Marc Dunkelman, a fellow at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, attempts to explain why nothing works today. The United States started out as a republic with a small government. Over time, the Government grew and grew. And, as we all know, power tends to corrupt.
Trump and Elon Musk are busy slashing Government expenditures and the results are likely to be dismal. The American voter has come to rely on Social Security, Medicare, and all the other social programs that make up the “safety net.” Sure, there’s waste, fraud, and abuse in a Government that spent $6.8 trillion in 2024. But it’s just not the money, it’s the politics. Wait until current Medicaid recipients have their benefits cut or eliminated.
Dunkelman analyzes the affects of Thomas Jefferson’s notions of democracy with Alexander Hamilton’s economic plans for the new nation. That debate continues today between the Democrats and the Republicans. Right now, the GOP is winning but the consequences might show up in 2026 mid-term Elections.
The current system of Government is not sustainable over time. Social Security will run out of money in a decade. The soaring costs of Medicare and Medicaid will bankrupt us if not altered. The “kick the can down the road” political approach of both Parties has resulted in the monetary quagmire we’re in now. How are you coping with this mess? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
INTRODUCTION — 1
- Servant or Master of the Public? — 25
- The Price of Progress — 59
- Bodies on the Machine — 93
- Manacling the Octopus — 125
- More Harm Than Good — 163
- No Place to Call Home — 201
- The Bridge to Nowhere — 239
- A Tragedy of the Commons in Reverse — 279
CONCLUSION: Full-Circle Progressivism — 321
Acknowledgements — 335
Notes — 339
Index — 387
I have a two-fold coping strategy, which I use on alternating days, for this current mess. On even fays, I stick my fingers in my ears and go. “La,la,la,la,la.” On odd days, I vociferously curse out Taco Don and his ilk. And since every day over the past five months can at best be described as very odd…
Jerry, you have some unique coping strategies. But, in these Troubled Times, whatever works…
I alternate between despair, unhappy resignation, and retreating into a world of my favorite books, music, art, and tv shows/movies. I hate to be an ostrich, but there’s only so much of the current administration that my blood pressure can take.
Deb, President TACO and his minions work to outrage us every day with new antics. Burnout is inevitable. Diane keeps a countdown to the 2026 Elections. I read books like WHY NOTHING WORKS.
To quote the late Bill Crider, we’re doomed, doomed. The only positive thing is, we’re old and, like Kathy Bates in FRIED GREEN TOMATOES, we have more money. So, financially, we are fine until the whole house of cards comes crashing down. Psychologically, however, it’s bad.
Jackie said she totally agrees with Deb, and is trying to ignore things and hope (like Diane) the next election will make a difference. Yet, every night when we’re watching television, she’ll start reading me the latest horrible headline.
Jeff, Diane just read me this morning’s horrible headline: terrorist with home-made flamethrower attacks peaceful protest in Boulder, Colorado. Terrible!
“Who killed progress” — well the list is endless and well known. “How to bring it back” — keep tearing it down and start over again?
If medicine costs too much, it’s time to take it away from corporate exploitation.
Todd, many of our friends travel over to Canada to buy their medications at half the cost of U.S. medications.
And medical consultation as well.
Todd, while thousands of Americans go to Canada to buy medications at reduced prices, thousands of Canadians are coming to Western NY for surgical operations. In Canada, patients might have to wait six months or more for a knee or hip replacement. They can come to the U.S. and have it done in a couple of weeks.