The Fifteen Biggest Lies about the Economy And Everything Else the Right Doesn't Want You to Know about Taxes, Jobs, and Corporate America

by Holland, Joshua

• ISBN13: 9780470643921
• ISBN10: 0470643927
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-09-28
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

AlterNet senior writer/editor Holland demolishes the Right's biggest and mostoutrageous myths about the economy and sets the record straight on every partof the conservatives' economic agenda.

Author Biography

Joshua Holland is a senior writer and editor at AlterNet, responsible for coverage of the economy, globalization, and immigration. AlterNet is a highly trafficked news portal with a readership of over two million visitors per month.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Introduction: How our conventional wisdom fails us	p. 1
A Closer Look: "This Modern World" by Tom Tomorrow	p. 20
Conservatives Don't Want Good Government: Don't believe that limited government means anything would be better for you, personally	p. 21
A Closer Look: Is Big Business Passing Itself Off as "Small Business"?	p. 32
It's Not Your Fault There Aren't Enough Good Jobs: Don't believe America is still the land of opportunity	p. 35
A Closer Look: Is the Value of Education Declining?	p. 44
There Is No Free Market: Don't believe that modern markets exist without government	p. 49
A Closer Look: "Troubletown: Fanning the Flames of Class Warfare" by Lloyd Dangle	p. 59
How Could Anyone Believe the Big Banks Are Victims?: Don't believe that the housing crisis was caused by poor people	p. 60
A Closer Look: Were the Titans of Finance Really Too Big to Fail?	p. 74
Tax Cuts Aren't a Solution to Every Problem: Don't believe the conservatives' magic bullet for economic woes	p. 79
A Closer Look: No, Tax Cuts Don't Always Generate Jobs and Prosperity	p. 94
Republicans Have Never Cared about the Deficit: Don't believe there's a budget apocalypse just over the horizon	p. 98
A Closer Look: How More Government (of One Sort) Brings Greater Individual Liberty and Personal Choice	p. 113
America Has No Respect for Family Values: Don't believe that women choose motherhood over work (or vice versa)	p. 116
A Closer Look: The Myth of the Pipeline: Why Women Aren't Poised to Shatter the Glass Ceiling	p. 123
Our Health-Care System Is a Huge Rip-Off: Don't believe we have the greatest health care in the world	p. 126
A Closer Look: The Health-Care Economy	p. 141
Obama Is Not a Socialist: Don't believe that those poor, oppressed corporations need saving	p. 143
A Closer Look: "Corporate America Had a Dream, Too" by Matt Bors	p. 158
Green Jobs Are a Great Idea: Don't believe that environmental activists want to ruin the economy	p. 159
A Closer Look: Why a Gallon of Gas Should Cost $10	p. 174
The Europeans Are All Right: Don't believe that more progressive governments are always on the brink of bankruptcy	p. 176
A Closer Look: The Incredible Shrinking Americans	p. 189
"Illegal" Immigration Isn't Hurting Your Prospects: Don't believe that a border-crossing Mexican stole your job	p. 192
A Closer Look: The Real Costs of Stupid Immigration Laws	p. 212
Blacks Still Kept Back: Don't believe the U.S. economy is a postracial meritocracy	p. 216
A Closer Look: The African American Economy, Before and After the Crash	p. 226
Unions Still Matter: Don't believe organized labor is corrupt, lazy, and an artifact of a different age	p. 229
A Closer Look: Whither the $20-an-Hour Wage?	p. 243
There's Nothing Free about Free Trade: Don't believe that corporations want fewer rules and everyone else is an isolationist Luddite	p. 245
A Closer Look: Corporate America Says You Can't Have a Green Economy	p. 259
Notes	p. 263
Index	p. 285
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