The Seventeen Solutions: Bold Ideas for Our American Future

by Ralph Nader

Overview

Consumer advocate, activist, humanitarian, and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader is arguably the most provocative and important progressive voice in America today—a fearless reformer whom The Atlantic named one of the 100 most influential figures in American history. In these troubling times of intractable fiscal and social distress, Nader offers a new program to help rescue America: The Seventeen Solutions. His powerful, paradigm-shifting proposals address some of the most pressing concerns in our country today—from corporate crime to tax reform to health care and housing—and they should find a receptive audience not only among liberals, progressives, disillusioned Democrats, Rachel Maddow fans, and Occupy Wall Street supporters, but all concerned Americans.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062083531
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/02/2012
Edition description:	Original
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	5.36(w) x 7.80(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Ralph Nader was recently named by the Atlantic as one of the 100 most influential figures in American history, one of only four living people to be so honored. The son of immigrants from Lebanon, he has launched two major presidential campaigns and founded or organized more than one hundred civic organizations. His groups have made an impact on tax reform, atomic power regulation, the tobacco industry, clean air and water, food safety, access to health care, civil rights, congressional ethics, and much more.

Table of Contents

Introduction xi

1 Fundamental Tax Reform 1

2 Make Our Communities More Self-Reliant 17

3 Give Science and Technology Back to the People 39

4 Protect the Family Unit 69

5 Get Corporations Off Welfare 99

6 Crack Down on Corporate Crime 121

7 Create National Charters for Large Corporations 141

8 Restore Our Civil Liberties 157

9 Use Government Procurement to Spur Innovation 181

10 Reinvest in Public Works 201

11 Reduce Our Bloated Military Budget 223

12 Reengage with Civic Life 249

13 Invent New Tools for Reform 273

14 Organize Congressional Watchdog Groups 281

15 Get Congress to Have Skin in the Game 297

16 Enlist the Enlightened Super-Rich 307

17 Get Back on the Field-Literally 323

"Commencement" 337

Resources 341

Notes 349

What People are Saying About This

William Greider

It will be very good for the country if Nader’s revelations shock a new generation. This book is a subversive primer that should be read in every high school civics class.

Editorial Reviews

Consumer advocate and former presidential candidate Nader shares his progressive, humanitarian ideas for how to improve American lives in an era when corporate profits are skyrocketing, but American workers and their families are poorer than they’ve been in decades. Taking on corporate crime, tax reform, civil liberties, and alternative energy, among other topics, Nader emphasizes how “a shift in power from the few to the many” will lead to more fairness, less corruption, and economic stability. He urges Americans to break the stranglehold of gigantic corporations by cracking down on their subsidies, tax loopholes, and corporate crime. In addition, he advocates for a tax on Wall Street speculation and federal charters for U.S. corporations that would empower shareholders, require companies to observe union rights, and abolish “the legal fiction” that corporations are people. Nader is most effective when he urges Americans to re-engage with civic life, retake control of the public airwaves, and become consumer advocates and congressional watchdogs, and he offers practical advice for doing so. He is less convincing when calling on Congress to impeach the current and former presidents for the unauthorized wars in Libya and Iraq, or when he tries to link the violence in video games to rising youth crime. But overall, Nader’s passionate ideas should resonate with all concerned Americans. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

It will be very good for the country if Nader’s revelations shock a new generation. This book is a subversive primer that should be read in every high school civics class. — William Greider, The Nation

From the Publisher

It will be very good for the country if Nader’s revelations shock a new generation. This book is a subversive primer that should be read in every high school civics class.

William Greider

Third-party presidential contender and environmental activist Nader (Getting Steamed to Overcome Corporatism, 2011, etc.) offers "an attempt to start a new conversation about our problems." In a follow-up to The Seventeen Traditions (2007), the author reiterates his defense of civil liberties, environmentalism, anti-corporatism and anti-militarism, and calls for renewed civic engagement and activism. He appeals to the legacy of Madison and Jefferson, as reflected in his defense of small-town communities capable of supplying their needs through their own efforts. Though he advocates for cuts in defense spending, Nader supports the military's globally significant medical research in combating yellow fever and malaria, and he is grateful for its contribution to his own initial work on automobile safety. He would now like to see the military contribute such skills to water safety and food preservation. Nader's legal background shapes an interesting discussion about the history of corporate charters in the United States. He shows that the right to form corporations through state-level charters was originally specific to a particular purpose, and the modern corporate form, with eternal life, limited liability and general capacity, results from willful political transformations. This discussion gives a sharp focus to an otherwise diffuse narrative about the dangers of corporate greed. The author also charges that President Obama "has exceeded Bush's lawless example" with his war in Libya; the Bush administration "was a dress rehearsal for its successor." Less a new conversation than a restatement of an older agenda.

Kirkus Reviews