Beyond Outrage: Expanded Edition: What has gone wrong with our economy and our democracy, and how to fix it (Vintage)
The problem with our economy is that it currently works for the few—corporate and Wall Street elites—at the expense of the rest of us, former labor secretary Reich argues. Elites not only receive higher compensation but enjoy greater job security. “Regressives”—politicians who have been co-opted by big money—have turned the question of American morality upside down. These regressive forces push a divide-and-conquer strategy, primarily by raising alarms over deficit spending and asserting a need to cut public programs that benefit the middle class and the poor. Reich notes the blame heaped on public employees for state budget crises in comparison to that accorded either Wall Street practices that led to the recession or the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision that removed limitations on corporate contributions to political campaigns. Reich recommends that politicians and the public get out of their ideological bubbles and face the need to raise tax rates on the wealthy, reduce military spending, and restrict the size of banks to reduce the risk to taxpayers in case of failure. --Vernon Ford