There is no single path to reawakening American prosperity with which all Economists fully agree. Most would agree that there are many, many variables which impact the economy. One approach is to returning to prosperity is described in this book by Jeffrey Sachs. Another approach is described in Arthur Laffer's "Return to Prosperity: How America Can Regain Its Economic Superpower Status" which I just completed. Both are relatively recent, and both discuss the importance of and the impacts of cutting taxes. Both men are recognized in their field, and both have practical experience in advising government officials on economic issues. Laffer, in advising President Reagan, and a proponent of supply side economics, and Sachs, in advising several Latin American countries, as well as leaders in China and India, two rapidly developing economies.

While Sachs book seems to include a few more statistics than the Laffer book, and and preaches a little more on social issues. In addition, one key difference between the two books is that Sachs includes a fairness element to his economic views, and hopes to promotes a policy which leads to a more compassionate society as part of his economic proposals. Accordingly, he discusses the social inequity of some of the pure Libertarian ideas as well as some of the policies of the Tea Party. One point which distinguishes his views from the more conservative Laffer book is that he emphasizes the need for the top 1% of wage earners in the U.S. to step up and pay more in taxes, describing why this is both fair and necessary. The point Sachs makes is that Laffer's supply side economics and tax cuts have been the basic policy since the 1980's, which has resulted in increasing national debt, increasing deficits, increased wealth of the top 1% of wage earners, and stagnation of the middle class. Sachs' point is that these policies haven't proved to be as beneficial as promised, the gloom and doom predictions of minor tax increases have not been borne out in practice, and he urges that the policies he is recommending be adopted. ( )

Disturbing book about our political system congress

Great book-I think I understand US politics now! ( )

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a better understanding of what happened to America and is interested in positive suggestions for making changes and improvements. Economist, Jeffrey D. Sachs, did an outstanding job of describing the situation and laying out suggestions for changes that must be made in the years ahead. ( )

This is an excellent book that I highly recommend. It has a liberal bent to it but it really takes no prisoners in terms of assigning blame for our current state of affairs. It uses data to support its' thesis. What works best is a combination of government and free markets to address our American economic and social needs. It shows that since the Reagan presidency, the top 1% have doubled their share of both net income and net worth. It also says that our current relationship between Wall Street and Washington does not reflect the will of the people. It many cases the media does little to question that relationship. One telling point. We constantly hear that our 35% corporate income tax is the 2nd highest in the developed world. What is never said when this is mentioned is that the actual rate that is paid as a % of Gross Domestic Product(DNP) is the lowest in the developed world. The actual rate is not the real rate!!! Why doesn't the media point this out when this come up? The bottom line is that this is a book that should be read. You may not agree with the basic assumptions and premises but it should get you thinking about what is needed to get our leaders to reflect the will of the majority of the people. ( )