*** Beyond Outrage by Robert B. Reich – Of Reich’s Works That I Have Read It’s Comparatively Subpar

The first point I would like to make takes up a third of this book.  It is on what Reich has called Radcons in another book.  I think Reich has said enough about Radical Conservatives by now.  The Radcons are no longer a threat.  However, I agree that regression is a threat.

My generation has rejected the Radcon way of life in favor of having a more liberal lifestyle.  It is not radical conservatives Reich is afraid of, but those who wish to be fiscally responsible, and these folks may be either Democrat or Republican.

I, myself, have already stated that I believe Reich is wrong about what to do.  Reich wants to continue running trillion plus dollar deficits until the economy gets better.  However, to me that seems stupid.  We may get a good run at having a good economy, but not enough to sustain an economy recovery.  That is, 8 years is not enough time to put us in the positive, and chances are that partly because of term limits, we won’t be able to sustain enough of a recovery.  Perhaps, getting rid of term limits is something we should consider, but I think that we would just go for another 4 years of Obama mediocrity.

Some presidential leaders to look for come 2016 are Hillary Clinton, Deval Patrich, and even Reich himself.  It has baffled me why Reich hasn’t run for office.

The first part of this book, “The Rigged Game,” I think most folks already know enough about.  Most folks are angry at Wall Street and the rich, and want government to work for them doing things such as closing loopholes.  The word is out.  And, folks are right, the game is rigged.

One area I flat out disagree with Reich is that I don’t think giving more money to the poor is a good answer.  In my opinion, folks need to find out how to make their money, the money they already don’t have because they are broke because they have already spent it, work for them, such that the poor can be empowered.  Thus, the answer is for folks to be more careful when spending, rather than to toss out more handouts.  These actions are going to take a concerted effort, and America is going to need to find some fiscally conservative cheerleader that can see to it that folks are able to make their money go as far as it can possible go.

One suggestion I might make is that I often shop at Amazon.com, if a local store doesn’t have what I need, or if the local is charging an unreasonable price.  There are lots of good bargains on Amazon.com, especially if you are willing to put up with having used goods.  Also, there are other stores like BJ’s where if you are careful with your money, it will stretch further.

The major problem of this book is that it assumes that if you put more money in the hands of average Americans, then good things will happen, but that isn’t true.  The fact is that most Americans are clueless when it comes to math, such that if you gave them more money, they wouldn’t have a clue how to spend the money wisely.  Therefore, the problem is not that the poor and middle class don’t earn enough, but the problem is that CEO pay is ludicrously high.  The reason middle and lower class pay is good is because if we raise it, it would simply cause more inflation, and folks would have a much more difficult time determining whether or not they should purchase something based upon its price.

I do agree with the author that there are certain things we should be outraged at, such as the buying of political offices.  I agree that CEO pay is out of control.  I agree that we need to close tax loopholes, such taxing what is now considered to be capital gains.  Reich does make a lot of good points, but I felt that his books Supercapitalism, and Aftershock were much better. 

Lastly, the last third of the book seems both naïve and correct.  In order to have a movement that will make change, we have to get off of our couches.  However, the USA suffers for this as we Americans are couch potatoes.  Our ancestors would have bound together to fight against our problems, but for us, we are not a very cohesive nation.  That is, too often we relate to each other via the internet.  That is another subject that Reich might do well to include if he writes another book.