Reclaim American Democracy: Economic Solutions to Dysfunctional Politics
by Werner Neff
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Pub Date Oct 09 2016 | Archive Date Jan 05 2018
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Description
Is America Failing its Democracy?
Is the interest of the American people authentically and ethically represented by our Government? The general public is dissatisfied with politics, yet feels helpless to effect change. Yes, we have allowed our democracy to drift unnoticed into dysfunctional political theater. Preservation of the party line is more important than the well-being of the American people.
In Reclaim American Democracy, I explore critical breakdowns in American politics and encourage the American people to reclaim their democratic rights. We, the people, are fully responsible for change and cannot afford to sit back.
Why Can't America Eliminate Poverty?
My eye-opening theory on poverty traps reveals the hidden betrayal of the American people. The working poor are trapped in a vicious cycle created by politics and policy and held in place by institutional mechanisms. If we do not put an end to these poverty traps quickly, we will create an even greater gap between the rich and poor.
The failure of American social legislation to protect its people is now impacting even the middle class. Inadequate health care coverage drives people into bankruptcy and poverty. The lack of mandatory savings for retirement leaves many citizens struggling in old age.
The minimum wage was created to ensure basic income for the lowest wage earners. Today, employers and politicians lobby and manipulate the minimum wage to keep labor costs low. Without a sufficient minimum wage, foodstamps, Medicaid, and other social programs must fill the gap.
American policy has been ineffective at eliminating poverty.Half of the Federal budget now supports the poor and the elderly all over the country.
Here's the Trap...
Did you know that in the end you are indirectly supporting the bottom line and executive pay of companies who intentionally underpay their employees? Hardworking American people subsidize an insufficient minimum wage with their taxes through government programs. You, the taxpayer, are currently underwriting 200 welfare programs that help prevent people from failing into hunger,homelessness, and poverty.
The Distortion of Democratic Principles
The American political system allows the economic elite and big corporations to influence legislation in the form of lobbying. Lobbyists influence lawmakers to adjust or manipulate economic principles in their favor. Economic conditions increasingly favor the rich.
As American democratic principles are distorted, the priorities of the American people are neglected.
The Voting Paradox
Too many voters are blinded by the American Dream. Struggling citizens vote against their real needs and interests and, in the end, sabotage their own well-being and democratic rights.
Reclaim American Democracy is a vital contribution to the American people. It is a must read for change makers.
Advance Praise
Kirkus Review: "A sober consideration of the decline of American democracy.
After a hotly disputed presidential election, there’s been much discussion about the fundamental health of the democratic process in the United States. Neff (Vision for America, 2014), an economist, argues that its legitimacy has been thoroughly compromised. The reason: economic inequality. He begins with an analysis of poverty, and he contends that the lack of a living minimum wage forces a considerable number of people into poverty and drives up taxes by compelling a vast number of government programs. He asserts that higher wages, combined with mandatory health insurance, a government-run pension plan, and some other innovations could alleviate these problems. Neff also criticizes the tax code, saying that the richest people and corporations don’t contribute nearly enough in taxes. He then assesses the United States’ malfunctioning political structures, concluding that a two-party system and the gerrymandering of congressional districts has all but ensured divisive partisanship.
The result of such rigged political and economic systems, he says, is substantive oligarchy, thinly disguised as democratic opportunity: “For some, freedom means manipulating the system and creating opportunities in their favor, as a way to achieve success for themselves,” he notes. “The result will be an unbalanced society that is destroying the democratic system.” Neff’s prose is crystal-clear, even-tempered, and free of the ad hominem attacks that typically infect political tracts. That said, this is certainly a partisan book, although the author does candidly state his liberal point of view. ...
A sensible and refreshingly restrained discussion of the nation’s deficiencies."
Available Editions
| ISBN | 9781478777953 |
| PRICE | $4.99 (USD) |
