Greedy Bastards
How We Can Stop Corporate Communists, Banksters, and Other Vampires from Sucking America Dry
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4.0 • 148 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
The host of the eponymous MSNBC show, Dylan Ratigan offers a bold and original post-partisan program to resuscitate the American Dream.
At a time of deep concern with the state of America’s economy and government, it seems that all the media can give us is talking (or screaming) heads who revel in partisan brinkmanship. Then there’s Dylan Ratigan—an award-winning journalist respected and admired across the political spectrum. In Greedy Bastards, he rips the lid off of our deeply crooked system—and offers a way out.
Employing the nuanced reporting and critical analysis that have earned him so much respect, Ratigan describes the five “vampires” that are sucking the nation dry, including an educational system that values mediocrity above all else; a healthcare system that is among the priciest and least-effective infrastructures in the industrialized world; a political system in which lobbyists write legislation; a “master-slave” relationship with our Chinese bankers; and an addiction to foreign oil that has sapped our willingness to innovate. In offering solutions to these formidable and entrenched obstacles, he does nothing less than lay the groundwork for a political movement dedicated to tackling the rot at the heart of the country.
In its desperation, America needs more than just endless stock tips and Wall Street navel-gazing. It needs passionate debate and smart policy—and a hero to take on the establishment. Dylan Ratigan is that hero, and this is the book that will rally people behind him.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Former financial news anchor and host of CNBC's "Fast Money," Ratigan delivers an energetic, powerful, and at times unsettling portrait of America in crisis, dramatically rendered with the chiaroscuro of sobering statistics: infant mortality rates are double that of France, Japan, and Australia, and more than 40 million Americans are currently living in poverty. Ratigan's suggestions for overhaul seem interesting, though more so in terms of concept than in actual execution. To fix the fraught educational system, he benignly suggests we "Find the Teachers Who Create Effective Learning Environments" and implement performance-based positions. Later, Ratigan describes efficiency as the "silver bullet that will kill the vampire of the incumbent energy industry," with a nod to Germany's so-far-so-good push to becoming independent of oil and nuclear power by 2050. Given the book's fast-paced and dramatic delivery, it's easy to see why Ratigan was a popular TV personality. He outlines his simple, concise arguments with memorable subheads like the provocative "Thought for Sale," and even though his portrait of the U.S. is bleak, he believes we have options. The "Ratigan Hypothesis" that "we are the first generation to be able to use modern communications tools to fix our debt problem without resorting to war" is compelling enough to warrant serious consideration. Illus.
Customer Reviews
See AllWill this ever change?
Although this book has finally shown the actual specifics for the reason why our country is in a downward spiral, myself being 60yrs old on a few months, I do not see this country changing anything in my foreseeable future and quite possibly my life-time.
I suggest we start learning Chinese....
5 stars not enough
If I had one wish, it would be that "everyone would read this book".
Required reading
This book should be required reading by all politicians on either side of the aisle. Maybe then they would do something about the course the nation is on.