international

The mix, Mr. Petersen argues, may become a disastrous witch's brew with catastrophic results both for the domestic economy and the continued well-being of the American people. He saves his most strident criticism for the style of morally questionable leadership currently in vogue, a reckless world view that seems to shamelessly trade immediate and permanent tax cuts for the very wealthy for a mounting tidal wave of debt for our children and their heirs. In detailing his grievances with current policies, Petersen cites a series of common partisan myths, including the notion that the majority of the elderly are poor, that more elderly than children are poor, that Americans are over-taxed, that providing tax cuts for the rich can successfully shrink government, and that imposing so-called "means-testing" for federal benefits will be catastrophic for the needy.

The author places the majority of the blame for our current set of problems upon the shoulders of a variety of forces within contemporary society, from interest groups and their lobbies to an almost pathological concern with short-term results, to the cult of individualism we all seem to suffer from, and, of course, to generational change. He views a number of strategies as potentially helpful in abating the negative set of circumstances we are ensconced in; indexing social security benefits to prices rather than wages, extending health care to all using the plan offered to federal employees as a model, and forcing Congress to include unfunded retirement obligations in the balance sheet (thus ending the thirty five year old sham of never mentioning to the American people the reason we have such a serious shortfall in social security funds in the out-years is because the federal government has consistently and quite deliberately violated the provisions of the Social Security law by spending the extra funds collected every year rather than investing them in accordance with federal law and allowing the investment income to grow). This is an interesting and thought-provoking read, and one that is sure to be the topic of continuing debate. Enjoy

This extraordinary book should be read in tandem with Lewis H. Lapham's "Gag Rule" and perhaps also William Greider's "The Soul of Capitalism" as well as Jonathan Schell's "Unconquerable World."

I find it extraordinary to have the Chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations, which I have always considered to be an old man's club of established elites, largely out of touch with 80% of the real world (that is to say, the 80% that has almost nothing in the way of wealth, health, or rights), step up to the plate and speak truth.

This book addresses the second core issue in America's future, i.e. the twin deficits that are not only going to kill the business of America, but also deprive the children of America of their future. (Lapham addresses the first: restoration of honest democracy). In combination, the $7 trillion deficit in federal spending, and the $500 billion a year trade deficit, with roughly $2 billion in foreign loans being required every single day to keep America afloat, both suggest that we are snorting political cocaine and every one of us is a damn fool for allowing two political parties to get away with selling us down the river.

As the author points out in the Preface, when the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cautions its own master, the USA, that it is in danger of becoming an insolvent Third World country, running up bills that "would require an immediate and permanent 60 percent hike in the federal income tax, or a 50 percent cut in Social Security and Medicare benefits," we cannot say we have not been warned.

The author is balanced, focused, deliberative, and earnest. He carefully explains how both the "mainstream" political parties have completely abdicated all responsibility, and completely betrayed the public interest in their eagerness to sell legislation to the highest corporate bidders.

There is one grievous flaw in the book. In concluding that we can only survive by educating ourselves and then finding our voice, the author neglects to address the fast means of achieving short-term fiscal recovery in tandem with campaign finance and electoral reform: the elimination of subsidies, tax fraud, and tax relief for corporations. We have close to a trillion in unwarranted and unsound subsidies to poor agricultural, fisheries, forestry, and minerals programs where every dollar in subsidy is yielding high long-term costs to the taxpayer citizen; we have over $50 billion a year in documented import-export tax fraud ($25 rocket engines going out, $3000 toothbrushes coming in--advanced money laundering and tax avoidance); finally, the corporate share of federal tax revenue has dropped from 32% to 6% in the past twenty years, with corporations like Halliburton paying $15M in taxes on billions in profit--easy to fix: pay taxes on the profit declared to the stockholders.

This is a serious and important book, and it also helps explain why the election of 2004 does not really offer America any choices. Both candidates are from Yale's Skull and Bones, and neither of them is likely to confront the Wall Street elite and betray their secret society. As the author points out, both Democrats and Republicans have betrayed the people of America--the individual voter-constituents, and absent a popular revolt that demands a coalition government committed to electoral and campaign finance reform, I see nothing but trouble ahead as the America Republic continues to fail, and the American charade grows in its dangerous totalitarian and elitist manifestation.