by Gerald J. Swanson
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| List Price: | $24.95 |
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| Lowest New Price: | $14.95 |
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Product Description
“One day soon, our government will suddenly run out of cash, unable to meet its payments, leaving the United States as bankrupt as any banana republic. We are far more vulnerable than most Americans realize. . . With a debt of $7.3 trillion, if interest rates were to hit the levels we saw 20 years ago, it would take every nickel collected in income taxes just to pay the interest on our existing debt. There would be no money left for defense, or homeland security, or education, or Social Security.
This scenario is hardly fiction. That the United States of America can literally go broke is no longer a fantasy but likelihood—unless we stop the train now speeding us to Armageddon. If we do not get our financial house in order, and soon, our great nation will collapse under the weight of its financial obligations.
I believe we can prevent the catastrophe. But time is short. In the final reckoning, it’s up to us to do what’s needed to save America’s future.”—from America the Broke
The dirty little secret that neither George W. Bush nor Congress are willing to confront—that America’s reckless spending, disastrous deficits, and exploding debt are speeding our great nation to financial ruin.
Imagine a world in which you lose your job because your company goes under, your retirement money disappears, the value of your home tumbles overnight, your bank stops allowing cash withdrawals, and your ATM card is canceled. The price of groceries has risen so fast that you don’t have the money to pay for them at the check-out counter . . . and the country is bankrupt.
That is exactly the future that economist Gerald J. Swanson sees America hurtling toward—unless we rein in our country’s reckless spending. In America the Broke, Swanson, coauthor of the runaway New York Times bestseller Bankruptcy 1995, argues that the United States is on the brink of financial collapse. Thanks to George W. Bush’s two tax cuts, the White House and Congress’ escalation of domestic spending, two wars, and an economic recession, what was a $200 billion annual surplus three years ago under Bill Clinton has become a river of red ink. The White House’s official projected deficit for 2004 is $521 billion—the largest deficit in U.S. history. With a national debt spiraling upward of $7.3 trillion, a huge trade deficit, and personal debt at an all-time high, we are standing at the edge of a financial abyss that could undermine the financial security of our families and our children’s children.
“Deficits don’t matter,” claim Vice President Dick Cheney and other members of the Bush Administration. But the facts revealed in America the Broke paint an alarming picture.
Next year’s projected deficit will exceed the amount all our cities spend on police, fire protection, medical care, and every other civil service in an entire year. It is more than we could save from abolishing Medicare and Medicaid completely.
The real deficit—the deficit the government doesn’t want you to know about—including the hidden funds we “borrow” from Social Security is nearly $1 trillion.
Rising interest rates alone could trigger staggering payments on our skyrocketing debt, soaking up every dollar the government takes in, leaving America bankrupt.
What does this mean for you and me? If the dollar goes into free fall, banks could close, businesses go bankrupt, real estate values crumble, and middle-class families could lose everything they own.
But there is hope. We can save ourselves—if we demand that our political leaders act now to eliminate the deficit and reduce the debt. In a year of deficit denial, America the Broke is a critical wake-up call regarding our government’s reckless deficit spending—as well as a blueprint for rescuing our economy and saving our country.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 I can get it for you wholesale, 2008-01-27
Well, maybe not wholesale. but certainly for alot less than $64. I picked this book up at the local public library after seeing a complementary reference in a NY Times Sunday Book Review about the current election ho-rah. I read it, was reminded about the dominance of trivialities in American politics. and mused about how I could move to the wilds of Australia.
Oh. You want it cheap? You can still get it direct from the publisher, Currency Books, for the original list price--a fraction of cost offered here.
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
facts and fear, 2006-06-15
The U.S. is obviosly not a closed economy. Right now, the U.S. debt held by foreigners is so great that it is not in their interest to see the dollar fall, nor would it be good for their exports-the 2001 recession wreaked havoc on their exports. The U.S. if it were to go down, would drag much of the world down with it and makes the issue very complex. As of now interest rates are still low, but rising, and the government will not raise interest rates as high as the early 80's because that will throw the economy into recession and burst the housing bubble. Housing prices have never declined in nominal terms and the government knows that high interest rates would kill the mortgage market, dragging down the banks and thus the economy as well. There is a delicate balance to say the least. This book does a good job of presenting the situation, but the scenario will not be so grim. Germany and Japan recovered quickly after they destroyed themselves and the world in WW2, and the U.S. has not gone nearly that far or will it ever.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
 He is right, but it is too late, 2006-03-24
This book is very informative and easy reading. Yes, our government has led this country to a brink of bankrupcy. But what will the people do? Will they really write letters to their congressman and join google and yahoo groups and spend their energy to fix our country? No. Most people will just go on complaining and do nothing. Yes, some people will take civil responsibility and do all the right things as the book suggests, but it is too late. I am just being realistic. Like the author says, every great empire comes to death, and a new one begins. America had it's moment of glory and it got too fat. My point is, just as the politicians are corrupt, most people are also corrupt. No one was forced to use credit cards and get into irresponsible debt. We have only ourselves to blame.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Great introduction to the HUGE problem we face, 2005-12-07
I asked my husband what he thought the most important political issue was, and he said "the deficit." He's a pretty smart guy, and even though I was surprised he didn't say something more "exciting" like abortion, the war, or the environment, I thought I would look into it anyway. I got Swanson's book from the library and just couldn't put it down. Swanson succeeded in enfuriating me with this topic. He writes in a very conversational way that is clear to understand for the beginner. And proved for me that, once again, my husband was right! :)
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
A must read, but how are we to fix it?, 2004-11-15
The author does an excellent job of alerting us to America's fiscal problems, and for those who need a better understanding of them, this is a must read. It is well written and provides realistic scenarios if we fail to fix the system.
But Gerald Swanson describes only the symptom, and like other economists he overlooks the disease (our moneyed political system) and the real cure (public funding of political campaigns). To expect "honesty, responsibility and good government to return to government" is a pipe dream when the fat cats who fund our political elections are paying for just the opposite. What part of "he who pays the piper calls the tune" do we not understand?
Swanson also favors privatizing some of our government functions, and I would agree if we could get private campaign money out of our public electoral system. Private companies can give campaign contributions to control the outcome of their investment; government entities cannot. One need only look at the "privatized" rebuilding of Iraq under Halliburton for evidence of the affects it would have on U.S. taxpayers.
On the health care cost crisis, the author offers only four choices: Raise taxes, reduce benefits, change eligibility guidelines, or continue borrowing to finance Medicare and Medicaid. But there's a fifth and needed action: control the spiraling health care costs which are increasing at double-digit rates! We struggle to find ways of "paying" for health care but continue to allow the medical community to run open loop while building unneeded hospitals, buying excessive numbers of high-tech scanners and ordering medical procedures that are not needed. Physician self referrals have run amok. A single payor health care system is long overdue, but both sides of the isle have been AWOL on the issue and will remain so until the $100 million per year that is given by the medical and pharmaceutical industries is replaced with public funding of campaigns.
That said, this is still a must-read book. But the author and his colleagues must now address the common denominator; the dollar bill. Congressmen are bought and paid for by special interests and they will continue putting them ahead of public interests until the funding of elections is paid for by the taxpayers. For $15 per taxpayer per year we could fund both state and federal elections and eliminate over $2000 per taxpayer per year in government giveaways. Only then will we see balanced budgets, reasonable government spending and a fair tax system. That's a bargain at a hundred times the price.
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