I received this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program, but, to be honest, I couldn't bring myself to finish it. What I did read was a combination of leftist claptrap and ad hominem, and it seemed clear that the little I might glean was not worth the pain of sifting through the propaganda. (Maybe someday when I have more time or a stronger stomach. Maybe not.) I will say, however, that at least endnotes are provided so that interested readers can follow up on some of the claims.

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szarka | 9 altre recensioni | May 21, 2015 |

Billionaires' Ball: Gluttony and Hubris in an Age of… di Linda McQuaig

Questa recensione è stata scritta per Recensori in anteprima di LibraryThing.

The authors summarize the evolution of U.S. Tax policy from the mid-1930s to 2011, paying particular attention to changes since 1971 when business interests, relatively dormant since 1933 or so, began re-asserting themselves. They describe the political strategies and policy changes that enabled current gross inequalities in wealth and income to arise, argue that those inequalities militate against both the political principles and the self-interest of most Americans, and offer 7 changes to tax policy to reduce the “epic inequalities” of their subtitle.

They mark their own position early (“The shower of money raining down on Wall Street is simply the massive cut of American profits being grabbed by rapacious financial middlemen”) and present their work clearly as a polemic, arguing in favor of using tax policy to move wealth from its current top-heavy distribution. Even so, the accumulate their arguments slowly and carefully, avoiding most arm-waving and sloganeering and the book is well-organized and easy to read despite rich and sometimes difficult content.

By focusing on tax policy and promoting uncommon arguments (that the accumulation of wealth depends on the whole social/political environment and so every inhabitant of that environment should get a cut via tax-based redistribution – for instance) McQuaig and Brooks contribute a very valuable voice to our long-running deliberations about what, if anything, ought to be done.

Oddly, the authors are both Canadian but use “American” throughout to refer to citizens of the United States. I suspect a heavy editorial hand.… (altro)

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steve.clason | 9 altre recensioni | May 20, 2012 |

Billionaires' Ball: Gluttony and Hubris in an… di Linda McQuaig

Questa recensione è stata scritta per Recensori in anteprima di LibraryThing.

This book lays out the argument for reducing the current inequality of income in the United States. Those who agree will find many statistics to back up their point of view. Those who disagree will probably not read the book--thus we have the phenomenon known as "preaching to the choir."
While the book is good as far as it goes, it does not go far enough. The authors take the enormous fortunes of the last few decades at face value. Yet other writers on economics have pointed out that our paper wealth is partly imaginary in that the totals of currency and debt far exceed the actual material wealth of the entire planet. The idea that our economic downturn may be at least partly associated with actual or potential shortages of essential materials does not enter the authors' world view.… (altro)

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ritaer | 9 altre recensioni | May 2, 2012 |

Billionaires' Ball: Gluttony and Hubris in an Age of… di Linda McQuaig

Questa recensione è stata scritta per Recensori in anteprima di LibraryThing.

A well written overview of some of what is wrong with the economics system as it stands today. A lot of the information I was already familiar with, having read other popular economic books, but I found the book to be a good synthesis of the information available. While not containing much original insight, if you're looking for an introductory overview to the current economic woes, this book is not a bad place to start.

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lakanta | 9 altre recensioni | Apr 25, 2012 |

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