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OverviewA society top-heavy with billionaires may seem like a paradise of upward mobility, but it actually more closely resembles a boneyard of broken dreams for all but a lucky few. Between 1980 and 2008, the incomes of the bottom 90 percent of Americans grew by a meager 1 percent compared to a whopping 403 percent for the top .01 percent. We tend to regard these large fortunes as proof of a meritocracy, yet there is no evidence that members of today’s super-rich are any more talented or hardworking than were the elite of a generation ago. Via vivid profiles of billionaires—ranging from philanthropic capitalist Bill Gates and the infamous Koch brothers to brazen private equity baron Stephen Schwarzman—Billionaires’ Ball debunks the notion that they “deserve” their grand fortunes, when such wealth is really a by-product of a legal and economic system that’s become deeply flawed and is now threatening the quality of life and very functioning of our democracy. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Linda McQuaig , Neil BrooksPublisher: Beacon Press Imprint: Beacon Press Dimensions: Width: 14.50cm , Height: 1.80cm , Length: 22.20cm Weight: 0.399kg ISBN: 9780807003435ISBN 10: 0807003433 Pages: 280 Publication Date: 26 March 2013 Audience: General/trade , General Format: Paperback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: In Print  This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us. Table of ContentsChapter 1 Return of the Plutocrats Chapter 2 Why Pornography Is the Only True Free Market Chapter 3 Millionaires and the Crash of 1929 Chapter 4 Billionaires and the Crash of 2008 Chapter 5 Why Bill Gates Doesn’t Deserve His Fortune Chapter 6 Why Other Billionaires Are Even Less Deserving Chapter 7 Hank Aaron and the Myths about Motivation Chapter 8 Taking the Fun out of Tax Havens Chapter 9 Why Billionaires Are Bad for Your Health Chapter 10 Why Billionaires Are Bad for Democracy Chapter 11 The True Badge of Citizenship Chapter 12 Revamping the Ovarian Lottery Acknowledgments Notes IndexReviewsThe most entertaining treatment yet of our super-rich. --Sam Pizzigati, Too Much A blistering yet utterly entertaining account of the rampaging growth in economic inequality. --Robert W. McChesney, coauthor of Dollarocracy Lively, tough-minded, and impeccably researched. --Joel Bakan, author of The Corporation A fascinating account of how many of the country's super-rich made their fortunes and why they do not deserve them. Billionaires' Ball will leave readers both better informed and infuriated. --Dean Baker, author of False Profits Lively, tough-minded, and impeccably researched, Billionaires' Ball powerfully demonstrates how ruthless political opportunism--as opposed to talent, hard work, or innovation--is helping the rich get richer. The current system, unjust and socially destructive, McQuaig and Brooks argue, sacrifices the interests of the bottom 99 percent (as the Occupy Wall Street movement has described it) to ensure unprecedented wealth and privilege for the 1 percent at the top. --Joel Bakan, author of The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power and Childhood Under Siege: How Big Business Targets Children A devastating expos� of the real-world impact of extreme wealth concentration, from two of our most rigorous, knowledgeable, and humorous chroniclers of corporate excess. --Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine A blistering yet utterly entertaining account of the rampaging growth in economic inequality that is America's defining feature in the twenty-first century. --Robert W. McChesney, coauthor of Dollarocracy In this breezy and lucid tale of the rise, fall, and return of plutocracy in America, Linda McQuaig and Neil Brooks make a compelling case for taxes, especially on the inheritance of great fortunes that could renew American society from one generation to the next. --James K. Galbraith, author of Inequality and Instability: A Study of the World Economy Just Before the Great Crisis Lively, tough-minded, and impeccably researched, Billionaires' Ball powerfully demonstrates how ruthless political opportunism--as opposed to talent, hard work, or innovation--is helping the rich get richer. The current system, unjust and socially destructive, McQuaig and Brooks argue, sacrifices the interests of the bottom 99 percent (as the Occupy Wall Street movement has described it) to ensure unprecedented wealth and privilege for the 1 percent at the top. --Joel Bakan, author of The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power and Childhood Under Siege: How Big Business Targets Children <br><br> A devastating expose of the real-world impact of extreme wealth concentration, from two of our most rigorous, knowledgeable, and humorous chroniclers of corporate excess. --Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine <br> <br> A blistering yet utterly entertaining account of the rampaging growth in economic inequality that is America's defining feature in the twenty-first century. --Robert W. McChesney, coauthor of Dollarocracy <br><br> In this breezy and lucid tale of the rise, fall, and return of plutocracy in America, Linda McQuaig and Neil Brooks make a compelling case for taxes, especially on the inheritance of great fortunes that could renew American society from one generation to the next. --James K. Galbraith, author of Inequality and Instability: A Study of the World Economy Just Before the Great Crisis <br><br> McQuaig and Brooks give a fascinating account of how many of the country's super-rich made their fortunes and why they do not deserve them. Billionaires' Ball will leave readers both better informed and infuriated. --Dean Baker, co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research and author of False Profits <br><br><br> From the Hardcover edition. Author InformationLinda McQuaig is the author of seven Canadian best sellers and has been a national reporter for the Toronto Globe and Mail, a senior writer for Maclean’s, and a political columnist for the Toronto Star. Author of three books, Neil Brooks is director of the Graduate Program in Taxation at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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