The Great American Economy
How Inefficiency Broke It and What We Can Do to Fix It
by Steve Slavin
ebook
1 of 1 copy available
The heart of the problem, says economist Steve Slavin, is gross inefficiency. Since the end of World War II, America has been wasting vast amounts of its resources. As examples he cites the following key sectors:
• Healthcare—we spend nearly twice as much as other industrialized nations but achieve no better results;
• Education—just half of our eighteen-year-olds can function at an eighth-grade level, while many European and Asian countries do far better educating their young people;
• Transportation—by relying on cars instead of mass transit, we spend much more than comparable nations;
• The military—several decades after the Cold War our military budget continues to be almost 40 percent of the world's total military spending, while few politicians ever question the necessity for such massive outlays.
In these areas and other sectors of the economy, Slavin proposes sweeping changes to eliminate inefficiency. These would include a restructuring of our healthcare system to make it affordable for all, a major push toward public transportation, increased emphasis on quality results from our education system, ways to eliminate waste throughout our vast military-industrial complex, and a renewed emphasis on manufacturing.
Refreshingly clear and readable, The Great American Economy will appeal to readers who want to learn what went wrong with our economy and how to fix it.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
August 8, 2017 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781633883062
- File size: 1385 KB
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781633883062
- File size: 1385 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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May 29, 2017
Economist Slavin (To the City, with Love) identifies a new culprit for what ails the U.S.: inefficiency. He charges Americans with allowing the auto industry to decimate public transportation systems, developing the most expensive healthcare system among advanced economies, and fostering vast “make work” industries that produce no real useful goods or services. Many of Slavin’s rants are familiar, but he does have a fresh eye for overlooked senselessness. For instance, he asks, why employ 1.2 million people as tax preparers, rather than simplifying the tax code? Slavin devotes less ink (and thought) to the solutions of the problems that he identifies. For the criminal justice system, he simplistically recommends imprisoning all violent offenders until they’re “too old to be a threat” and providing “immediate drug treatment programs for addicts.” As for his solution to our health care system, it is to fold Medicaid into “Medicare for all.” Questions about how to pass legislation or fund such programs are seldom addressed. Nonetheless, this is an insightful look at the many hindrances to American economic efficiency, even if it is not a solution to them.
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