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This Fight Is Our Fight

the Battle to Save America's Middle Class
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Aug 30, 2017jackjanzen rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
First a disclaimer, I am a person who is politically right of center so it is to be expected that I would find much in the book to disagree with. I am going to write this review from a somewhat different perspective than simply to trash it in every way possible. I read this book to gain perspective of the issues important to the left. Books like these are not written to persuade the opposition but to bolster the base. Few from the right will even open the book. One of the key differences between the right and left is the attitude towards free market capitalism and government regulation of markets. Most of the topics covered stem from her belief that government regulation and direct intervention is instrumental to achieving the outcomes she values. She writes that poverty is the result of wealthy individuals and corporations selfishly oppressing lower income people due to the unbalance of power. The solution she offers is to raise the minimum wage and impose other regulations on bank and corporations to improve the outcomes of lower income people. The way to do this is through politics. Large corporations, she argues, only benefit the very wealthy and well connected. Her remedy again is greater government regulation. A side note, many on the right would agree that crony capitalism is a problem that distorts free markets. They would readily accept her anecdotal stories of how detrimental this is. The right would like to see reduced incentives like lower corporate taxes which would free the market to solve these distortions. The arguments she uses throughout the book are largely anecdotal examples rather than academic economic discourse. I believe that economic arguments favor the right but are difficult to make for the average citizen persuasively. Her approach is not to win economic arguments but to win political arguments—that is to win votes. It is unlikely she will win converts. This book is essentially “red meat” for her surporters.