Politicians and pundits like to blame Americans’ excessive debt for plunging the economy into recession in 2008. But middle-class earners had a good reason for borrowing: Their incomes have dropped since 1980, during a period when the US economy’s gains increasingly went to the wealthy. According to former US Secretary of Labor Robert B. Reich, the only way out of the doldrums now is to redress that imbalance and help the middle class resume its role powering the economy. In this book, Reich explores the dire consequences of failing to get workers back to work. Without seeming particularly worried about stirring controversy, he offers his suggestions for restoring the “basic bargain” of shared prosperity: People work and the government supports good jobs backed by a “safety net” of public services. getAbstract recommends Reich’s sobering review to those studying ideas about what’s broken and how to fix it.
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Review: Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future

The most valuable 4.5 hours I spent listening to this audio book ever than any other hours spent listening to news or sermons. A brilliantly written and analyzed as is read by the author himself, the ... Read full review

Review: Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future

Robert B. Reich's Aftershock explores the widening inequality gap and its effects on the US economy and polity. This is a thoughtful and probing look at the contemporary US economy that centers around ... Read full review

Review: Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future

One of those books I meant to read when it first came out, this is the best explanation I've read yet about how our economy soured for the middle class. Covering 20th century economic history in ... Read full review

Review: Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future

In an effort to understand the current administration's economic policy on the beneficial effects of redistribution of wealth, I figured this book by Reich (who served under Carter and Clinton) would ... Read full review

Review: Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future

The book clarified for me the links between all the apparently disparate parts of our current economic breakdown. I felt Robert Reich is a trusted authority on the subject, as he held offices in three ... Read full review

Review: Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future

How did America find itself in the midst of a Great Recession? Robert Reich's Aftershock uncovers political leaders' secrets, failed government policies, and Wall Streets' bullying tactics. Even if ... Read full review

Review: Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future

This book epitomizes the flawed thinking of the current administration and so many that support it. Mr. Reich obviously has never owned a business, does not understand the true multiplying affect of ... Read full review

Review: Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future

A very dull read from a cadence and vocabulary standpoint. This isn't terribly confusing considering the dry, academic subject matter. The strong bias expressed in the writers opinions are presented ... Read full review

Review: Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future

This brief book does an admirable job of encapsulating the current state of affairs in the US economy, but in the end it amounts to little more than a quick one-off which reads like a crash course ... Read full review