Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You with the Bill)
by David Cay Johnston
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Book Summary Information
Author: David Cay JohnstonEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2007-12-27
ISBN: 1591841917
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover
Book Reviews of Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You with the Bill)
Book Review: How "Special Interests" Pick Your Pocket in the U.S. to Create Billion-Dollar Fortunes
Summary: 5 Stars
I wanted to lose my lunch on the shoes of any politician or executive named in this book after reading what David Cay Johnston had to say. Unless you want to be cheated forever (and for more money), read this book and let your "elected" and "appointed" representatives know that you won't stand for it any more.
George Washington, as usual, got it right: If we allow political parties to exist rather than looking out for everyone's interests in a non-partisan way, the parties will sell out the public interest for pennies to get money to run election campaigns and conduct party politics.
It's popular now to say we need a change in Washington, a change that involves changing political parties in charge of governing. Wrong! Really, how foolish can we get? Can't anyone remember what Washington said?
In the meantime, you can read the excellent exposes in David Cay Johnston's book to help you realize that your Federal, state, and local legislators in the United States are selling out your and your children's interests to curry favor with those who will give them large campaign contributions. Yes, there's some corruption but mostly it seems to be related to wanting power and more power . . . and not understanding what the costs will be.
Once again, we see tales of how the fig leaf of "free markets" is invoked to put in changes that cause "rigged markets" with vastly increased profits. My favorite example in the book is how President Bush and his pal, "Kenny Boy" Lay, from Enron rigged the electricity markets so that instead of consumers paying the lowest price anyone was willing to sell electricity for (a Dutch auction) the highest price bid is paid to all (which means they take turns putting in phony high-priced bids to rig prices way above where they would be in either a free or a regulated market).
Here are some of the more interesting cases in the book:
1. How famous Scottish golf courses were re-created through indirect and direct taxpayer subsidies in a remote part of Oregon that is easily accessible only by corporate jet.
2. How public parks were gobbled up to build the new Yankee Stadium in New York City and parks in poor areas everywhere were left untended to favor richer areas.
3. Ways that college and graduate school students are cheated on their interest rates for student loans.
4. How burglar alarm monitoring companies are subsidized to earn big profits by free police services covering false alarms while response rates to real crimes decline.
5. How John Snow stopped repairing the track at CSX causing deaths with no risk that any costs would be incurred by CSX. You, the taxpayer, paid instead for his willful neglect.
6. How many "high profile" politicians including Rudy Giuliani have ignored anti-corruption laws and take huge gifts and trips from lobbyists.
7. How two leading sporting goods chains persuade governments to subsidize their stores with tax breaks worth a multiple of the total construction cost of each store.
8. How "good guy" Warren Buffett is out for all the tax breaks he can get, regardless of the public cost and harm to the local community in Buffalo.
9. How "required" title insurance creates one of America's most profitable industries by bribing banks and lawyers with money you pay when you buy a home.
10. How the California courts let Barron Hilton seize the assets of a charity that his father had established to help the poor. So if you like Paris Hilton's clothes, realize that she paid for them in part with money that was destined for those who need clothes . . . any kind of clothes.
11. We've all read about the massive amounts of money made in Russia and elsewhere by politicians selling off government operations at bargain prices to their pals. Well the same thing has been going on here with selling off municipal utilities and non-profit foundations. It's like a banana republic.
12. You'll also read about how creating "deregulated" utilities allows companies to shuffle around costs between their subsidiaries so that rate payers pay for the same construction costs twice.
13. You will be reminded of President Bush's misstatements and keeping the lid on more accurate reports about what his drug benefit plan for seniors would cost. But what's a few hundred billion for a guy who spent a trillion dollars (so far) in Iraq?
Most people would probably like this book better if it had a more partisan tone (how the Republicans stole from the poor and middle class to make the rich a lot richer). Instead, the book points at individuals (a more accurate way to assess the sources of corruption) including two-term president "the peoples' choice" George W. Bush and invokes spiritual rules for suggesting other ways of making choices.
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