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Government policy and the Obama administration are driving the American economy straight toward catastrophe. Now, two respected economists–one a Republican, one a Democrat–explain why these policies are so dangerous and offer a bipartisan, common-sense blueprint for reversing America’s economic decline.
Glenn Hubbard and Peter Navarro explain why sustained growth is the only long-term solution, outline the elements of a vibrant economy, and explain why current policies are failing on every level. They reveal how we can finally restore the critical U.S. manufacturing base…return to our tradition of sound money…transform tax policy into an engine of growth and innovation…save Social Security and Medicare with “tough love”…use market-based solutions to achieve real energy independence…reform antique financial regulations without making matters worse...and balance our burgeoning budget deficits with strong economic growth rather than through punitive taxation.
Whatever your politics, if you’re frightened about the future, you should be. This book shows how we can grab the steering wheel, veer away from the cliff, and build a brighter economic future for everyone.
* Short-term stimulus, long-term disaster
Why massive federal spending and ultra-easy money policies spell long-term disaster
* Planting the new seeds of growth and innovation
How to restore America to the path of long-term prosperity
* Addressing the structural imbalances destroying the U.S. economy
Re-igniting the #1 driver of growth: business investment
Foreword
About the Authors
Introduction: The White House Plants Its Seeds of Destruction 1
Part I Getting from Seeds of Destruction to Seeds of Prosperity 7
Chapter 1 America's Four Growth Drivers Stall and Our Economy Stagnates 9
The GDP Growth Drivers Equation 11
GDP Growth Has Been Well Below Potential Growth 12
The American Consumer's Roller Coaster 15
Where Has All the Business Investment Gone? 19
There's Too Much Government Spending 21
Net Exports Are a Net Negative 25
Conclusion 27
Chapter 2 How to Lift the American Economy with the Ten Levers of Growth 29
Lever One Free Markets Free of Corruption and Monopoly Best Promote Growth 29
Lever Two Free and Fair Trade Helps All Countries Grow 31
Lever Three Entrepreneurship is the Linchpin of Long-Term Growth 33
Lever Four Without Savings, There Can Be No Investment and Growth 34
Lever Five Without a Stable Banking System and Strong Financial Markets, Savings Can't Be Transformed into Investment 35
Lever Six Innovation and Technological Change Matter More Than Machines and Workers 36
Lever Seven "Human Capital" Matters as Much as Physical Capital 38
Lever Eight Oil Price Shocks Stunt the Growth of Oil-Import-Dependent Nations 39
Lever Nine A Healthy Nation Is a Productive and Prosperous Nation 40
Lever Ten A Solid Manufacturing Base Makes for a Strong Economy 41
Part II Fixing America's Destructive Duo: Monetary and Fiscal Policy 47
Chapter 3 Why an Easy-Money Street Is a Dead End 49
The Return of Fed Activism 52
The Maestro or a Bubble Maker? 53
President Obama Crosses the Activist Rubicon 54
The Road to American Prosperity Cannot Be Paved with a Cheap Dollar 57
Where Have You Gone, William McChesney Martin? 60
Chapter 4 Why You Can't Stimulate Your Way to Prosperity 63
From John Maynard Keynes to the Kennedy Tax Cut Revolution 66
Part III Getting the "Big Three" Right: Tax, Trade, and Energy Policy 83
Chapter 5 Why Raising Taxes Lowers America's Growth Rate 85
Ideological Gridlock Over Broad-based Tax Reform 88
From a "Class Tax" to a "Mass Tax" 91
From Double Taxation to Double Whammies 93
Income Tax Evolution or Consumption Tax Revolution? 95
Meeting on the Middle Ground 97
Chapter 6 Why the Best "Jobs Program" May Be Trade Refrom 101
The 2000s: A Decade of Large and Chronic Trade Deficits 103
America's Trade Deficits Cause Inflation and Loss of Political Sovereignty 104
The World's Poster Child for the Modern Protectionist-Mercantilist State 104
China's Great Wall of Protectionism 106
China's Eighteenth Century Mercantilism 111
Chapter 7 Why America's Foreign Oil Addiction Stunts Our Growth 125
How Does America's Oil Import Addiction Harm Our Economy? Let Us Count the Ways 128
Risky Business 130
Moving Toward Forging a Political Consensus on Reducing Oil Import Dependency 132
The Smart Path Embraces Both Soft-and Hard-Path Options 133
The Folly of Energy Independence Redux 136
Achieving a Targeted Reduction in Oil Dependence 137
Why This Proposal Has Economic and Political Merit 140
The Thormy Politics of Oil Import Fees 142
Part IV Good Politics Usually Makes for Bad Economics 147
Chapter 8 Cutting the Gordian Knot of Entitlements 149
The Imperative of an Economic Rather Than Accounting Solution 151
Why Social Security Is Easier to Fix Than Medicare and Medicaid 153
Saving Social Security in Two Easy Pieces 154
Closing the Social Security Spending Gap: What Won't Work 158
Closing the Social Security Spending Gap: What Can Work 161
Forging a Political Consensus 165
Saving Medicare and Medicaid: Mission Impossible? 167
A Flexible and Focused Way Forward 168
Chapter 9 Why ObamaCare Makes Our Economy Sick 173
The Big Health Care Picture 174
Are We Getting What We Are Paying For? 176
ObamaCare Puts the Coverage Cart Before the Cost Horse 178
ObamaCare Provides a Far-Too-Sweet Entitlement 180
Truth or Consequences 181
ObamaCare and the Law of Unintended Consequences 183
Toward a More Market-Driven Health Care System 184
What Can Be Done? 191
Conclusion 192
Part V The American Economy at a Crossroads 197
Chapter 10 How to Prevent Another Financial Crisis--- and Housing Bubble 199
#1 Easy Money 201
#2 Not Enough "Skin in the Game" for American Home Buyers 202
#3 Not Enough "Skin in the Game" for Mortgage Lenders 203
#4 Way-Too-Exotic Mortagages for Borrowers 205
#5 The Mortagage-Backed Securities Meltdown 208
#6 The Collateralized Debt Obligations Credit Rating Debacle 211
#7 A Flawed Insurance Market: Credit Default Swaps 213
#8 Inflexible Bank Capital 216
#9 Too Big to Fail: Last Rites for Financial Dinosaurs 218
#10 A Fragmented and Sectoral Model of Regulation 219
#11 Subsidies for Nonproductive Investment, Taxes for Productive Investment, Taxes for Productive Investment 221
The New Law as the End of the Beginning 222
Chapter 11 How to Implement Our Seeds of Prosperity Policy Blueprint 229
Our Seeds of Destruction Problem 230
Our Seeds of Prosperity Solution 231
Conclusion 248
Index 251
Eaglecrest
Posted November 8, 2010
WOW! this book is 9.99 on Kindle.
Too bad I have a Nook.
Time to download free apps & get these books A LOT cheaper.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted March 22, 2011
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Overview
Government policy and the Obama administration are driving the American economy straight toward catastrophe. Now, two respected economists–one a Republican, one a Democrat–explain why these policies are so dangerous and offer a bipartisan, common-sense blueprint for reversing America’s economic decline.
Glenn Hubbard and Peter Navarro explain why sustained growth is the only long-term solution, outline the elements of a vibrant economy, and explain why current policies are ...