by Jared Bernstein
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Product Description
Is Social Security really going bust, and what does that mean to me? If I hire an immigrant, am I hurting a native-born worker? How much can presidents really affect economic outcomes? Why does the stock market go up when employment declines? What's a "living wage?" Why do I feel so squeezed? If you'd like to know the answers to these questions, premier economist Jared Bernstein is here to help. In "Crunch" he answers these as well as dozens of others he has fielded from working Americans by email, on blogs, and at events where he speaks. Chances are if there's a stumper you've always wanted to ask an economist, it's solved in this book.
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Average Customer Review:
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Ecoomic Realities 101 , 2008-08-09
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the facts behind the newspaper headlines. Bernstein doesn't bother with dry theories. He delves right into explanations. The book is worth reading just to debunk some widely believed myths, such as Social Security going bust and benefits of lobbying against technological changes.
Bernsein has made technical information accessible and even humorous. Commenting on a random graph, he writes (p 32): "I kind of see a little doggie running, but that's me."
The key to this book also comes on page 32:
"We're clearly kickin' back, spending money hand over fist, with little regard for what works and for what's cost effective and what's' not."
Although he's writing here about the medical system, this statement also applies to our programs of education, criminal justice, economic development, employment and poverty. Let's face it: societies don't run on scientific or logical principles.
I do have some quibbles about some of Bernstein's specifics and solutions.
To revamp the medical system (I like his term, "Medical Industrial Complex"), Bernstein supports a single payer system like Canada's. I lived in Canada for a few years (although as a certified medico-phobe, I never saw a doctor).
Countries with single payer systems have huge tax rates - higher than 50% at the upper levels. If you're earning $40-45K or more, you may be able to buy a comprehensive policy in the US for less than the additional sums you'd pay in taxes for a single payer system.
Single-payer systems require huge investments of time. I knew someone whose operation kept getting delayed till she got an infection and had to be admitted as an emergency. Others told me they had to return a dozen times for a simple check-up because doctors got paid small amounts for each office visit, whether it took 7 minutes or 70.
Often these systems are supplemented by private care or the overload is handled by paying US providers. I kept hearing about an underground market for health care: for as little as $1000 you could jump the queue.
I would also supplement Bernstein's answer to, "Why are teachers paid a lot less than stock traders?" Value and ability to measure output matter, but so do supply and demand. Desirable jobs pay less. Big companies pay more because they want to choose from a larger applicant pool. Airlines offer very low salaries to flight attendants, but thousands apply.
Of course supply can be controlled artificially, through rigid or even bizarre licensing requirements. Unions also can control supply. Unions tend to be most powerful with employees who feel powerless and/or are just not marketable or in demand. In unionized universities, English professors support unions and finance professors often wish they'd go away. On a micro-level, I would recommend staying marketable, not appealing to unions or waiting for the government to get around to fixing things.
On page 171, Bernstein notes that unions face organized opposition. Folks who have been in unions can be quite cynical too. The combination of dues and a long strike can wipe out financial gains. Union presidents tend to get very close to company presidents, not their own members. Unions make deals and enjoy wide latitude when deciding who they will help and how much, with little real accountability.
Finally, Bernstein addresses the opportunity costs of war. We could make an even stronger case for the opportunity costs of the criminal justice system, which is based on ideology and emotion, not scientific analysis of human behavior.
Overall, though, the book is intended more as a primer than a stimulus to thought or action. For this objective, Crunch is more successful and far more enjoyable than most.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
America's Sick Economy Explained, 2008-07-06
This is a fantastic book. I love the author's no B.S. approach to the economic troubles that face Americans.
He explains why much of today's economic policy is little more than rationalized greed. In particular how the Federal Reserve Board's hiking of interest rates when labor markets get tight is great for the large investor class, (lowers wages by increasing the number of unemployed in a slowed economy), but hammers working people.
I also enjoyed the explanation of the "education myth", how it is naive to think the 70% of the population that does not attend college should somehow do so and all will be well. The author pointed out this is an easy way for the free market apologists to place the blame for gross inequality on "other people"...if only they would do this, or that, they could live worthwhile lives. Right. The devaluing of others labor and the addiction of American business to cheap labor in general is an age old sport.
Mr. Bernstein seems to enjoy poking fun at the free market zealots and economists who think all will be well for everyone through the magic of the market place. As if greed and injustice do not exist. This "Easter Bunny/Santa Claus" economic approach is ripped by the author and I loved every single line. Finally someone from Washington with the guts to tell it like it is.
This was just a great book. Easy to read, and gets to the heart of real issues impacting average Americans. I loved it.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Highly recommended to community library economics shelves , 2008-06-08
Anyone can get a firm handle on the concept of economics claims "Crunch: Why Do I Feel So Squeezed(and Other Unsolved Economic Mysteries)". Speaking in plain terms, cutting away the misleading euphemisms and jargon that the modern media goes on and on with, author Jared Bernstein explains everything one would want to about America's current economic status, and makes it clear that it's all really about choices and that there is no clear cut right answer to make all the problems go away. "Crunch: Why Do I Feel So Squeezed(And Other Unsolved Economic Mysteries" is highly recommended to community library economics shelves and for anyone who wants to fully understand economics without a four year college course in the subject.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
Everything you've wanted to know about the economy but were afraid to ask, 2008-05-10
I've always wondered whether I should believe the pundits who insist on "letting the free market take its course," and about why positive economic indicators don't seem to reflect the way people are really living. It never made sense to me. In Crunch, Jared Bernstein explains that the reason accepted economic wisdom doesn't always make sense is that some of it is just plain wrong.
One of the things I loved about this book is that it explains economic principles--as well as the motives of those who try to misrepresent them for their own purposes--in terms a non-economist can understand. I feel like I got an in on the knowledge that the experts had been hoarding for themselves. One of Bernstein's key arguments is that economics is about power, and in sharing this information he gives power back to those of us without PhDs in Economics.
Another thing I really liked is that this book doesn't stop with what's wrong. The author offers insights about and suggestions for how we can change to work through really big economic problems like health care, social security, and globalization.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
clear tools for understanding where we are and where we're headed, 2008-05-01
Having long ago forgotten my college economics, I've been trying to make sense of the current talk of recession and the various stimulus proposals put out by politicians. Something about the viewpoint expressed by cable news pundits and economic leaders hasn't added up for me, but I couldn't articulate why. Jared Bernstein can and did in his book Crunch. In clear language, he explains how the current squeeze happened and gives the tools for evaluating how various issues--social security, globalization, immigration, and more--affect my pocketbook and what would move us towards, or away from, a fair society.
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