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The Big Con: The True Story of How Washington Got Hoodwinked and Hijacked by Crackpot Economics
by Jonathan Chait

The Big Con: The True Story of How Washington Got Hoodwinked and Hijacked by Crackpot Economics Cover

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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

'A brilliantly revealing look at how a small group of economic hucksters have taken over the American political system and perverted our nation's policies

American politics has been hijacked. Not by "neocons" or "theocons," but by a fringe group of extremists obsessed with radical ideas that favor no one but themselves and their business interests. With dark and engaging wit, Jonathan Chait shows how these canny zealots gamed the political system and the media so that once unthinkable policies--without a shred of academic or expert support--now drive the American agenda, regardless of which party is in power.

Why did these ideas succeed in Washington? How did they take control of policy and sell short the country's future? And how do they continue to do so? Chait tells the outrageous and eye-opening story, expertly explaining just how politics and economics work in Washington. Through vivid portraits of self-interested politicians and pseudo-economists, and in wry analysis of their bogus theories, Chait gives us the tools to understand what's really behind economic debates in Washington: a riveting drama of greed and deceit.'

Review:

"'The author, a senior editor at the New Republic, is best known for declaring 'I hate President George W. Bush' in 2003. This book traces the roots of his dislike back 30 years, when supply-side economics took over the Republican Party and made cutting taxes the GOP answer to all political and economic questions. 'American politics has been hijacked by a tiny coterie of right-wing economic extremists,' Chait declares, 'some of them ideological zealots, others merely greedy, a few of them possibly insane.' To which he adds, 'the Republicans' success at defeating the democratic process explains why it has been able to enact its agenda despite a lack of popular support.' The rhetoric is inflammatory, but the case is laid out with clarity. Chait claims that traditional Republicans, religious people and social, fiscal and foreign policy conservatives have been cheated as much as liberals, and that unparalleled corruption and ruthless cynicism in Washington and the timidity of nonpartisan media allow the minority to rule. His analysis should appeal to anyone interested in politics, though many may find the style too irritating to endure. (Sept. 12)' Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Synopsis:

Through vivid portraits of self-interested politicians and pseudo-economists, and in wry analysis of their bogus theories, Chait gives readers the tools to understand what is really behind economic debates in Washington, in this riveting drama of greed and deceit.
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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
richard.peck, September 11, 2007 (view all comments by richard.peck)
The New Republic just published an excerpt from this book. Having read the article online, I’m definitely going to pick up the book. I thought I had a fair inkling of the cause and progression of arrogance, corruption and greed that has derailed this country in the last 6 years, but the few thousand words I just read have expanded the horizon and taken me back to the origins of that arc in the Reagan administration. My father gave me a copy of Jude Wanniski’s The Way the World Works back in those days, and he had obviously sipped the kool-aid himself. I never read it, but have followed the wacky logic of supply-side/ trickle-down/ voodoo economics from David Stockman, Jarvis/Gann, Jack Kemp and on down through George HW's “read my lips” and the vainglorious insanity of W’s tax-cutting and war-spending disembowelment of the US Treasury. Anyone who wants to know what in the world happened to the fiscal conservatism of the Republican Party will want to read this. Then put these ideas alongside what we know about the rise in influence of the Christian Right to see just how the GOP manages to convince the masses to vote against their own economic interest.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780618685400
Subtitle:
The True Story of How Washington Got Hoodwinked and Hijacked by Crackpot Economics
Author:
Chait, Jonathan
Publisher:
Houghton Mifflin Company
Location:
Boston
Subject:
Conspiracy & Scandal Investigations
Subject:
Political corruption
Subject:
Lobbying
Subject:
Government - U.S. Government
Subject:
Public Policy - Economic Policy
Subject:
Popular Culture
Publication Date:
September 2007
Binding:
Hardcover
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
294
Dimensions:
8.58x5.82x1.04 in. 1.01 lbs.
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