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The Trap: Selling Out to Stay Afloat in Winner-Take-All America

by Daniel Brook

The Trap: Selling Out to Stay Afloat in Winner-Take-All America Cover

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

“Takes dead aim at the conservative economic consensus that has dominated U.S. politics . . . Biting and necessary.”—The American Prospect

In this witty and revealing polemic, journalist Daniel Brook argues that the exploding income gap—a product of the conservative ascendance—is systematically dismantling the American dream, as debt-laden, well-educated young people are torn between their passions and the pressure to earn six-figure incomes.

Rising education, housing, and health-care costs have made it virtually impossible for all but the corporate elite to enjoy what were once considered middle-class comforts. Thousands are afflicted with a wrenching choice: take up residence on Americas financial and social margins or sell out. From the activist who works to give others a living wage but isnt paid one himself, to the universal health-care advocate who becomes a management consultant for Big Pharma, Brook presents a damning indictment of the economic and political landscape that traps young Americans.

Review:

"Twenty-something journalist Brook sees the best minds of his generation scrivening away as corporate lawyers and accountants, and he's furious about it. His fresh and striking pay-gap polemic laments the plight of 'educated, idealistic young people' who must choose whether 'to be a sellout or a saint' — that is, whether to take a lucrative corporate job or to eke out a pauper's existence in creative or nonprofit work. 'The new economic realities,' Brook writes, 'are shaping people's lives, closing off certain career and lifestyle options. They are reducing freedom.' Brook marshals facts and interviews to make his case for 'more egalitarian economic policies.' Decrying recent economic shifts that have widened the chasm between private and public sector employment, he skewers centrist 'New Democrats' as well as usual-suspects such as William F. Buckley and Ronald Reagan. Brook preaches too narrowly to the choir (proclaiming that 'as is plain to see, the conservative philosophy is wrong'), and his solutions are limited to calling for 'truly progressive taxation' and insisting that 'the public sector should pay its professionals more.' Still, many readers will wince in recognition of their work/life compromises. 'Corporate America is riddled with secret dissenters,' Brook notes; he does a real service asking why it must be this way. (June 1)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

About the Author

Daniel Brook is a journalist whose writing has appeared in Harpers, Dissent, the San Francisco Chronicle, and The Boston Globe, among other publications. Brook was a finalist in the 2003 Livingston Awards for Young Journalists and won the 2000 Rolling Stone College Journalist Competition while a student at Yale. He lives in Philadelphia.

Product Details

ISBN:
9780805080650
Subtitle:
Selling Out to Stay Afloat in Winner-Take-All America
Author:
Brook, Daniel
Publisher:
Holt Paperbacks
Subject:
Economic Conditions
Subject:
Social classes
Subject:
Income distribution
Subject:
Cost and standard of living
Subject:
SOC050000
Subject:
Income distribution -- United States.
Subject:
Cost and standard of living -- United States.
Subject:
Economics - General
Subject:
Careers - General
Copyright:
Publication Date:
20080401
Binding:
Electronic book text in proprietary or open standard format
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
288
Dimensions:
8 x 5 x 0.644 in

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The Trap: Selling Out to Stay Afloat in Winner-Take-All America Used Hardcover
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Product details 288 pages Times Books - English 9780805080650 Reviews:
"Publishers Weekly Review" by , "Twenty-something journalist Brook sees the best minds of his generation scrivening away as corporate lawyers and accountants, and he's furious about it. His fresh and striking pay-gap polemic laments the plight of 'educated, idealistic young people' who must choose whether 'to be a sellout or a saint' — that is, whether to take a lucrative corporate job or to eke out a pauper's existence in creative or nonprofit work. 'The new economic realities,' Brook writes, 'are shaping people's lives, closing off certain career and lifestyle options. They are reducing freedom.' Brook marshals facts and interviews to make his case for 'more egalitarian economic policies.' Decrying recent economic shifts that have widened the chasm between private and public sector employment, he skewers centrist 'New Democrats' as well as usual-suspects such as William F. Buckley and Ronald Reagan. Brook preaches too narrowly to the choir (proclaiming that 'as is plain to see, the conservative philosophy is wrong'), and his solutions are limited to calling for 'truly progressive taxation' and insisting that 'the public sector should pay its professionals more.' Still, many readers will wince in recognition of their work/life compromises. 'Corporate America is riddled with secret dissenters,' Brook notes; he does a real service asking why it must be this way. (June 1)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
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