The American Dream vs. The Gospel of Wealth: The Fight for a Productive Middle-Class EconomyNorton Garfinkle paints a disquieting picture of America today: a nation increasingly divided between economic winners and losers, a nation in which the middle-class American Dream seems more and more elusive. Recent government policies reflect a commitment to a new supply-side winner-take-all Gospel of Wealth. Garfinkle warns that this supply-side economic vision favors the privileged few over the majority of American citizens striving to better their economic condition.Garfinkle employs historical insight and data-based economic analysis to demonstrate compellingly the sharp departure of the supply-side Gospel of Wealth from an American ideal that dates back to Abraham Lincoln—the vision of America as a society in which ordinary, hard-working individuals can get ahead and attain a middle-class living, and in which government plays an active role in expanding opportunities and ensuring against economic exploitation. Supply-side economic policies increase economic disparities and, Garfinkle insists, they fail on technical, factual, moral, and political grounds. He outlines a fresh economic vision, consonant with the great American tradition of ensuring strong economic growth, while preserving the middle-class American Dream. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 34
Page 1
... created over 23 million new jobs , an average of more than 2.9 million a year.1 Americans were enjoying an unprecedented level of prosperity . Govern- ment's fiscal house was in order . The federal government. Introduction.
... created over 23 million new jobs , an average of more than 2.9 million a year.1 Americans were enjoying an unprecedented level of prosperity . Govern- ment's fiscal house was in order . The federal government. Introduction.
Page 14
... prosperity . Lincoln thought gov- ernment could and should enhance Americans ' economic free- dom by clearing the path for ordinary Americans to get ahead . The new view saw any government intervention in the economy as a severe ...
... prosperity . Lincoln thought gov- ernment could and should enhance Americans ' economic free- dom by clearing the path for ordinary Americans to get ahead . The new view saw any government intervention in the economy as a severe ...
Page 15
... prosperity . Both contained a rags to riches theme . But the val- ues they represented were fundamentally at odds . Lincoln's American Dream emphasized prosperity and advancement for the ordinary worker . The Gospel of Wealth promoted ...
... prosperity . Both contained a rags to riches theme . But the val- ues they represented were fundamentally at odds . Lincoln's American Dream emphasized prosperity and advancement for the ordinary worker . The Gospel of Wealth promoted ...
Page 16
... prosperity can be es- tablished for all regardless of station , race or creed . " He in- cluded the following among these rights : The right to a useful and remunerative job in the in- dustries or shops or farms or mines of the nation ...
... prosperity can be es- tablished for all regardless of station , race or creed . " He in- cluded the following among these rights : The right to a useful and remunerative job in the in- dustries or shops or farms or mines of the nation ...
Page 17
... prosperity and wealth — a sense that people get what they deserve out of the economy and that government has no busi- ness stepping in to even the odds . Moreover there is in the Bush program a clear rejection of Lincoln's belief that ...
... prosperity and wealth — a sense that people get what they deserve out of the economy and that government has no busi- ness stepping in to even the odds . Moreover there is in the Bush program a clear rejection of Lincoln's belief that ...
Contents
1 | |
12 | |
27 | |
47 | |
4 The Age of Reform | 69 |
5 The Business of America Is Business | 88 |
6 The Renewal of the American Dream | 107 |
7 The New Gospel of Wealth | 144 |
SupplySide vs DemandSide Economics | 163 |
9 The Way Forward | 189 |
GDP Consumption Investment Employment Unemployment and Marginal Tax Rates 19512004 | 201 |
Notes | 205 |
Index | 221 |
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administration aggregate demand Ameri American Dream bank BEST Budget Bureau of Economic Bush tax cuts business investment business owners citizens clear the path consumer decades deficit spending demand-side democracy Democratic economic growth economic policy economists effect Engen and Skinner federal government Federal Reserve fiscal policy G.I. Bill GDP growth Gilded Age Gospel of Wealth Historical Statistics Ibid Income and Product income tax rate increase increasingly industrial inflation Kennedy Keynes Keynesian laissez-faire Lincoln low top marginal major marginal income tax marginal tax rates ment MIDDLE middle-class millions monetary policy National Income neo-Keynesian economics nomic personal consumption political President progress progressive tax prosperity Reagan real growth recession reducing reform Republican role Roosevelt Social Darwinism society stagflation supply-side economics supply-side tax cuts tariffs tax cuts Tax Policy taxpayers tion top marginal income top marginal rate U.S. Department U.S. economy unemployment Union United vision workers WORST York