Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.
Loading... A Country That Works: Getting America Back on Trackby Andy Stern
None Loading...
Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. I know that Andy Stern has some good ideas, and that labor needs to be realistic in the age of globalization, but I didn't find this book to be inspiring, and that's what one looks for in a book about organized labor. Maybe I'm too idealistic, but I just happen to feel like labor has already compromised enough. The fact remains that the rich are benefiting handsomely in this economy, and the poor aren't even breaking even. Real wages are declining, and Stern keeps looking to compromise. Some relationship (like the one between management and labor) are bad for a reason. ( ) no reviews | add a review
Andy Stern, one of the most visionary leaders in America today, has fought relentlessly to ensure that Americans' hard work is rewarded in today's hypercompetitive, globalized world. As the newsmaking president of the fastest-growing, most dynamic union in America, he has led the charge for modernizing the "house of labor" -- taking unions out of the past and into the twenty-first century. He has spearheaded the campaign against the "Wal-Marting" of jobs and has innovated transformative solutions to the daunting problems facing Americans, from job insecurity to runaway health care costs. In this powerful critique and call-to-arms, he offers a revelatory dissection of the gathering threats to our standard of living -- threats that our politicians have failed utterly to address -- and he puts forth a bold, unassailable plan for making vital reforms. In his eye-opening diagnosis that makes the urgency of the threats vividly clear, Stern shows that Americans are contending with the most disruptive economic upheaval in the world economy since the Industrial Revolution. Yet, in the face of this daunting challenge, the American system simply isn't working well enough for most of us. Stern powerfully portrays how with the pace of globalization relentlessly quickening, the competitive pressures on our jobs and quality of life are heating up even more, especially as housing, health care, and oil prices skyrocket. While CEO salaries soar and business and the wealthy are handed plentiful tax shelters, the incomes of both white-collar and blue-collar workers stagnate, leaving most Americans struggling to pay off ever-escalating debt, instead of saving for retirement. The plain fact is that our system is out of whack, serving the interests of the top sliver of the most wealthy while putting the squeeze on the rest of us. Meanwhile, our politicians irresponsibly sidestep the crucial solutions that we so desperately need in order to make sure Americans can move into the twenty-first century with their futures secure. As Stern so persuasively shows, it is time for bold thinking and creative solutions to overhaul a health care system in crisis; correct a tax system rigged in favor of business and the wealthy; revamp our inadequate retirement system; and make truly innovative improvements in education. He presents a set of course-correction reforms so compelling, simple, and achievable that readers will find themselves enraged that they haven't yet been enacted. Americans have a right to expect our government to work for us. Andy Stern shows how we can get things back on track to make sure it does. No library descriptions found. |
Current DiscussionsNone
Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)331.880973Social sciences Economics Labor economics Labour Unions, labour-management bargaining and disputes Labor unions and other organizations History, geographic treatment, biography North America United StatesLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. |