The Government Racket 2000: All New Washington Waste from A to Z

by Martin L. Gross

List Price:	~~$12.50~~
Average Rating:
Lowest New Price:	$9.00

Editorial Reviews
Book Description
In 1992, Martin L. Gross shocked the nation when he blew the whistle on catastrophic government profligacy in his New York Times bestseller THE GOVERNMENT RACKET: Washington Waste from A to Z. Now he's returned to the scene of the crime and found that things have gotten even worse. He details dozens of new ways Washington has thrown away our hard-earned tax dollars. He details classic pork projects, such as highway projects and ever-delayed, over-budget mass transit systems. He examines politically self-serving radio ads, military junkets and political conventions. He tries to figure out how many billions the government squanders on telephone service. And he shows how we run through $4 billion a year on 127 different youth programs. He revisits the waste and pork he originally exposed-and discovers that little has been done to eradicate it. So he lays out his own blueprint for the twenty-first century, what needs to be done and quickly to create a Washington free of waste and corruption.

Amazon.com
Bestselling author Martin L. Gross updates one of his most popular books, The Government Racket, with The Government Racket 2000. Eight years after his first book, readers won't be shocked to learn that Washington keeps wasting taxpayer dollars. Gross estimates that the federal government fritters away at least $375 billion annually on questionable programs and projects, such as the National Swine Research Center ($13 million), a study on mail-delivery times ($23 million), and the Robert J. Dole Institute at the University of Kansas ($6 million). The book reads like a lengthy newspaper op-ed, full of short paragraphs, colloquial language, and pithy observations. By and large, his recommendations will sound like common sense to those who crave a smaller government or those who just want to know why the Pentagon recently spent $5 million to build a third golf course at Andrews Air Force Base, just outside the District of Columbia. Though Gross sometimes expects readers to be outraged without fully explaining why (he never reveals, for instance, what the National Swine Research Center actually does), he offers some solutions to the problems he cites: cutting the federal cabinet from 14 departments to 9, shutting down entire agencies, and revamping U.S. tax policy, among others. The Government Racket 2000 is like the report of a government-wide inspector general committed to reducing the size and scope of the federal bureaucracy. --John J. Miller

Customers who bought this item also bought

All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5 out of 5 stars

One of my favorite books, 2008-01-29
This is a great book. I wish someone would actually implement even a fraction of this book. Gross has come out with several great books in this vein: Government racket 2000 and beyond, The Tax Racket, Political Racket and A Call for Revolution. Each one of them is a masterpiece and the should be required reading for every elected official in both parties. Gross has done his research and it is sad that Clinton, Bush and probably the next President won't put much, if any, into place. He shows that the budget could be balanced and our taxes could be reduced without a loss of quality of government care.

Mr. Gross, PLEASE update this book. You were ahead of your time.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4 out of 5 stars

A great reference book, but probably not readable, 2002-12-11
I bought this book because of the first edition published in 1993, which I used extensively in writing my cases for debate tournaments in high school. As for just regular reading material, I would not recommend it. I can not imagine just reading this book all the way through just for the fun of it, but it does make a great reference for all of those high school debaters out there looking for wasteful programs to cut to fund their cases. Outside of that, I don't see much use for the book.

19 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5 out of 5 stars

Essential to freedom, 2000-04-05
Martin Gross updates his 93 bestseller with a treasurehouse of new outrages and rock solid statistics. Read this book and then insist on givinig what you've learned to anyone that might listen. Including GWB. Don't bother sharing this with Gore voters. They enjoy being fed a diet of sewage,

Anyone that reads this and comes away sanguine about the rathole of waste and excess in Washington deserves their serfdom.

On another front, do click over to "Transfer" by Jerry Furland. Another honest author toiling in the vineyards for all of us.

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5 out of 5 stars A must read for democrats, republicans and independents, 2000-03-11
Gross identifies stunning, pathetic, and gargantuan excesses by our Federal Government. Worse, he explains in terms that anyone can understand the lies and corruption of Republicans and Democrats alike to "cook the books" in their politically motivated quest to proclaim America has a "balanced budget."

Concrete descriptions of duplicate government programs and massive inefficiencies abound in the book, so much so that examples for less than a billion dollars seem inconsequential. Moreover, Gross explains many of the underlying reasons for government waste and offers various pragmatic solutions for reducing and eliminating the waste without materially impacting public services.

Everyone who votes needs to read this book and then march on Washington, 60's style, and demand massive reforms. And when better than during this, a presidential election year.

11 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3 out of 5 stars Shocking Revelations Of On Going Government Waste!, 2000-02-28
To some extent this book is a re-hash of old stories about government waste,however,many are new revelations.....You may be numbed to the waste in government....But I did find it very interesting.Worth a read.Paperback price makes it appealing as well.

Price is accurate as of the date/time indicated. Prices and product availability are subject to change. Any price displayed on the Amazon website at the time of purchase will govern the sale of this product.