AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
![]() |
Home |  Store List |  FAQ |  Contact Us |   | ||
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
![]() |
Title: Myths of Rich & Poor: Why We're Better Off Than We Think by W. Michael Cox, Richard Alm ISBN: 0-465-04784-X Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: January, 1999 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.61 (18 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A great book of hard information on America's economy!
Comment: An great antidote for all the stories the media spins on the American economy. Think of how the media describes America's economy: the average American's standard of living is supposedly falling; America's poor are supposedly getting poorer while the rich get richer; women and minorities are supposedly falling further behind, manufacturing is said to be moving overseas; good jobs are supposedly destroyed by downsizing; and we are becoming a nation of hamburger flippers.
The author's demonstrate the fallacy in all these myths with hard, plentiful and unbias statistics. They look at these issues from many different directions ultimately demonstrating that common sense and just opening your eyes to what you see around you proves that America's economy is much more successful than it is portrayed. It shows how those who find weaknesses in the American way to business are twisting the facts in fairly obvious ways to support their agenda.
This book is fast, easy to read and just plain interesting to anyone who wants to understand what has been happening in our economy during the later part of the twnetieth century.
Rating: 5
Summary: The antidote to bad economics
Comment: This book is a Godsend. Not a day goes by when I'm not beset by bad economic stories, all to the effect that America is a nation in decline. Fortunately, "The Myths of Rich and Poor" puts the lie to all the doomsayers' tales. Alm and Cox show convincingly that the wage and trade figures waved about by the likes of Pat Buchanan and company are mere half truths. Real wealth, a far better indication of living standards, is rising, and we spend more than ever on leisure activities. Anyone who is feeling bad about the future should read this book and cheer up.
Rating: 3
Summary: The spin does not match the facts.
Comment: The authors clearly have a good grounding in basic economic concepts, which they discuss clearly. They make a number of excellent points, but it is sometimes hard to find them among the spin.
Early in the book, the careful reader will notice that many of the statistics that they use to demonstrate improved living standards across the economic scale are significantly dependent on a variety of social programs such as welfare, food stamps, unemployment insurance, and social security. This is particularly true of the statistics used to show that "Even the Poor Have More". Although it is not mentioned as explicitly, the government role in education has also been very important, whether for public schools, public colleges, or even the G. I. Bill. All of these have played a large role in bringing prosperity to many people, not just the rich.
At the end, however, they forget about any helpful role of government and give all of the credit to free enterprise. Perhaps they had forgotten the first chapter of the book by the time they wrote the last chapter. Even accepting the facts as given, they don't justify the spin. The FACTS given here show the benefits of both free enterprise and the role of government.
![]() |
Title: It's Getting Better All the Time : 100 Greatest Trends of the Last 100 Years by Stephen Moore, Julian Lincoln Simon ISBN: 1882577973 Publisher: Cato Inst Pub. Date: 01 October, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
![]() |
Title: The Progress Paradox : How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse by GREGG EASTERBROOK ISBN: 0679463038 Publisher: Random House Pub. Date: 25 November, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
![]() |
Title: The First Measured Century : An Illustrated Guide to Trends in America, 1900-2000 by Theodore Caplow, Louis Hicks, Ben J. Wattenberg ISBN: 0844741388 Publisher: AEI Press Pub. Date: 20 November, 2000 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
![]() |
Title: Applied Economics: Thinking Beyond Stage One by Thomas Sowell ISBN: 0465081436 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: 11 November, 2003 List Price(USD): $30.00 |
![]() |
Title: Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman, Rose D. Friedman ISBN: 0226264211 Publisher: University of Chicago Press Pub. Date: November, 2002 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments