San Antonio College Library

From the Publisher: Political conservatives have long believed that the best government is a small government. But if this were true, noted economist Jeff Madrick argues, the nation would not be experiencing stagnant wages, rising health care costs, increasing unemployment, and concentrations of wealth for a narrow elite. In this perceptive and eye-opening book, Madrick proves that an engaged government-a big government of high taxes and wise regulations-is...

The author of the bestseller The Zero Sum Society now tells us what we must do to remain a world-class economy at a time when other countries have outpaced us in growth, productivity and entrepreneurship.

Dismantling dozens of firmly-held beliefs, Cox and Alm show that: "Real income" is an unreliable measure of living standards. Real wealth - the lifestyle Americans routinely enjoy - has skyrocketed; the poor have not gotten poorer. In fact, the average family living below the poverty line today is doing as well or better, in terms of material possessions, as middle-class families in 1971; corporate downsizing creates jobs in the long run; income mobility...

Analyzes the current labour market in the US and concludes that social policy must change to cope with the realities of the new economy. "More and better jobs" is the underlying theme of this text. It presents an agenda of lifelong learning and recommends specific government educational policies.