The very rich have gotten a lot richer these past few decades--even during the current economic crisis--while most Americans haven't. How have they managed to restructure the economy to reap the lion's share, tearing new holes in the safety net and saddling all of us with increased debt and risk? In an innovative historical departure, Hacker and Pierson trace the rise of the winner-take-all economy back to a major transformation of American politics in the late 1970s, under a Democratic president and a Democratic Congress. With big business and conservative ideologues organizing themselves to undo the regulations and progressive tax policies that had helped ensure a fair distribution of economic rewards, deregulation got under way, taxes were cut for the wealthiest, and business decisively defeated labor in Washington. And this transformation continued under Reagan and the Bushes as well as Clinton.--From publisher description.

The very rich have gotten a lot richer these past few decades--even during the current economic crisis--while most Americans haven't. How have they managed to restructure the economy to reap the lion's share, tearing new holes in the safety net and saddling all of us with increased debt and risk? In an innovative historical departure, Hacker and Pierson trace the rise of the winner-take-all economy back to a major transformation of American politics in the late 1970s, under a Democratic president and a Democratic Congress. With big business and conservative ideologues organizing themselves to undo the regulations and progressive tax policies that had helped ensure a fair distribution of economic rewards, deregulation got under way, taxes were cut for the wealthiest, and business decisively defeated labor in Washington. And this transformation continued under Reagan and the Bushes as well as Clinton.--From publisher description.

"From political economist, cabinet member, beloved professor, media presence, and bestselling author of Saving Capitalism and The Common Good, a deeply-felt, compelling memoir of growing up in a baby-boom America that made progress in certain areas, fell short in so many important ways, and still has lots of work to do. A thought-provoking, principled, clear-eyed chronicle of the culture, politics, and economic choices that have landed us where we are today-with irresponsible economic bullies and corporations with immense wealth and lobbying power on top, demagogues on the rise, and increasing inequality fueling anger and hatred across the country. Nine months after World War II, Robert Reich was born into a united America with a bright future-that went unrealized for so many as big money took over our democracy. His encounter with school bullies on account of his height-4'11" as an adult-set him on a determined path to spend his life fighting American bullies of every sort. He recounts the death of a friend in the civil rights movement; his political coming of age witnessing the Berkeley free speech movement; working for Bobby Kennedy and Senator Eugene McCarthy; experiencing a country torn apart by the Vietnam War; meeting Hillary Rodham in college, Bill Clinton at Oxford, and Clarence Thomas at Yale Law. He details his friendship with John Kenneth Galbraith during his time teaching at Harvard, and subsequent friendships with Bernie Sanders and Ted Kennedy; his efforts as labor secretary for Clinton and economic advisor to Barack Obama. Ultimately, Reich asks: What did his generation accomplish? Did they make America better, more inclusive, more tolerant? Did they strengthen democracy? Or, did they come up short? In the end, though, Reich hardly abandons us to despair over a doomed democracy. With his characteristic spirit, humor, and inherent decency, he lays out how we can reclaim a sense of community and a democratic capitalism based on the American ideals we still have the power to salvage"-- Provided by publisher.