Title: The American dream vs. the gospel of wealth : the fight for a productive middle-class economy /
Authors: Garfinkle, Norton, 1931-
Publisher: Yale University Press,
Year: 2006
Subjects: Middle class United States.; Supply-side economics United States.; Democracy United States; United States Economic conditions.; United States Economic policy.
Abstract: "Garfinkle employs historical insight and data-based economic analysis to demonstrate compellingly the sharp departure of the supply-side Gospel of Wealth from an American ideal that dates back to Abraham Lincoln - the vision of America as a society in which ordinary, hardworking individuals can get ahead and attain a middle-class living, and in which government plays an active role in expanding opportunities and guarding against economic exploitation. Supply-side economic policies increase economic disparities and, Garfinkle insists, they fail on technical, factual, moral, and political grounds.
Contents: The American economic vision -- Lincoln's economics : the origin of the American dream -- The gospel of wealth -- The age of reform -- The business of America is business -- The renewal of the American dream -- The new gospel of wealth -- The current debate : supply-side vs. demand-side economics -- The way forward.