I nearly did not read this book by Matthew Miller after reading the introduction. I reacted that the author was saying the problems of the country would be solved if we just spent more on government. The subtitle “Fixing American’s Problems in Ways Liberals and Conservatives Can Love” made me decide to give it a try. The start of the book made me wonder whether I had made a bad decision. The book was published in 2003, and the first issue taken on was health care. That outdated chapter wasn’t encouraging, but I tried to plow ahead. I eventually ran into thoughtful discussions of the problems about failure to educate our children and the huge problems created by refusing to do something about the unfunded obligations for Social Security and Medicare. There are also interesting discussions of the failure of politicians to address problems because of unyielding ideologies that continue to get them reelected and the failure of the press to provide news that might actually educate readers about the problems.

I recommend the book if you want to read a relatively balanced discussion of what is wrong with the political parties. The author says he is a Democrat, but he criticizes that party and the Republicans equally. That approach worked well for me as a part time Libertarian and full time Independent. I recommend the chapters of why we must do something about education, Social Security, and Medicare. I don’t recommend all the solutions, but the discussions are worth reading and considering. It is less encouraging that the author wrote that time is not on our side, and “…starting in 2010 it will be next to impossible.”  The author tweaks the non-Keynesian side of me by writing in the Prologue, “We can’t solve our biggest problems without money.” But then he draws me back in by writing, “Make-believe responses to national problems vie in a competition for votes that has nothing to do with solving the problem in question.” Those charades are eagerly reported by the media as if they actually mean something.

The book gives details of the failure of educating children in the poor areas of cities. The property taxes in those areas don’t generate the funds taken from the wealthier suburbs. The children in those areas also often don’t receive as much support from parents, which allows other influences such as gangs to fill the void. The teacher unions use their incredible influence on the Democrat party to protect members who aren’t good teachers. The result is that children are punished with sub-quality education while their unqualified teachers are protected by the political power of their union with Democrats. The qualified teachers who work themselves to exhaustion to teach are compensated the same as those who skate by with little effort. A short version of what the author proposes is to raise teacher’s salaries fifty percent in return for the ones who are willing to give up union protection. The theory, as I understand it, is that the top college students would be willing to become teachers for the higher salaries instead of the current system which often puts the lowest performing students into teaching.

I enjoyed the discussion titled, “…then what are campaigns for?” The author answers that “…campaigns are a dueling series of pseudo events, misleading arguments, and symbols managed by candidates in order to gain power by attracting the support of 50 percent plus one of those citizens who bother to vote.” (I considered whether the real problem doesn’t rest on those who don’t bother to vote.) There are also discussions about campaign finance and the complaints that the wealthy have too much power in deciding who will have the most funding. One politician candidly observed that he didn’t spend much time with those who make the minimum wage when he is trying to raise the money needed for his campaign. It is observed that membership on powerful Congressional committees offers “…outsized fundraising prospects…”

The best parts of the book are about the problems that have been created by the political clout gained by older Americans. Older people tend to vote and politicians have generated a “…seniors only ATM, leaving future voters effectively disenfranchised.” The ATM reference is described as, “Ask not what you can do for your country; ask what claims your country can process for you.”

The discussion of Social Security is the best part of the book. I’ll give a couple of quotes to give a flavor. “Social Security demagoguery remains the Democrat political club of choice.” “The AARP is already the 800-pound gorilla of American politics.”   FDR famously said “…no damn politician could ever scrap his plan.”  He also wisely proclaimed, “This act does not offer anyone an easy life.” FDR’s program did not include any kind of indexing from the time the program went into effect until 1975. The current indexing process guarantees seniors higher benefits, but working young Americans must bear the cost or the deficit must grow larger and even more unsustainable.

The author interviewed Liberals and Conservatives about his ideas. I was impressed by the numerous references to discussions with Milton Friedman. Friedman “…argues that the free-market capitalism he champions will over time deliver the greatest good for the greatest number; he  also argues that the advances secured by entrepreneurial capitalism have most helped the least advantaged…”  He observes that Liberals are suspicious of anything market-friendly.

I think my favorite part of the book is the observation, “The citizen’s job in a democracy is to make the world safe for leaders to do the right thing.” All in all, I recommend the book to anyone willing to consider alternative ideas. I also recommend you put the most effort into the chapters about education, Social Security, and Medicare.

The book refers to people who want to follow the progress of the “movement” to a web address. I found an announcement about various diets and that the site name was for sale.