for…Katrina 5 years earlier) is precisely because government has become too big.” He also says “BP’s response was as bad as the federal government’s.” His solution: a 10 point checklist, two of which are involving locals as they are on the ground and know their area firsthand, and often know more than the “Nobel Laureates,” and “don’t wait for feds…” to tell what to do.
His position on education uses his experience as Governor and also heading the University of Louisiana, which has 8 universities and is the 16th largest in the country. He graduated from Brown University and attended Harvard and Oxford. He says, “With our dysfunctional education system, we risk being overtaken by other nations.” He found that Louisiana was funding education based on enrollment, not results, and stated his concern about America’s not producing scientists and engineers. His concerns include the true lack of educational opportunity when students attend schools based on their zip code. He advocates pay for performance, school choice and charter schools, special scholarships, discipline, improved personal conduct with more parental involvement, different suspension standards, and true competition for students, as the latter forces school officials to focus on getting results. He compares university students to public school students, saying the better results for university students is the competition for them, versus K-12 “owning” students. As Governor, he has signed serious education reform, such as a Teacher Evaluation Bill in 2010, Teacher’s Bill of Rights, Red Tape Reduction and Local Empowerment Act, Recovery School District for New Orleans, and Student Scholarship Program in New Orleans.
Regarding poverty in America, he cites the 40 year war on it as ineffective, saying there is now a tug of war between those who feel what made America great is freedom, individualism, limited government, and personal responsibility versus those who see Americans as lost sheep unable to function without the enlightened guidance of the educated class, a wiser elite, with government playing a larger role—that we are sheep that need sheepherders. If we care, we would support a larger government agenda, but if we oppose, it means we “don’t give a damn.” There are times government needs to lend a hand, but it should also include help from the bottom up via individuals, civic society, etc. He cites Syracuse University professor Arthur C. Brooks, who demonstrated that those skeptical of big government are actually more charitable, giving the lie that some people “don’t give a damn.” He further states, “…the most corrupt countries in the world [are] at the top of the list of centralized economies.”
As for Medicare and Medicaid, he writes at length about free market and capitalist solutions because enlarging government programs deter free choice and the expense is disproportionate to good results. In 1965, Medicare A was projected to cost $9 billion by 1990; it became $67 billion that year, and now media reports are that the entitlements may bankrupt the U. S.
Space prohibits his solutions for congress, immigration, energy, defense, disasters like Hurricane Katrina, and the culture of America. Suffice it that they are conservative principles.
He ends with a 7 step recovery program for America. It is a very readable book, having 18 pages of sources and an index. C-span has archived his book release speech of Nov. 20, 2010, which showcases his charismatic rhetoric (much better than his Republican response to Pres. Obama’s first speech to Congress in 2009) and is worth seeing (www.c-span.org and search its video library).
-30-
2010. 283 pages.
Regnery Publishing, distrib. by Perseus Books.
ISBN 978-1-59698-158-4.
$27.95 hardcover
Published Midwest Book Review (Reviewers Bookwatch 3/2011,Joanne's Bookshelf), Published The Livingston County News 3/24/11
--Joanne Conrad Reviewer
“The federal government was having workers clean the [BP oil-contaminated] marshes with the equivalent of paper towels.” America imports scientists and engineers because our education system “can’t produce enough of them here at home.” Trillions spent on the war on poverty for 40 years has hardly changed the poverty rate. Medicare is unsustainable.
These issues, many of which affect all of us, as well as those about congress, immigration, healthcare, energy, defense, Hurricane Katrina, and culture are Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s topics in his new book Leadership and Crisis (2010, Regnery Publishing). He joins other Republicans such as Gingrich, Huckabee, Romney, Pawlenty, Palin, and others who are writing books these days. A “zealous proponent of free enterprise and an unapologetic advocate of American capitalism,” Jindal critiques the issues and offers solutions.
It’s hard to believe federal delays led to more spreading oil in the BP explosion. For example, the “feds shut down barges” needed to deploy booms because they needed “inspections and certifications.” The feds wanted “barges to return to port so they could count life jackets and extinguishers” and refused Louisiana’s request that inspectors go to the barges instead. After the barges returned to port for 24 hours, the feds eventually allowed their resumption without inspections. A week after the explosion, one site still had “boom and other matériel sitting on docks with skimmers nearby that were idle.” A Coast Guard Admiral admitted “not requesting skimmers from Europe” because they might “take 5 weeks to arrive.” The “…system was incapable of working quickly and efficiently. It was highly centralized, bureaucratic, and often unresponsive.” He says, “The reason the federal government failed to respond effectively to the oil spill (and for…Katrina 5 years earlier) is precisely because government has become too big.” He also says “BP’s response was as bad as the federal government’s.” His solution: a 10 point checklist, two of which are involving locals as they are on the ground and know their area firsthand, and often know more than the “Nobel Laureates,” and “don’t wait for feds…” to tell what to do.
His position on education uses his experience as Governor and also heading the University of Louisiana, which has 8 universities and is the 16th largest in the country. He graduated from Brown University and attended Harvard and Oxford. He says, “With our dysfunctional education system, we risk being overtaken by other nations.” He found that Louisiana was funding education based on enrollment, not results, and stated his concern about America’s not producing scientists and engineers. His concerns include the true lack of educational opportunity when students attend schools based on their zip code. He advocates pay for performance, school choice and charter schools, special scholarships, discipline, improved personal conduct with more parental involvement, different suspension standards, and true competition for students, as the latter forces school officials to focus on getting results. He compares university students to public school students, saying the better results for university students is the competition for them, versus K-12 “owning” students. As Governor, he has signed serious education reform, such as a Teacher Evaluation Bill in 2010, Teacher’s Bill of Rights, Red Tape Reduction and Local Empowerment Act, Recovery School District for New Orleans, and Student Scholarship Program in New Orleans.
Regarding poverty in America, he cites the 40 year war on it as ineffective, saying there is now a tug of war between those who feel what made America great is freedom, individualism, limited government, and personal responsibility versus those who see Americans as lost sheep unable to function without the enlightened guidance of the educated class, a wiser elite, with government playing a larger role—that we are sheep that need sheepherders. If we care, we would support a larger government agenda, but if we oppose, it means we “don’t give a damn.” There are times government needs to lend a hand, but it should also include help from the bottom up via individuals, civic society, etc. He cites Syracuse University professor Arthur C. Brooks, who demonstrated that those skeptical of big government are actually more charitable, giving the lie that some people “don’t give a damn.” He further states, “…the most corrupt countries in the world [are] at the top of the list of centralized economies.”
As for Medicare and Medicaid, he writes at length about free market and capitalist solutions because enlarging government programs deter free choice and the expense is disproportionate to good results. In 1965, Medicare A was projected to cost $9 billion by 1990; it became $67 billion that year, and now media reports are that the entitlements may bankrupt the U. S.
Space prohibits his solutions for congress, immigration, energy, defense, disasters like Hurricane Katrina, and the culture of America. Suffice it that they are conservative principles.
He ends with a 7 step recovery program for America. It is a very readable book, having 18 pages of sources and an index. C-span has archived his book release speech of Nov. 20, 2010, which showcases his charismatic rhetoric (much better than his Republican response to Pres. Obama’s first speech to Congress in 2009) and is worth seeing (www.c-span.org and search its video library).
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BOOK REVIEW, Rollback, 2-2011
Woods, Thomas E., Jr.
ROLLBACK: REPEALING BIG GOVERNMENT BEFORE THE COMING COLLAPSE.
Regnery Publishing ( 188 pp. )
$27.95
2/7/2011.
ISBN 978-1-59698-141-6
Published Midwest Book Review (Reviewers Bookwatch, 3/2011, Joanne's Bookshelf)
and The Livingston County News 3/3/2011.
What an indictment of big government. Woods, author of Meltdown, Nullification, and 9 other books, a graduate of Harvard and Columbia, says in his new book: The confidence (in government) “is about to be severely shaken….as the federal government is forced to renege on its impossible promises.” [1]
Despite some slight signs the recession is ameliorating, Woods maintains our track record is inevitably leading us toward disaster. Citing our debt not as $14 trillion, but rather $111 trillion with Social Security and Medicare programs, the “full future expense…exceeds the total net worth of the U. S. economy. That…the U. S is bankrupt.”[6] A Democrat economist, Lawrence Kotlikoff “…estimates the fiscal gap at an astonishing $200 trillion.”[7] Woods says the Republican proposal to cut $100 billion from the federal budget is “like taking three dollars off a trip to the moon.”[6] If we do nothing, “It will all come to an end in a very nasty manner. The first possibility will be massive benefit cuts for baby boomer retirees. Second will be astronomic tax increases, and third will be government’s printing vast quantities of money to cover its bills.”[8]
Nothing is sacrosanct here. The author cites waste, fraud, and inefficiency almost every place: the states; cities; entitlement programs; government agencies, including defense, education, subsidy programs, health care programs; ad infinitum. Nearly every endeavor has been poisoned by government interference that has always backfired on those thinking government will solve their problems.
He hopes “The institutions of civil society, long dormant, (will) be resurrected.”[187] Caring for our families, helping friends and neighbors in need, volunteering to help those falling between the cracks, and creating a clearinghouse or exchange to share our skills and talents with those in need and with each other would help the U. S. survive. “It is the choice facing America.”[188] He includes thirty pages of footnotes from both right and left perspectives to substantiate his evidence. It should be required reading for politicians and citizens alike.
-30-
ROLLBACK: REPEALING BIG GOVERNMENT BEFORE THE COMING COLLAPSE.
Regnery Publishing ( 188 pp. )
$27.95
2/7/2011.
ISBN 978-1-59698-141-6
Published Midwest Book Review (Reviewers Bookwatch, 3/2011, Joanne's Bookshelf)
and The Livingston County News 3/3/2011.
What an indictment of big government. Woods, author of Meltdown, Nullification, and 9 other books, a graduate of Harvard and Columbia, says in his new book: The confidence (in government) “is about to be severely shaken….as the federal government is forced to renege on its impossible promises.” [1]
Despite some slight signs the recession is ameliorating, Woods maintains our track record is inevitably leading us toward disaster. Citing our debt not as $14 trillion, but rather $111 trillion with Social Security and Medicare programs, the “full future expense…exceeds the total net worth of the U. S. economy. That…the U. S is bankrupt.”[6] A Democrat economist, Lawrence Kotlikoff “…estimates the fiscal gap at an astonishing $200 trillion.”[7] Woods says the Republican proposal to cut $100 billion from the federal budget is “like taking three dollars off a trip to the moon.”[6] If we do nothing, “It will all come to an end in a very nasty manner. The first possibility will be massive benefit cuts for baby boomer retirees. Second will be astronomic tax increases, and third will be government’s printing vast quantities of money to cover its bills.”[8]
Nothing is sacrosanct here. The author cites waste, fraud, and inefficiency almost every place: the states; cities; entitlement programs; government agencies, including defense, education, subsidy programs, health care programs; ad infinitum. Nearly every endeavor has been poisoned by government interference that has always backfired on those thinking government will solve their problems.
He hopes “The institutions of civil society, long dormant, (will) be resurrected.”[187] Caring for our families, helping friends and neighbors in need, volunteering to help those falling between the cracks, and creating a clearinghouse or exchange to share our skills and talents with those in need and with each other would help the U. S. survive. “It is the choice facing America.”[188] He includes thirty pages of footnotes from both right and left perspectives to substantiate his evidence. It should be required reading for politicians and citizens alike.
-30-
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