Author, journalist, and Wall Street expert Nomi Prins examines the effects of Republican policies, scandals, and blunders by conducting a guided tour of a typical American wallet. Each chapter matches a wallet item to a set of political topics. The driver's license leads to a discussion of gasoline prices, energy policy, and Iraq; the Social Security card leads out to the administration's efforts to "reform" Social Security by weakening it; the credit card points to bankruptcy legislation and credit card company profits; the health insurance card is a reminder of soaring medical and insurance costs, and the cutting of Medicaid and Medicare, and so on.

Crisscrossing the country to gather the personal experiences of a wide variety of Americans, Prins tells their stories, shows them trying to make ends meet, and questions why the government is failing them. Taken together, these lively, accessible chapters link the "conservative" record to its disastrous effects on ordinary people and tell us what we can do about it.

Former Wall Street insider Nomi Prins can speak with authority about the Bush administration’s financial chicanery. In Jacked, she does that and more, using the inspired approach of matching an item in her wallet to a wide range of political topics. The driver’s license, for example, triggers a discussion of gasoline prices, energy policy, and Iraq; the Social Security card recalls the administration’s phony efforts to “reform” Social Security; the credit card points to anti-consumer legislation and credit card company profits; the health insurance card evokes the critical condition of our health care system. Taken together, these chapters comprise a searing indictment of the Republicans’ dismal record and link it to readers’ everyday concerns. Drawing on real stories from a wide variety of people, Jacked shows exactly how, and why, the government is failing its citizens, and offers smart strategies for change.