Book Description
“Politics is stuck,” writes Bill Bradley, in this insightful, informative, and provocative book about America at a crossroads, but “idealism isn’t dead. It can be reawakened.”
What will it take to make America a better, stronger, truer country? asks the bestselling author, former Knicks star, and onetime presidential candidate. Bill Bradley believes that America is at a teachable moment when we are compelled to reevaluate our political system, our leadership, our agenda as a nation, and ourselves as citizens. With clarity and urgency, Bradley shows why the story we are being told now about who we are as a people is not true. He then offers a new story about our nation, based on America’s rich heritage and his belief in the character of the American people. Bradley explores what changes need to be made in our parties, in our politics, and in citizen activism to ensure America’s future. He asserts that the American people are ready for the truth and suggests that the party that chooses to embrace this new story will be in power for a generation.
Writing from his own experience in politics and drawing on his knowledge of history, Bradley shows how the Republican Party has built a solid pyramid structure since the 1970s, at the base of which are money, ideas, and media, whereas the Democratic Party’s structure is an inverted pyramid, with too much emphasis put on the need for a charismatic leader to hold the pyramid up. Each party, for different reasons, fails to deal with the real issues that now confront America.
This informed and inspiring call to action is addressed not only to the parties and elected leaders, but to citizens as well. Bradley proposes things every American can do to shape our nation’s future. He points out that if eighty percent of the electorate voted, instead of fifty percent, it would be the most important change in American politics since women got the vote. Now more than ever, he says, we need to embrace an “ethic of connectedness,” a combination of
collective action and individual responsibility, to solve our nation’s most pressing
problems, and he argues that the fate of all countries is bound together as never before. Writing today with the freedom of a private citizen, Bradley provides this transformative and eye-opening book about the danger and the promise of America’s choice at this crucial moment in the nation’s history.
Customer Reviews:
A "HOW-TO" for citizenship and political leadership.......2007-09-29
Why should you read this?
- If you care about our democracy and want to help make it strong again
- If you want to understand the big domestic challenges we face today
- If you want thoughtful proposals to addresses those challenges
- If you want to better the understand the Democratic and Republican parties; what makes them function, what makes them DYSFUNCTIONAL
- If you want to hear an insider's take on what makes our democracy tick, what makes it great, and what threatens its survival
This is a terrific book. If I had the money, I'd buy one for every member of Congress.
I listened to this book unabridged on audio, narrated by Michael Prichard. He does a good job capturing Bill Bradley's dignity, but to my ear doesn't quite capture his enthusiasm and passion for good government.
excellent.......2007-08-28
bradley is a truly brilliant man. the book is filled with hundreds of good ideas. hopefully he will stay involved in politics. the problem is that the people who need to read this book will not. our government is controlled by big business and greedy men with their own agendas. how soon is that going to change? i highly reccomend this book.
Call to Greatness.......2007-08-20
You'd swear Bill Bradley was running for office or dashing down court for a breakaway three-pointer. This one-time presidential contender and New York Knicks superstar writes with the energy and urgency of a man on a mission.
Read his book, The New American Story, and you'll be tempted to join him. Bradley has issued a powerful call to action--one that promises to rescue our nation from political infighting and restore America's leadership role in the world.
His is not a story of military might and moral superiority; it is the story of our nation's founding principles, written by the men and women whose active engagement at pivotal points in history assured the country lived up to its highest ideals.
We have a choice before us that could transcend our current state of affairs, says Bradley. A choice that puts country over political party, the common good over the distracting issues that divide us.
One of our nation's most admired leaders--Abraham Lincoln--knew a thing or two about bringing a divided nation together. When he was president, Lincoln would often sneak out of the White House on Wednesday nights to hear sermons of a well-known preacher at the New York Presbyterian Church. One night, an aide asked Lincoln what he had thought of the sermon. "The content was excellent. The minister had a strong voice and a good delivery," said Lincoln, pausing. "But he forgot the most important part. He didn't ask us to do something great."
Bill Bradley is asking us to do something great.
"The answers to our problems rest in our hearts as well as in our heads," Bradley says in the introduction to his book, "and until we understand that, we'll make marginal improvements, but we won't make the quantum leaps that our Founders made and hoped we would continue."
I am drawn to stories of ordinary Americans who overcame obstacles to achieve great things. Freedom fighters on the Underground Railroad. Journalists who exposed unethical business practices at the turn of the 20th century. The immigrants who built our transcontinental railroad. A country lawyer who became a United States Supreme Court Justice, America's chief prosecutor of Nazi War criminals, and the founder of international law. These are the stories I want people around the world to know about when they think of America and its unique contributions to the world. That's why my husband and I make historical documentaries for a living.
Bill Bradley's book had me from hello, or at least from the moment I read the book jacket blurbs written by David McCullough, David Halberstam, Doris Kearns Goodwin and Robert A. Caro, all Pulitzer Prize winners. Because I love history, and because I believe in the strength of our nation's collective character, I kept on reading.
There is no question the bold policies outlined in Bill Bradley's book will be hotly debated in the coming weeks. He takes both political parties to task, taking aim at the current administration's policies with the finesse of a seasoned athlete and senator. And while I don't agree with every single one of Bradley's strategies on health care, education, environment, tax reform, and national defense, if this American story is to have a happy ending, I, like all other Americans, will have to look for common ground, and make sacrifices for the greater good.
Bill Bradley has faith that, given the right information--the true American story--we will do the right thing.
Current state of affairs for the middle class .......2007-08-07
I confess I have read many other books on the current status quo and state of politics in our country before reading this book. If you have too, this may be a bit repetitive as most issues have been discussed before. What I do like about Bill Bradley's book is it is not simply a laundry list of complaints. He offers at the end of each chapter (designated to each issue) some thought out solutions. This is a good book for eye-opening for our major issues - health care, education, energy... and would recommend it to readers who want to learn more about the who, what and why our social issues are being ignored by government. I also recommend "War on the Middle Class" by Lou Dobbs or "Screwed: The Undeclared War Against the Middle Class -- And What We Can Do About It" by Thom Hartmann. I enjoyed reading those a little more.
Long-winded and Confusing Story.......2007-07-29
I'll confess right up front that I haven't finished the book yet, and I'll update this review when I do. I'm still slogging through lengthy, wandering passages that fail to make any points. I keep waiting for any kind of "here's a solution" or "here's what we should do" sentence, but I have yet to find one. He spends a lot of pages in the first 25% of the book telling the reader about the "story" that he says we're being told -- by whom? On every issue he seems to pick the most extreme right-wing position as representative of this "story" rather than the positions that the majority of Republicans and conservatives hold. And thus far all he's offered for his "new story" is idealistic pie-in-the-sky notions with no plan to get there. I trust that he gets there in the second half of the book.
Just one example of the poor writing and editing: In the section titled "Inequality" in chapter on The Economy, he goes on for quite a while about financial inequality, then about globalization and technological change, finally claiming that you can no longer get ahead by working hard. He then admits that that there is no way around benefiting the wealthy if you want to encourage investment. And then this sentence:
"But there is no excuse for failing to conduct rigorous oversight of and increase resources to education ... which in the long run will result in ... greater equality."
Okay, he tied it back into equality, but how did he suddenly switch from tax cuts and investing and unions to education in the middle of the same paragraph? Where did this out-of-the-blue accusation come from that someone isn't overseeing and funding education? I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with that accusation, just pointing out that it's completely out of place in any kind of logical or narrative flow.
And so goes this story so far. I'll keep at it and hope the writing and presentation of ideas tightens up. Maybe his publisher paid him by the word...
Book Description
Bill O’Reilly is the very embodiment of the idea of a Culture Warrior—and in this book he lives up to the title brilliantly, with all the brashness and forthrightness at his command. He sees that America is in the midst of a fierce culture war between those who embrace traditional values and those who want to change America into a “secular-progressive” country. This is a conflict that differs in many ways from the usual liberal/conservative divide, but it is no less heated, and the stakes are even higher.
In Culture Warrior, Bill O’Reilly defines this war and analyzes the competing philosophies of the traditionalist and secular-progressive camps. He examines why the nation’s motto “E Pluribus Unum” (“From Many, One”) might change to “What About Me?”; dissects the forces driving the secular-progressive agenda in the media and behind the scenes, including George Soros, George Lakoff, and the ACLU; and dives into matters of race, education, and the war on terror. He also shows how the culture war has played out in such high-profile instances as The Passion of the Christ, Fahrenheit 9/11, the abuse epidemic (child and otherwise), and the embattled place of religion in public life—with special emphasis on the war against Christmas. Whatever controversies are roiling the nation, he fearlessly confronts them—and no one will be in the dark about which side he’s on.
Culture Warrior showcases Bill O’Reilly at his most eloquent and impassioned. He is an unrelenting fighter for the soul of America, and in this book he fights the good fight for the traditional values that have served this country so well for so long.
Customer Reviews:
Boot-licking propaganda pimp.......2007-10-16
One hardly knows whether to laugh or cry. It is a little frightening to know there are people out there that can put their clothes on and food in their mouth, and actually give attention to the likes of O'Reilly and Coulter. What pathetic little tics full of drivel, I mean, just look at the guy.....freak supreme. If this is your cup of tea, please consider thinking for yourself and waking up a bit and try something sane and reasonable, compassionate and loving, creative and expansive for a change. Otherwise, see you in Hell.
Eye Opener.......2007-10-14
This book will definitely give you a different perspective when you view the news media. There is a lot of truth here!
interesting read.......2007-09-27
Well written book. I'm not sure of the validity of all the things he talks about because he is often defending himself, but I think he makes some very smart points. I can see some of the effects of the sp movement that Bill mentions in his book almost everyday.
Bill's strawman.......2007-09-25
Mr O'Reilly is somewhat of an enigma to me. I find his show entertaining. He sometimes speaks very rationally about current issues and presents his point of view very reasonably. But there are times when he appears to let his emotions completely overrule his logic, and then he looks foolish and petty. So it is with "Culture Warrior."
Bill blames nearly all of America's ills on secular progressives. The S-P movement (according to O'Reilly) wants to completely dismantle all that is good and replace it with atheistic, socialist programs that would undermine America's moral fiber and promote malaise and complacency.
Pure bunk! The truth of the matter is that Bill's Republican Party has held the White House for all but 12 years since 1968. In all this time, the party of "family values" and "personal responsibility" has done little, if anything, to improve our nation's social problems. A good argument could be made that many of those problems have actually gotten worse. And yet, here's Bill trying to shift the blame to some small minority of the population with practically no political power.
Of course, he's preaching to the choir with his simplistic scapegoating. If you're a Fox news fan and an O'Reilly-phile, you'll no doubt be blind to his flaws in logic and his stretching of the facts.
I would love to have Bill as a dad .......2007-09-16
My grandma read me this book.I thought it was good and it's fun too.It never gets boring and I feel like he is the greatest guy in the world.My grandma says she will read all the books he writes to me and that will make me real happy and I'm looking forward to that.
Book Description
A sweeping narrative history of the events leading to 9/11, a groundbreaking look at the people and ideas, the terrorist plans and the Western intelligence failures that culminated in the assault on America. Lawrence Wright’s remarkable book is based on five years of research and hundreds of interviews that he conducted in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sudan, England, France, Germany, Spain, and the United States.
The Looming Tower achieves an unprecedented level of intimacy and insight by telling the story through the interweaving lives of four men: the two leaders of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri; the FBI’s counterterrorism chief, John O’Neill; and the former head of Saudi intelligence, Prince Turki al-Faisal.
As these lives unfold, we see revealed: the crosscurrents of modern Islam that helped to radicalize Zawahiri and bin Laden . . . the birth of al-Qaeda and its unsteady development into an organization capable of the American embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania and the attack on the USS Cole . . . O’Neill’s heroic efforts to track al-Qaeda before 9/11, and his tragic death in the World Trade towers . . . Prince Turki’s transformation from bin Laden’s ally to his enemy . . . the failures of the FBI, CIA, and NSA to share intelligence that might have prevented the 9/11 attacks.
The Looming Tower broadens and deepens our knowledge of these signal events by taking us behind the scenes. Here is Sayyid Qutb, founder of the modern Islamist movement, lonely and despairing as he meets Western culture up close in 1940s America; the privileged childhoods of bin Laden and Zawahiri; family life in the al-Qaeda compounds of Sudan and Afghanistan; O’Neill’s high-wire act in balancing his all-consuming career with his equally entangling personal life—he was living with three women, each of them unaware of the others’ existence—and the nitty-gritty of turf battles among U.S. intelligence agencies.
Brilliantly conceived and written, The Looming Tower draws all elements of the story into a galvanizing narrative that adds immeasurably to our understanding of how we arrived at September 11, 2001. The richness of its new information, and the depth of its perceptions, can help us deal more wisely and effectively with the continuing terrorist threat.
Customer Reviews:
Compelling and Heart-stopping Account of the Rise of Al Qaeda.......2007-10-16
Lawrence Wright has written what will be arguable the best book on the subject of the Al Qaeda and their war against the West. The Looming Tower is a monumental work on a grand scale not unlike many of the epic works about World War II.
This contribution to a growing body of literature on the subject of 9/11 and the rise of Islamic extremist/terrorism is a thorough, comprehensive narrative account of one of the critical junctures of history. Wright weaves a colorful tapestry of characters, from the little known Sayyid Qutib, founder of the modern Islamic movement, circa 1940's, to Public Enemy Number One- Osama bin Laden.
Wright gives insight and background into these characters and humanizes them. We see their faults, their sophistry,their cynicysm and opportunism, but also their cunning and ruthlessness. On the American side there is the cynical Michael Scheurer (CIA), the insufferable John O'Neill--perfect charicature of an FBI/G-man, and the wily Richard Clark; bureaucractic infighters all; desparate to catch this elusive figure, this cave dweller intent on making mischief, taking innocent life.
The Looming Tower is an exhilerating, heart-stopping account of the events that led up to 9/11. After reading this book, you will have a better appreciation of what this country is facing in the War on Terror.
History that reads like a novel!.......2007-10-14
It's an enjoyable and informative read. Historians in the future will certainly cite Wright's book. Their is no need for me to say anymore as the Pulitzer says it all!
must read for every educated american.......2007-10-14
If you are an American wondering what happened to our country and why, you must read this book. It provides an unbiased perspective on what happened and why on 9/11 and who the people behind it were. I whole heartedly recommend this book
Muslims and al-Qaeda 101.......2007-10-10
The Looming Tower is a must read for anyone wanting to know why world events have brought us to today. Lawrence Wright also makes it clear how difficult it will be to negotiate any type of peace with certain Muslim sects. Very factual. Well-researched and documented.
Excellent.......2007-10-10
This book, The Looming Towers, is an excellent portrayal of the genesis of the Muslim feelings of denigration and disgrace at the hands of the leaders of Western world. This book is sobering and frightening. It is well written and extremely interesting with excellent references.
Book Description
The long-awaited final volume of Chalmers Johnson’s bestselling
Blowback trilogy confronts the overreaching of the American empire and the threat it poses to the republic
In his prophetic book Blowback, Chalmers Johnson linked the CIA’s clandestine activities abroad to disaster at home. In The Sorrows of Empire, he explored the ways in which the growth of American militarism and the garrisoning of the planet have jeopardized our stability. Now, in Nemesis, he shows how imperial overstretch is undermining the republic itself, both economically and politically.
Delving into new areas—from plans to militarize outer space to Constitution-breaking presidential activities at home and the devastating corruption of a toothless Congress—Nemesis offers a striking description of the trap into which the dreams of America’s leaders have taken us. Drawing comparisons to empires past, Johnson explores in vivid detail just what the unintended consequences of our dependence on a permanent war economy are likely to be. What does it mean when a nation’s main intelligence organization becomes the president’s secret army? Or when the globe’s sole “hyperpower,” no longer capable of paying for the vaulting ambitions of its leaders, becomes the greatest hyper-debtor of all times?
In his stunning conclusion, Johnson suggests that financial bankruptcy could herald the breakdown of constitutional government in America—a crisis that may ultimately prove to be the only path to a renewed nation.
Customer Reviews:
Nemesis, by Chalmers Johnson.......2007-10-17
This is a wonderful and insightful look at our country's foreign and military policy. It is factual and well written. It is a "probably too late" wake-up call that we are creating our own downfall both fiscally and politically on the international stage. This is the kind of information and insights that the mainstream media should be presenting, but is not. I recommend this book to everyone.
We have met the enemy and they is us.......2007-10-15
If "Lawless World" by Phillippe Sands was disturbing (see my review) then "Nemesis" is frightening. If Chalmers Johnson has a proven record for political prophecy, then in this instance I hope he is wrong.
In excruciating detail, Johnson reveals the mistakes and hubris of half a century of leadership that has led us to where we are today, a messy war, a trillion dollar national debt, and a crumbling internal infrastructure, sacrificed to an increasingly expensive empire of military bases all over the world, our "outposts" of empire.
In his book, Johnson demonstrates his contention that by interfering in the internal affairs of sovereign states, undermining democratically elected governments that were "not to our liking" and engaging in covert operations often with disasterous results to the countries involved, we often left chaos and discord as well as poverty in our wake. More often, we established a permanent presence in the form of a military base. Why do they hate us?
The question is why wouldn't they. Johnson quotes Harry Browne: "When America is no longer a threat to the world, the world will no longer threaten us."
Johnson makes a good case for the egregious behavior of the current administration being an almost inevitable result of a series of incompetent administrations, abuse of executive power, and concomitant international and domestic crises and events, many of them provoked by us via the CIA. The CIA has become the "president's private army". This has resulted in what Johnson calls the "imperial presidency".
Imperialism (the practice of acquiring economic and political hegemony over other nations) is incompatible with democracy. Johnson makes it patently obvious that the Bush administration has taken abuse of executive power to a new level. Right-wing columnist George Will has termed it a "monarchical doctrine". Left-wing commentator James Ridgeway put it, "a consistent and long-range policy to wreck constitutional government." Given the administration's disregard for both domestic and international law, Bruce Shneier, author of "Beyond Fear: Thinking Sensibly about Security in an Uncertain World", sees an ominous development. "The president can define war however he chooses , and remain at war for as long as he chooses. This is indefinite dictatorial power......the very definition of a dictatorship is a system that puts a ruler above the law."
The result is an impotent Congress, a confused electorate and a White House that knows no bounds.
To quote Johnson: "All empires it seems, require myths of divine right, racial preeminence, manifest destiny, or a civilizing mission to cover their own barbarous behavior in other people's countries."
One is forced to question just what temerity allows George W. Bush to claim his own brand of divine right. To quote theologian Rheinhold Niebuhr,"the tendency to claim God as our ally for our partisan values is the source of all religious fanaticism." Indeed, one is forced to consider which fundamentalism, Bush's Christian one or the Islamic is the more insidious and pernicious.
This book is a must read for anyone who is seriously interested in why our country seems to be not only hated by so much of the rest of the world, but so divided among ourselves.
Crossing the Rubicon.......2007-09-08
This book answers Michael Moore's question, "Where's my country?" The author's scholarly and carefully reasoned answer is that the constitutional republic we once had has evolved into an empire. Johnson traces the rise of militarism, the hidden and often ill-conceived interventions of the CIA and the devastating "blowback" from them, and the enormous power the United States projects through its hundreds of overseas military bases, as well as our plans to militarize space.
I found that the book explained many events that are extremely puzzling if one continues to believe that the United States is a high-minded democracy, but make perfect sense from the point of view of empire.
Johnson's conlusion, that we are on the cusp of a choice between the path taken by Rome into empire and dictatorship vs. that chosen by Great Britain to dissolve its empire but preserve its democracy, was compelling and sobering.
I would recommend Nemesis to anyone, regardless of political slant, who seriously wants to make sense of the role the United States plays in the world today, and the world's reaction to it.
On the brink of a military dictatorship.......2007-08-12
Chalmers Johnson is deeply pessimistic about the future of the US and its citizens. He sees at the horizon `a collapse of constitutional government, perpetual war, endemic official lying and disinformation and finally bankruptcy. We are at the cusp of losing our democracy for the sake of keeping our empire.'
For him, the heart of the matter is `military Keynesianism' (the US economy is mightily based on weapon manufacturing) and the goal of the military-intelligence community (full spectrum dominance over the world and in space).
But this imperial adventure is far too costly. The US spends more on armed forces than all other nations on earth combined, for more than 737 military bases in more than 130 countries. Also, space weapons are pure waste. A space shield doesn't work, because weapons cannot make a distinction between warheads and free floating space debris. `The neoconservative lobbyists are only interested in the staggering sums required.'
The US enormous military budget (of which 40 % is secret) is not paid by US taxpayers, but by foreign investors in US debt.
In the meantime, democracy is undermined. Chalmers Johnson doesn't see `any president or Congress standing up to the powerful vested interests of the Pentagon, the secret intelligence agencies and the military-industrial complex.' The separation of powers is becoming a dead letter. The legislative and the judicial branches have lost their independence.
The author is extremely hard for the current government, calling members of the Administration `desk-murderers'. For him, `putting the ruler above the law is the very definition of dictatorship.' Its TIA (Total Information Awareness) program `is the perfect US computer version of Gestapo and KGB files.' He is extremely angry with the US media, calling them `Pravda-like mouthpieces of the powerful.'
For him, what Congress really should do is abolish the CIA and remove all purely military functions from the Pentagon.
This hard-hitting book is more than a very solid warning. It is a must read for all those interested in the future of mankind.
For a view from the South, I highly recommend `Dilemmas of Domination' by Walden Bello.
Mandatory Foreign Policy Reading.......2007-07-28
If you want to read an unvarnished assessment of America's foreign policy by a scholar and former insider this book will more than suffice. Johnson evaluates the military-industrial complex, foreign policy tactics, and the imperialistic tendencies of contemporary America and how they are all contributing to our very real ongoing downfall. Johnson is not afraid to prove how our own covert and overt policies have contributed to the war and terror that plague our nation.
Amazon.com
It began with a simple $27 loan. After witnessing the cycle of poverty that kept many poor women enslaved to high-interest loan sharks in Bangladesh, Dr. Muhammad Yunus lent money to 42 women so they could purchase bamboo to make and sell stools. In a short time, the women were able to repay the loans while continuing to support themselves and their families. With that initial eye-opening success, the seeds of the Grameen Bank, and the concept of microcredit, were planted.
After earning a Ph.D. in economics at Vanderbilt University, Dr. Yunus returned to Bangladesh to settle into a life as a professor. But a famine in 1974 ravaged the country, leading Dr. Yunus to alter his thinking and his life profoundly: "What good were all my complex theories when people were dying of starvation on the sidewalks and porches across from my lecture hall?.... Nothing in the economic theories I taught reflected the life around me." Armed with little more than a lofty dream to end the suffering around him, he started an experimental microcredit enterprise in 1977; by 1983 the Grameen Bank was officially formed.
The idea behind the Grameen Bank is ingeniously simple: extend credit to poor people and they will help themselves. This concept strikes at the root of poverty by specifically targeting the poorest of the poor, providing small loans (usually less than $300) to those unable to obtain credit from traditional banks. At Grameen, loans are administered to groups of five people, with only two receiving their money up front. As soon as these two make a few regular payments, loans are gradually extended to the rest of the group. In this way, the program builds a sense of community as well as individual self-reliance. Most of the Grameen Bank's loans are to women, and since its inception, there has been an astonishing loan repayment rate of over 98 percent.
Banker to the Poor is an inspiring memoir of the birth of microcredit, written in a conversational tone that makes it both moving and enjoyable to read. The Grameen Bank is now a $2.5 billion banking enterprise in Bangladesh, while the microcredit model has spread to over 50 countries worldwide, from the U.S. to Papua New Guinea, Norway to Nepal. Ever optimistic, Yunus travels the globe spreading the belief that poverty can be eliminated: "...the poor, once economically empowered, are the most determined fighters in the battle to solve the population problem; end illiteracy; and live healthier, better lives. When policy makers finally realize that the poor are their partners, rather than bystanders or enemies, we will progress much faster that we do today." Dr. Yunus's efforts prove that hope is a global currency. --Shawn Carkonen
Book Description
This autobiography of the world-renowned, visionary economist who came up with a simple but revolutionary solution to end world poverty--micro-credit--has become the classic text for a growing movement.
In 1983 Muhammad Yunus established Grameen, a bank devoted to providing the poorest of Bangladesh with miniscule loans. He aimed to help the poor by supporting the spark of personal initiative and enterprise by which they could lift themselves out of poverty forever. It was an idea born on a day in 1976 when he loaned $27 from his own pocket to forty-two people living in a tiny village. They were stool makers who only needed enough credit to purchase the raw materials for their trade. Yunus's loan helped them break the cycle of poverty and changed their lives forever. His solution to world poverty, founded on the belief that credit is a fundamental human right, is brilliantly simple: loan poor people money on terms that are suitable to them, teach them a few sound financial principles, and they will help themselves.
Yunus's theories work. Grameen Bank has provided 3.8 billion dollars to 2.4 million families in rural Bangladesh. Today, more than 250 institutions in nearly 100 countries operate micro-credit programs based on the Grameen methodology, placing Grameen at the forefront of a burgeoning world movement toward eradicating poverty through micro-lending.
Customer Reviews:
Turning Inspiration into Action.......2007-10-05
Not wanting to repeat the accolades mentioned in the reviews posted I would like to instead share how reading this book and meeting Yunus was a catalyst to some actions I took both on a personal and professional level. The intent is not self promotion or to showcase my efforts. Instead, I am providing ideas and addressing those of you who may find, as I did, that after finishing the last page you are left with a desire to do something. The dilemma was what could I do ......I am not a bank or live in a developing country. I did give copies of the book to friends, colleagues and family but I wanted to do something more concrete. Well, with micro finance "on my radar" I took some actions both on a personal and professional level that I hope are making a difference and are in some ways increasing the visibility and awareness of micro financing.
First a little background and comments on the book.....I had the great honor of meeting Muhammad Yunus shortly after he received the Nobel Peace prize in 2006 at an event in Paris sponsored by Planet Finance. Yunus is truly an inspirational person, charismatic in a subtle way, who has touched the lives of many. His enthusiasm is contagious. The book Banker to the Poor is a fascinating read.... humorous, touching and informational as it traces the evolution of the micro finance model from concept (starting with Yunus lending the equivalent of $27 to stool makers) to what it is today with over 7.2 million clients. What resonates with me is the idea of lending versus aid dumps from the World Bank, UN, NGO's and charity organizations. I don't want to discount the millions given as direct charity to the needy but the concept of micro finance creates a sense of pride and responsibility not to mention innovation and creativity. Micro finance can also generate incremental improvement versus charity or outright donations which, in many cases dries up, is short term and results in dependence instead of empowerment.
Some actions I took:
* I became aware of KIVA (www.kiva.org) an organization that facilitates micro loans (as little as $25) from individuals like you and I to a specific entrepreneur in a developing world empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty. These individuals are in fact showcased on the site where you can see a picture and read about the entrepreneur you have chosen. KIVA is founded by an impressive team of "Social Entrepreneurs". Using technology, KIVA brings the lenders and borrowers together and provides an online community for lenders who are also showcased on the site. Involving my daughter (10) in the decision process we are lending to an entrepreneur in Samoa, so she can buy timber to improve her greenhouse for her flower business.
* As President of my alumni association (Thunderbird) I organized an event around Micro Financing with the Managing Director of Planet Rating, a microfinance rating agency, as a guest speaker.
* At a university in Paris I run a project based course involving teams of MBA students. Proposing a project related to micro finance the students were enthusiastic and completed a study on micro finance in Europe.
* Professionally, I work with individuals in career transition and entrepreneurs in helping them to identify their unique strengths and values and message their brand appropriately both online and offline. Fundamentally, I find that people have a social conscious and want to do something concrete. To this end I suggest lending to a KIVA entrepreneur as a way to concretely incorporate a social conscious into their brand.
* As part of my involvement in a Global Telesummit entitled a Brand You World www.personalbrandingsummit.com I am involved in raising $100,000 in loans for KIVA entrepreneurs in the developing world. Incidentally, Kiva was featured on Oprah and is mentioned in Clinton's book "Giving".
Having shared how I was inspired by reading this book I would be more then interested in hearing how it inspired you and what actions you took.
Bernadette
Bernadette Martin
www.visibilitybranding.com
Enlightening work.......2007-08-12
Muhammad Yunus believed that every human being had a basic right to credit. He believed in the human spirit and peoples' hard work and honesty when given a chance to sustain themselves above poverty. His accomplishments have proven his theory over and over in several countries to millions of people. Micro-lending will surely be a part of the future success in Africa, Asia, and South America. A modified form of Mr. Yunus' model has worked in the USA, unfortunately, we as Americans aren't schooled nor molded to be basic entrepreneurs. We must change our school systems from teaching how to become good employees to how to become entrepreneurs as well. Mr. Yunus' model includes 5 person groups to help each other and support each other when one gets behind in loan repayments and/or family crisis. This is a very important requirement to micro-lending and must not be excluded when trying to duplicate the success of the Grameen Bank.
Thank goodness we have people in our world like Muhammad Yunus to teach us how to treat other human beings.
Poverty should be extinct!.......2007-08-09
This book is a testament to the good one can do to millions of people!
Poverty belongs in museums! One day, thanks to humanitarians like Muhammad Yunus, poverty will be something of the past and totally extinct, and the next generation will wonder how poverty was ever allowed to exist within our midst. Indeed that will be a glorious day!
Professor Yunus recounts his early life living in India, Bangladesh, and then in the United States. He was born in 1940 in British-ruled India. He was one of fourteen children born to devout Muslim parents. His mother was often ill, but despite this, his father never left her. Yunus later obtained a scholarship to study in the States, earned a Ph.D. in economics at Vanderbilt University, and later became a professor. He once commented to his students, "What good were all my complex theories when people were dying of starvation on the sidewalks and porches across from my lecture hall? Nothing in the economic theories I taught reflected the life around me."
As a young man he was very involved in the independence of Bangladesh when hundreds of thousands died, and many more after Bangladesh declared itself independent. The country was devastated, and stripped of its natural resources. Professor Yunus quickly left the US and headed to Bangladesh in order to help create a government, and thus get international help and support.
He was very concerned about the poor, and decided to help them. He was surprised why banks did not lend them money. Also the majority of the poor couldn't write or read, so they couldn't even fill out the forms required by banks in order to obtain a loan.
Grameen Bank (The name means the "bank of the village") was thus started in 1976 as an experimental project to combat rural poverty by providing credit to the very poor. Professor Yunus loaned $27 from his own pocket to forty-two stool makers living in a tiny village. These women only needed enough credit to purchase the raw materials for their trade. Yunus's small loan helped them break the cycle of poverty for good. Throughout the book you'll read of many such success stories.
Professor Yunus faced a lot of obstacles in creating his bank. He was accused by the Muslim clergy (Mullahs) of wanting to destroy Islamic traditions, and of promoting Christian values in Bangladesh. Some of his staff were even threatened. This was due to the fact that the bank encourages women to take loans and work, something of a taboo and highly unacceptable to Muslim women living in Bangladesh. In fact, many women were beaten by their husbands for the mere mention of money, let alone taking a loan. Women were also not encouraged to receive an education or work. Professor Yunus says, "All her life she has been told that she is no good, that she brings only misery to her family, and that they cannot afford to pay her dowry. Many times she hears her mother or her father tell her she should have been killed at birth, aborted, or starved. But today, for the first time in her life, an institution has trusted her with a great sum of money. She promises that she will never let down the institution or herself. She will struggle to make sure that every penny is paid back (65)."
In 1983 Grameen Bank (GB) was officially established. It is unique in that it has reversed conventional banking practices by removing the need for collateral and created a banking system based on mutual trust. It promotes credit as a human right. Its mission is to help the poor families to help themselves to overcome poverty by issuing them with microcredits (very small amounts, like $7, something a conventional bank would never do). It is offered for creating self-employment for income-generating activities and housing, as opposed to consumption. It is particularly targeted towards poor women. It provides service at the door-step of the poor based on the principle that the people should not go to the bank; the bank should go to the people. This principal is helpful in a Muslim society where women are not allowed to leave their homes without the approval of their husband, and are not allowed to speak with men.
In order to obtain loans a borrower must join a group of borrowers, with each borrower recommending another. If one member of the group defaults on payment of his loan, then the whole group is denied further loans! However, to encourage destitute members to join, he/she does not have to belong to a group, no saving is necessary, no weekly repayment is necessary, his/her loan terms are decided by him/her, in consultation with his/her mentor.
A member is considered to have moved out of poverty if her family fulfills the following criteria:
1. The family lives in a house worth at least Tk. 25,000 (twenty five thousand) or a house with a tin roof, and each member of the family is able to sleep on bed instead of on the floor.
2. Family members drink pure water.
3. All children in the family over six years of age go to school or have finished primary school.
4. Minimum weekly loan installment of the borrower is Tk. 200 or more.
5. Family uses sanitary latrine.
6. Family has adequate clothing for everyday use and for winter, and mosquito-nets.
7. Family has sources of additional income, such as a vegetable garden, so that they are able to fall back on these sources of income when they need additional money.
8. The borrower maintains an average annual balance of Tk. 5,000 in his/her savings accounts.
9. Family has three square meals a day throughout the year. No member of the family goes hungry any time of the year.
10. If any member of the family falls ill, family can afford to take all necessary steps to seek adequate healthcare.
Professor Yunus distrusted dealing with the World Bank. According to professor Yunus, the world bank, with its headquarters away from Bangladesh, does not see poverty, but relies on theories. He also was wary of how they took full control of a country's financial needs.
There were a number of major natural disasters in Bangladesh. The 1998 flood was the worst of all. Half of the country was under flood-water for ten long weeks. Grameen borrowers lost most of their possessions including their houses because of the flood. Soon borrowers started to feel the burden of accumulated loans. They found the new installment sizes exceeded their capacity to repay. Grameen Bank repayment started to show quick decline. This was a good opportunity to design a new Grameen methodology, incorporating all the lessons learnt. As a result, Grameen Bank II was created.
The bank believes that the poor always pay back their loans, unlike the very rich. On some occasions they may take longer time to pay back than it was originally stipulated. Many things can go wrong for a poor person during the loan period. According to professor Yunus, since the borrower is paying additional interest for the extra time, where is the problem?
Grameen Bank has introduced higher education loans for all students who can enter into the higher educational institutions (medical, engineering, etc). Students are made responsible to repay the loans when they start earning. Half the scholarships are reserved for girl students. The remaining 50 per cent is open for both boys and girls. Each year Grameen Bank gives out 3,704 scholarships.
Grameen believes that poverty is not created by the poor; it is created by the institutions and policies which surround them. In order to eliminate poverty, all we need to do is to make appropriate changes in the institutions and policies, and/or create new ones.
Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank of Bangladesh won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.
As of May, 2007, Grameen Bank had 7.21 million borrowers, 97 percent of whom are women. With 2431 branches, it provides services in 78,659 villages, covering more than 94 percent of the total villages in Bangladesh.
About 3 billion people live on less than $1 per day. Professor Yunus' vision is of eliminating poverty by 2050.
This is really a fascinating book and I highly recommend it.
Great for those interested in poverty relief/development.......2007-08-07
After reading, we bought multiple copies to give away to colleagues working in various capacities in poor areas of the world. Yunus' ideas and experience need to be examined and considered. This is no World Bank/UN/WMF big program aid-dump, but a reasonable, realistic, measured path from poverty to empowerment for the world's poor.
Lateral Banking.......2007-07-03
Learn how limiting entrenched Eurocentric thinking can be. Be inspired by the lateral thinking of Muhammad Yunus! A heartwarming read with just a touch too much description of the complexities of beaurocracy, but a must read nevertheless.
Book Description
So says Fox News military analyst Colonel David Hunt in a book that cuts like a buzz saw through the half-measures and half-truths, the dangerous timidity, and the outright stupidity that—if left unchecked—will lead America to lose the War on Terror.
In the hard-hitting On the Hunt, Colonel Hunt draws on his twenty-nine years of active military service and his high-level military and intelligence contacts to give an inside perspective on this global struggle, setting him far apart from the usual pundits and talking heads. Here he presents fifty pages of previously unpublished documents that reveal the chillingly detailed plans of the terrorists and insurgents who target Americans, as well as U.S. tactics to stop our enemies.
From the Department of Homeland Security (“Get rid of it. Scrap it.”) to military leaders who have almost zero combat experience to risk-averse, politically correct strategic decision-making, Colonel Hunt pinpoints dire problems that need to be fixed before it’s too late (which it nearly is). Offering real solutions that most politicians and pundits are too timid to talk about, On the Hunt lays out specific steps to:
• Win the war in Iraq by changing the way we fight—by taking the gloves off and, in doing so, honoring the sacrifices our soldiers are making
• Deal with Iran, North Korea, and other dangerous threats
• Solve the illegal immigration crisis and keep America’s enemies from breaching our borders (both of them)
• Make our towns and cities more secure—not by looking to the federal bureaucracy but by taking responsibility ourselves
• Protect the liberties of American citizens at home
• Ensure that our soldiers are trained and equipped to fight today’s and tomorrow’s wars
As Colonel Hunt’s millions of viewers on Fox News and all the readers of his bestselling book They Just Don’t Get It will expect, he pulls no punches while incisively analyzing a war unlike any other. In On the Hunt, Colonel Hunt reveals exactly how high the stakes really are in the War on Terror. He condemns failed policies and the people who made them (and, yes, he names names). And most important, he clearly identifies the strategies, tactics, and qualities of leadership that we must bring to bear to ensure the survival of the proud and free nation we love.
Customer Reviews:
Hunt for President!.......2007-06-13
...or at least Secretary of Defense. Colonel Hunt doesn't hold back at all in this book, its not your typical academic style book.
I loved his style eg page 8 he says that all that matters is "killing the bad guys and bringing our boys home in 1 piece.F*** the rest" He's prepared to lay the smackdown on terrorists and the hopeless politicians in charge in D.C whom he calls "pantywaists" and says they need to 'grow a pair" ha ha love it! Finally a no BS look at the War and what needs to be done.
Essentially the Colonel says its quite simple:kill the bad guys, it doesn't matter what the politicians think, what the world thinks, how much it costs or who gets the credit. Any leader who can't handle this and is more concerned with their career is a girleyman who needs to be sacked. PC types won't like this book, heck they probably wouldn't be able to pick it up with their limp wrists, the stuff in this book is enough to make Ted Kennedy drive off a(nother) bridge.
The only criticism I would have is that the Colonel also advocates showering baddie countries like North Korea with aid and goodwill in return for them giving up their nukes and support for terrorists. The problem with this is that these baddie countries are unlikely to abide by the terms of such deals, eg North Korea got such a deal from America in 1994 only to reveal in 2002 that they had been cheating on it all along.
All in all a great book that pulls no punches and has the balls to say what needs to be said,its very easy to simply write off the Colonel as a trigger happy cowboy but that's overlooking the serious failings in this war on terrorism and the solutions to fix them, President Bush must read this book and so should you if you don't then you may as well as the Colonel says "bend over and starting praying towards Mecca"
A lesson in character this nation sorely needs.......2007-06-08
When one reads the news, and listens to the expert opinions of "talking heads" on TV, it's all too easy to believe that the free world is facing complex problems that allow for no reasonable or successful solutions. The messages we receive include the following: we face 1.3 billion Muslims who blame us for all the ills of the world, and we should understand that it's their world and not ours; nobody in Europe or Britain loves us any more, so we must be terribly wrong; every time we try and react, we only make things worse; we had our run, and now it's time for us to step aside; western civilization is obsolete and on the way out.
Reading Colonel David Hunt's "On the Hunt" tells us: No, we're still in the game; and now's the time for us to kick some butt, make no excuses, offer no explanations, come back home a victor, and marry the prom queen.
My experience, as just one reader, is that I sleep better when I read Hunt right at bedtime. It makes me feel safe knowing that somebody, somewhere, understands it the way he does. If I become discouraged by current events and find myself starting to whimp out and despair, a couple of pages of Hunt gets me back on track. You may have exactly the opposite reaction, and, if that's the case, I'd suggest you leave it alone because "On The Hunt" is pretty potent stuff, and not everyone can handle it.
Maybe the most reassuring part of "On The Hunt" is the author's attitude: David Hunt simply was not born to die as an enemy collaborator. His prose is personal, conversational, and expressive, and communicates his attitude and feelings as well as his ideas. When "his time comes" I suspect he'll go out a warrior, having never surrendered or submitted. That's a character lesson this country sorely needs.
If we heed Hunt's advice and follow his example, and he is wrong, at least we won't go down whimpering, soiling our drawers, and apologizing.
Much like I thought it would be........2007-06-01
No ground breaking here, just some enlightenment. The best part of the book deals with the kind of leadership we have and the leadership we are sorely missing.
On The Money.......2007-05-12
Col Hunt is right on the money. Until America puts the conduct of the war in the hands of field commanders with combat experience, we will not win. I do not believe in a cut and run philosophy, but politician must remove themselves from the tactical decision making. I recommend this book.
Jerry Berry
Salida, Colorado
The way it should have been.......2007-05-12
Just finished reading the book and it was a great read and told what should have been done during the Iraq War. It again proves to me that peacetime can be a badtime for the military in that many individuals rise up to leadership positions that are unqualified in the time of war.
Book Description
Based on the author's extensive experience as a working planner, this book gives readers an insider's view of sub-state urban planning—the “nitty-gritty” details on the interplay of politics, law, money, and interest groups. The author takes a balanced, non-judgmental approach to introduce a range of ideological and political perspectives on the operation of political, economic, and demographic forces in city planning. Unlike other books on the subject, this one is strong in its coverage of economics, law, finance, and urban governance. It examines the underlying forces of growth and change and discusses frankly who benefits and loses by particular decisions. A four-part organization covers the background and development of contemporary planning; the structure and practice of contemporary planning; fields of planning; and national planning in the United States and other nations, and planning theory. For individuals headed for a career in planning.
Customer Reviews:
Get a Broad spectrum of Urban Planning for the Beginner.......2000-07-11
This book gives a broad spectrum of what to expect in the planning field, but there are a few flaws. One is that the book is not written for the technocratic planner, it is written for the beginner or someone who is not going to make planning their career. But this book will give the beginner a broad basis to start from and for this I do suggest the beginner to read this before they choose planning as a career.
Book Description
"The one thing, on which we can all agree, is that God is with the vulnerable and poor. God is in the slums and in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them. 6,500 Africans are still dying every day of a preventable, treatable disease, for lack of drugs we can buy at any drug store. This is not about charity, this is about Justice and Equality." --Bono
This small book, based upon the speech given by Bono at the 2006 NPB, delivers an inspiring and powerful message. Here, in Bono's own words, is a reflection on his own faith and a challenge to people of all faiths to reach across boundaries and come together on behalf of what the Scriptures call "the least of these."
Customer Reviews:
A Beautiful Book, but a Shallow Gospel.......2007-09-30
The content of this short book is actually a speech Bono gave at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. in 2006. Bono makes his case for justice for Africa, outlining his own personal story, the religious motivation for giving, and what he ultimately desires out of the politicians he is addressing - a commitment to devote 1% of the fiscal budget to Africa.
The pictures in this book are beautifully provocative and captivating. The words can be so, too. But don't be too quick to embrace Bono's point of view. This is social gospel to the core. Bono combines tidbits from Islam, Judaism, Christianity... whatever fits the bill, really... to advocate for the poorest of the poor. And while so much of his message about poverty is true (e.g. "There's a gigantic chasm between the scale of the emergency and the scale of the response") the basis and the context are all wrong.
I'm still figuring out what it means to live as a privileged young American in a world that is full of suffering and poverty and need. And I can only admire Bono for his Africa advocacy. I am so thankful that light is being shed on those who need our help. And I am confident that God can and does work through all of this. I don't even have a problem with Christians aligning themselves with the ONE campaign, because it stands for what we should be standing for - justice and generosity and love.
But that ends with doctrine and theology. I think Bono is preaching a shallow gospel, a cheap gospel, based on the pluralistic gods of this age. He is not preaching Christ crucified. He is preaching God in the slums. And while that is a valuable message, it doesn't compare to the most explosive message of all - Christ Jesus came to this earth to save sinners, of whom I am the very worst.
Moving and Inspiring.......2007-09-28
Bono is not only one of the biggest names in Rock and Roll history, but one of the world's best known philanthropists. His work in Africa is truly inspiring. This beautifully designed book incorporates the provocative speech he made at the 2006 National Prayer Breakfast in Washington with some of the powerful and moving pictures that Bono himself took on one of his many trips to Africa. This is a great speech with a great message, and presented as it is in this way, makes it a great book and excellent conversation starter.
Rock Superstar Bono Emerges As Major Theological Force.......2007-09-08
This book documents the emergence of Rock superstar Bono as a major theological force in the interest of ending extreme poverty in Africa, where six thousand die of AIDS each day. He is becoming the Martin Luther King of Africa aid relief.
"There is a continent--Africa--being consumed by flames. I truly believe that when the history books are written, our age will be remembered for three things: the war on terror, the digital revolution, and what we did--or did not do--to put the fire out in Africa. History, like God, is watching what we do." This quote is accompanied by the words FREEDOM and EQUALITY repeated numerous times in the form of a map of Africa.
Bono updates Isaiah 58:9-11 to report on the presence of God in today's world. "God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both of their lives. God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war. God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them."
Bono founded the advocacy group DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa) in 2002. It is a member of ONE, the Camapaign to Make Poverty History. In 2006 he launched Product (RED) to engage businesses in the fight against AIDS. He lives in Dublin, Ireland with his wife and four children.
Bono wants the United States to give an additional one percent of its federal budget annually to end world poverty. Beside a picture of a barely clothed African child, Bono says "Where you live should no longer determine whether you live." He adds, "We hear that call in the One Campaign, a growing movement of more than two million Americans left and right together, united in the belief that where you live should no longer determine whether you live."
Bono eloquently summarizes more of his agenda, "Preventing the poorest of the poor from selling their products while we sing the virtues of the free market--that's a justice issue. Holding children ransom for the debts of their grandparents--that's a justice issue. Withholding the life-saving medicines out of defeerence to the Office of Patents--that's a justice issue. And while the law is what wwe say it is, God is not silent on the subject."
Bono is of both Protestant and Catholic ancestry in a land deeply divided by literal warfare over the differences between these religions. "Religion often gets in the way of God, " Bono says. "I was cynical. Not about God, but about God's politics."
Bono was called to action by concept of the millennial year of 2000 being a Jubilee year, "an opportunity to cancel the chronic debts of the world's poorest people. They (the advocates of a Jubilee year) had the audacity to renew the Lord's call--and they were joined by Pope John Paul II, who, from an Irish half-Catholic's point of view, may have had a more direct line to the Almighty."
This is a book to stir people to action by man who, the publisher notes, "has brought about tremendous change--billions of dollars in debt relief have been forgiven and thousands of lives have been saved. But more than that, he has opened our eyes to the dignity, beauty, and strength of this continent. His eloquence when speaking about Africa at the National Prayer Breakfast inspired this book. My hope is that it will inspire you as well."
This is a book that does stir people to action, that ought to be read by people who want ideas on how to use their time and money to solve major problems facing the world. Bill Clinton, active in raising money and public consciousness for African relief in the years since he left the White House, describes this book as "Inspirational words from a man of faith and action. Bono's message is one of unparalled hope and challenge. He goes where others don't and makes us want to follow."
A rock star as an international moral leader? It is an unusual concept to be sure. But Bono says, "When churches started deomonstrating on debt, governments listened--and acted. When churches started organizing, petitioning, and even that most unholy of acts today, God forbid, lobbying on AIDS and global health, governments listened and acted.
"I'm here (at the National Prayer breakfast) today in all humility to say: you changed minds; you changed policy; you changed the world.
"Look, whatever thoughts you have about God, who God is or if God exists--most will agree that if there is a God, God has a special place for the poor. In fact, the poor are where God lives."
Bono notes the intense interest in poverty in the scriptures. "It's not a coincidence that in the Scriptures, poverty is mentioned more than 2,100 times. That's a lot of airtime, 2,100 mentions." He praises our country for doubling aid to Africa, tripling funding for global health, putting 900,000 people onto life-saving anti-viral drugs and providing 11,000,000 bed nets to protect children from malaria.
"Outstanding human achievements. Counterintuitive. Historic. Be very, very proud. But here's the bad news. There is much more to do. There's a gigantic chasm between the scale of the emergency and the scale of the respons. And finally, it's not a questions about charity after all, is it? It's about justice."
Bono works to incite his audience to action. "But justice is a higher standard. Africa makes a fool of our idea of justice. It makes a farce of our idea of equality. It mocks our pieties; it doubts our concern; it questions our commitment."
This is book that is moving, provocative, and insightful. The greater its audience, the greater will be the world's response to one of the great international challenges of our time.
A sense of longing.......2007-08-28
I saw this book this spring and knew I had to buy it. One, because Bono is someone I admire greatly. Of course I am bummed that the speech in this book was delivered at the 2006 National Prayer Breakfast, and seeing as how I have strong connections with the organizers I'm sad I didn't actually get to be there. Two, because I had saved this speech on my computer but never took the time to read the whole thing. And three because while I read it I had an immediate longing to go to Africa. To go there and knowingly have my heart broken, but knowing God's heart is breaking when a baby is born into poverty. To experience the pain and heartache, but also the joy that is thriving in these people.
Inspiring........2007-07-16
I found this book to be interesting, inspiring, heartbreaking and wonderful. As usual Bono is well spoken, deliberate, engaging and to the point.
Book Description
Wouldn't you love to abolish the IRS. . . .
Keep all the money in your paycheck. . . .
Pay taxes on what you spend, not what you earn. . . .
And eliminate all the fraud, hassle, and waste of our current system?
If so, the FairTax is for you!
A smash #1 New York Times bestseller from the moment it went on sale, The FairTax Book launched a massive grassroots movement across the country with its dramatic call to rid Americans of the punishing burden of income tax. Talk-radio firebrand Neal Boortz and Congressman John Linder are leading the charge to replace the current tax system with the FairTax -- a simple 23 percent retail sales tax on new goods and services that would eliminate the reviled IRS and replace it with a system that's fair to all -- while jump-starting the U.S. economy, bringing businesses and jobs back to our shores, and recapturing billions of untaxed dollars currently lost to criminal and offshore businesses. Americans would get to keep 100 percent of their hard-earned paycheck . . . and April 15 would become just another beautiful spring day.
Endorsed by scores of leading economists -- and gaining momentum in both the House and the Senate -- the FairTax Plan could revolutionize the way America pays for itself. Here -- revised and updated, with a new afterword by the authors -- is the straight-talking book that started it all.
Download Description
"
Wouldn't you love to abolish the IRS ...
Keep all the money in your paycheck ...
Pay taxes on what you spend, not what you earn ...
And eliminate all the fraud, hassle, and waste of our current system?
Then the FairTax is for you. In the face of the outlandish American tax burden, talk-radio firebrand
Neal Boortz and Congressman
John Linder are leading the charge to phase out our current, unfair system and enact the FairTax Plan, replacing the federal income tax and withholding system with a simple 23 percent retail sales tax on new goods and services. This dramatic revision of the current system, which would eliminate the reviled IRS, has already caught fire in the American heartland, with more than six hundred thousand taxpayers signing on in support of the plan.
As Boortz and Linder reveal in this first book on the FairTax, this radical but eminently sensible plan would end the annual national nightmare of filing income tax returns, while at the same time enlarging the federal tax base by collecting sales tax from every retail consumer in the country. The FairTax, they argue, would transform the fearsome bureaucracy of the IRS into a more transparent, accountable, and equitable tax collection system. Among other benefits, it will:
- Make America's tax code truly voluntary, without reducing revenue
- Replace today's indecipherable tax code with one simple sales tax
- Protect lower-income Americans by covering the tax on basic necessities
- Eliminate billions of dollars in embedded taxes we don't even know we're paying
- Bring offshore corporate dollars back into the U.S. economy
Endorsed by scores of leading economists and supported by a huge and growing grassroots movement, the FairTax Plan could revolutionize the way America pays for itself. In this straight-talking book,
Neal Boortz and
John Linder show you how it would work -- and how you can help make it happen.
"
Customer Reviews:
More for the rich.......2007-10-17
"THOSE WHO CHOSE PARENTS WISELY MAY TAKE CREDIT FOR SUCCESS; OTHERWISE, IT'S ALL FORTUNE."wlf
The FAIR TAX is another method used to further enrich the wealthy and change OUR GOVERNMENT INTO AN ARISTOCRACY.
If a family is bringing in millions of dollars and purchases only necessities, its Power (money) grows rapidly. After it accumulates a large amount (money) it can purchase vast capital (machinery, land, buildings) at once and have true Power over many people. That is an oligarchy (the conservatives are working to attain it and dismantle the New Deal), which can turn into an aristocracy. Inheritance to those who do not deserve such largesse promulgates that dangerous threat to our form of government. As clearly shown by George W Bush, inheritors can wreak terrible damage on this country.
Progressive taxation, instituted by judicious leaders, has a prime purpose of keeping the WEALTH GAP at a reasonable level to prevent revolution by those unable to take part in our country's bonanza. That developing bloodbath today is obvious in our criminal class, which, due to most citizens' greed and selfishness, lives the only way it knows how, as predators.
If you want a country of SERFS AND MASTERS, then work for the `Fair Tax.' It will arrive quickly unless a vigorous progressive tax is resumed to slow the flow of too much wealth to the already affluent.
For everyone.......2007-10-06
Yes, it's a book on economics and taxes, but Mr. Boortz helps to make it an entertaining and easily understood book. While it pretty much explains the theory of the fair tax in full and is a great place to start, it's a good idea to do your own research into the fair tax, studying the pros and cons. Just be sure that you understand the basics, or else you may get confused by anti-fair tax information that gets an idea wrong or blatantly lies...
The Cure for a Disease Known as Income Taxes.......2007-10-03
In this book, Boortz and Linder discuss the abolishment of the income tax. Under this system, wages would not be taxed at all. As an alternative to raise revenue for the government, they propose a national sales tax. The goal is revenue neutral so that same amount of revenue would be collected to run the government.
This would allow the individual to choose when they paid tax. So those who save and invest money rather than spending all of it, would come out much better.
The proposed sales tax rate would be around 23%. While this may sound high, one should keep in mind that no tax would have been withheld from his or her paycheck. For example, say that the average household income for America which is approximately $40,000 a year were not taxed. This would mean the Joneses get to take home all $40,000 of that hard earned income. As it stands today, they are probably only taking home around $32,000 assuming a 20% income tax rate and not considering state, Social Security, or Medicare taxes.
As a component of the national sales tax, they propose that a certain poverty level determination of say $10,000 which would be considered the bare minimum for a person to survive on and each person would receive a "prebate" of $2,300 per year paid in monthly installments. This would significantly help those on the low end of the income spectrum and actually result in additional money to spend on essentials such as food, clothing, and housing. It would also avoid the potential disparities which could occur with a food exemption if the wealthy purchased steak and lobster or other such expensive food items.
Additionally, it would take many of the inefficiencies out of the current system in that each time there is a touch on producing a good or service, income tax is charged. For example, when you buy a loaf of bread, the business who produced the seeds, the farmer who grew the wheat, the mill, the bakery, the trucking company, and the grocery store all pay income tax on their portion of the bread production. By taking the income tax away, the loaf of bread would subsequently be much cheaper (estimated around 25%) from the reduction of built in income tax for a product. (This assumes that businesses will not pay income tax. There would be many rules set up to prevent people setting up "businesses" to evade taxes.)
The Fair Tax also has the benefit of helping prevent tax evasion. Under the current system, there are millions upon millions of dollars of unreported income every year which are not taxed. This could occur in anything from illegal trades such as selling drugs on the street to the legal trades of wait staff or any industry in which cash is used to pay for goods or services but not reported. Every time these dollars were spent by the individuals, however, they would be taxed so this revenue which is currently lost would be collected.
It would additionally get rid of the estimated $265 billion spent annually to comply with the tax code. This is not to mention the 100s of thousands of hours that would be freed up to engage in more productive and enjoyable pursuits.
Economists estimate that in the first year of its implementation the economy would grow by 10.5%. Foreign companies would also have incentive to build factories in the U.S. to take advantage of the eliminated inherent cost included as mentioned in the bread example.
I think that this is a really great idea and hope that it is implemented one day. To learn more about it and see if your congressperson supports it or not, go to FairTax.org.
Fair Tax.......2007-09-29
Excellent reading to get yourself ready to defend the concept when it is attacked by the tax and spend crowd in Washington. It is a quick read and makes a great deal of sense.
A plan for the rich (1.5 *s).......2007-09-23
If you want a fundamental principle of government/society discussed with right-wing, shock-radio bluster, this is your book. Though a congressman is the co-author, the book is simply a continuation of the rant that has been heard daily on a local radio station in Atlanta for over thirty years. We learn early in the book that the passage of the Sixteenth Amendment in 1913 enabling the collection of income taxes is akin to the devastation of Pearl Harbor or the destruction of the World Trade Center on Sept 11, 2001. The IRS is no less than the enemy of the people, fulfilling a Marxian prophecy. You get the general idea.
One would like to think that anyone proposing a fundamental overhaul of our taxation system would first lay out a philosophy of taxation, which must be consistent with a broader philosophy of society and government. You won't find that in this book. The principal author has consistently exhibited a decided lack of social concern and understanding.
The so-called fair-tax is a twenty-three percent consumption tax in lieu of apparently all other federal level taxes: income, dividends, social security, Medicare, corporate, etc. [State taxes don't seem to be addressed.] It has long been held that the wealthy in a nation should pay taxes at a higher rate than ordinary citizens. The wealthy benefit far more than most from government. In fact they have a huge advantage over the rest of us by having an overwhelming say in the choice of those who occupy governmental offices and the consequent setting of policies and decisions. In essence, the rich get richer. They should pay for that largesse.
Consumption taxes are by far the most regressive of taxes that can be imposed. The median earner in this nation spends every dollar on necessary items. The rich do not. In fact a large portion of their income goes towards investments and wealth production. By exempting income, dividends, and interest from taxation, the so-called fair tax would simply exacerbate a tax scheme already weighted to the rich. The tax rate for the rich would plummet; for the poor suckers taken in by the fair-tax scheme, their tax rate would maximize.
The one thing that the book gets right is the necessity of changing the tax system. The loop holes for the rich are disgraceful. The idea that corporations don't really pay taxes is certainly a reality. The book complains about class warfare, not about the one that the powerful have been waging for decades. But the one where the ordinary citizen wants the powerful to get the boot off of his or her neck. But then that merely reflects where the hearts of the author are.
The fair-tax scheme proposed is utterly useless. It seems to assume that consumption is definitive of life - there is no larger context with greater significance and ramifications. For example, issues of power. Usually schemes such as this get a bit of a spike in public interest when first proposed, appealing to ideologues and the ignorant. Fortunately, there usually is no staying power. The length of the attention spans is commensurate with the depth of the knowledge of those jumping on the bandwagon.
Customer Reviews:
Get the 7th edition, instead........2007-09-13
This is an older edition of the book. Get the newer, seventh edition. The ISBN for the 7th edition is 0321451341.
An important and useful text for understanding trade theory.......2006-02-27
Krugman and Obstfeld, two world renowned international economists, provide a full detailed analysis and examples for the basis of trade among nations. It is relatively straightforward to comprehend for both economists and noneconomists. International trade is an important component of economic policy for the growth and development of countries. This book examines various theoretical trade models and provides real world examples of policy formulation and their impact. The authors do not take any political positions, thus making their analysis a purely objective, or positive study.
I would highly recommend this book to students interested in doing research in international trade and development. It is a must read for prospective international economists. Noneconomists might also find it as a useful reference. I found the book to be invaluable in my graduate research and dissertation.
Krugman.......2006-02-25
Some complicated theories explained in a way that can be understood.
Esay flow from a concept to the next.
Not What I've Come to Expect from Krugman.......2005-04-03
First off, even if you totally discount the rest of my review, buy the low price international version of this book. On the March 10, 2005 episode of the daily show Krugman elucidated his feelings quite clearly. "The real money is in textbooks. With other books, people need to decide whether to buy them or not. Students have to buy textbooks." Thanks Paul. I think I'm being charitable when I say that at $125 this book is a ripoff. It isn't even full color.
Anyway, on to the actual content of the book. I have to say that I was excited when I found out that my International economics course at Stanford was going to be using Paul Krugman's book. I've enjoyed his articles for the New York Times because they manage to cut right to the core of issues with an unusual amount of punch. Yet, time and time again I was disappointed with the frequently inpenatrable language and obtuse, unrealistic examples in this book. Unfortunately, the only part of Krugman's characteristic writing style that came through was a feeling of overwrought vitriol, which makes sense in an op-ed but has little place in a textbook. Furthermore, this book occupies a strange niche in the world of econ texts, it is not mathematically rigorous, nor is it well written. Usually we see one or the other but rarely both. Initially, I thought these observations were mine alone, but other students began openly voicing pointed criticisms of the book during class (and I am perhaps being too kind here in not repeating them). I've been in school nearly as long as I can remember and I have never seen such discontent with a text.
During the second half of the course even my econ prof became fed up and abandoned the book altogether. Given that, I find all of the positive reviews for this book rather astounding. My suspicion is that there might have been open rebellion amongst my classmates had not the professor decided to leave this text by the wayside. I also found that it is brimming with misplaced, one-sided arguments that come across as Krugman blatantly strawmanning arguments opposed to his own. One of many examples of this comes out of nowhere near the end of chapter 2. Krugman implies that anyone who doesn't believe in unmitigated free trade is intellectually irresponsible!?! This book pushes for unrestrained market fundamentalism throughout, primarily by misrepresenting any arguments that would effectively challenge it's simplistic and seemingly outdated dogma. This book, in particular, feeds into the same system of self serving scientism so prevalent in economics for the last 60 years.
Please don't mistake this review as the bile of a jilted student, I did quite well in the course. However, this is almost certainly the result of looking for alternative explanations of virtually every topic covered. The reason this book gets one star instead of two is because it lacks a lot of the modern learning tools prevalent in almost every other textbook. Things like quality questions, keywords, vocabulary and historical context all get short shrift in this this volume. If you're into learning about incomplete models that only represent a theoretical version of the world, this book is for you. Unfortunately, just like Krugman said on The Daily Show, if you are a student there is probably little chance that you have a choice on the matter. Buy the cheap international edition for 20 bucks. I would recommend that you use to the difference to buy William Easterly's Elusive Quest for Growth...and a beer.
The Undergraduate International Economics Standard.......2004-06-29
Well, I will start off by saying that the book really probably only deserves somewhere between 4-4.5 stars, but I'll give it 5 to offset some of the questionable reviews below.
No, the book is not perfect. However, it is an academic standard at pretty much any major college or university for teaching undergraduate International Econ/Trade theory, and for good reason. The book makes a clear a concise presentation of basic theory and policy, perhaps in points it is a little too simple. As pointed out, while I'm not sure about the 6th edition, there were some diagrammatical mistakes in the 5th...I bet, however, these were done by a graduate student. A quick bit of reasoning and a second of thought should yield the appropriate picture, however. And yes, I think a bit of Krugman's bias comes through, though its not terribly off-putting.
The book could use a bit more math I think. The real equations and difficult problems are few and far between, and are, for the most part, pretty straight forward. At the very most it would take a basic understanding of calculus, but the majority of the problems and equations can be explained and done without it. I have read a number of undergraduate economics books with far more intensive math. Despite this lack, however, the intentions come across pretty well.
No, this book is not for beginners to economics. At least an undergraduate course or reading in both micro and macro are needed, and really and truly, an intermediate level in each is probably better if one wants to get the most out of the book.
If you find the subject matter within to be terribly math intensive and you cannot get motivated to read the subject matter because it doesn't use "pizza and beer" (and um...I don't think I'd want an imported pizza anyway, but thanks), well I guess the subject and this book are not for you. However, if you are trying to enrich your understanding of economics at a very basic level, this book provides a good way to do so.
And, if you want graduate level book, and like Obstfeld, I recommend he and Rogoff's book.
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