Book picks similar to
Basic Income for Canadians: The key to a healthier, happier, more secure life for all by Evelyn L Forget
non-fiction
economics
politics
social-justice
Lower Ed: The Troubling Rise of For-Profit Colleges in the New Economy
Tressie McMillan Cottom - 2015
Yet little is known about why for-profits have expanded so quickly and even less about how the power and influence of this big-money industry impact individual lives. Lower Ed, the first book to link the rapid expansion of for-profit degrees to America’s increasing inequality, reveals the story of an industry that exploits the pain, desperation, and aspirations of the most vulnerable and exposes the conditions that allow for-profit education to thrive.Tressie McMillan Cottom draws on her personal experience as a former counselor at two for-profit colleges and dozens of interviews with students, senior executives, and activists to detail how these schools have become so successful and to decipher the benefits, credentials, pitfalls, and real costs of a for-profit education. By humanizing the hard choices about school and survival that millions of Americans face, Lower Ed nimbly parses the larger forces that deliver some of us to Yale and others to For-Profit U in an office park off Interstate 10.
How to Be an Anticapitalist in the Twenty-First Century
Erik Olin Wright - 2019
Our shared values - equality and fairness, democracy and freedom, community and solidarity - can both provide the basis for a critique of capitalism, and help to guide us towards a socialist and democratic society.In this elegant book, Erik Olin Wright has distilled decades of work into a concise and tightly argued manifesto - analyzing the varieties of anti-capitalism, assessing different strategic approaches, and laying the foundations for a society dedicated to human flourishing. How to Be an Anticapitalist in the 21st Century is an urgent and powerful argument for socialism, and a unparalleled guide to help us get there. Another world is possible.
Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America
Kurt Andersen - 2020
A huge, secure, and contented middle class emerged. All boats rose together. But then the New Deal gave way to the Raw Deal. Beginning in the early 1970s, by means of a long war conceived of and executed by a confederacy of big business CEOs, the superrich, and right-wing zealots, the rules and norms that made the American middle class possible were undermined and dismantled. The clock was turned back on a century of economic progress, making greed good, workers powerless, and the market all-powerful while weaponizing nostalgia, lifting up an oligarchy that served only its own interests, and leaving the huge majority of Americans with dwindling economic prospects and hope.Why and how did America take such a wrong turn? In this deeply researched and brilliantly woven cultural, economic, and political chronicle, Kurt Andersen offers a fresh, provocative, and eye-opening history of America’s undoing, naming names, showing receipts, and unsparingly assigning blame—to the radical right in economics and the law, the high priests of high finance, a complacent and complicit Establishment, and liberal “useful idiots,” among whom he includes himself.
Real Dissent: A Libertarian Sets Fire to the Index Card of Allowable Opinion
Thomas E. Woods Jr. - 2014
Avert your eyes from this dangerous extremist, citizen! Government is composed of wise public servants who innocently pursue the common good! In Real Dissent, Tom Woods demolishes some of the toughest critics of libertarianism in his trademark way. In doing so he strays beyond what he calls the index card of allowable opinion, the narrow range within which the media and political classes permit debate to take place in America. Should 40% or 35% of our income be taxed? That's the kind of debate the New York Times prefers. Should our income be taxed at all? Now that's out of bounds, citizen! In foreign policy, Americans are permitted to choose between bombing a despised country or starving its people to death. You favor peace? Why, you must be an "extremist"! On the Federal Reserve, the debate is over which policy the Fed should pursue. But what if the Fed is itself the problem? No answer, because the question isn't raised. Real Dissent is organized into ten parts: Part I: War and Propaganda Part II: Capitalism and Anti-Capitalism Part III: Libertarianism Attacked, and My Replies Part IV: Ron Paul and Forbidden Truths Part V: End the Fed Part VI: History and Liberty Part VII: When Libertarians Go Wrong [on people who don't quite get their own philosophy] Part VIII: Books You May Have Missed Part IX: Talking Liberty: Selected Tom Woods Show Interviews Part X: Back to Basics Afterword: How I Evaded the Gatekeepers of Approved Opinion The index card of allowable opinion forces Americans into narrow and pointless debates, and closes off discussion of plausible and humane alternatives. For the sake of American liberty, it’s time we set that thing on fire. This book is a match. PRAISE FOR TOM WOODS: “During my presidential campaigns, Tom Woods wrote some of the most effective replies to some of my unkindest critics.... "Real Dissent is great fun to read, but also filled with useful debating points that will come in handy as you make the case for the free society with friends and family. Over the years I have worked together closely with Tom, one of the libertarian movement’s brightest and most prolific scholars, and I am delighted to commend his new book to you. You will enjoy it, and profit from it.” Ron Paul, former U.S. Congressman “The smartest guy in the room.” Judge Andrew P. Napolitano, Senior Judicial Analyst, FOX News “Tom Woods is one of my dearest allies in the struggle against wrong-headed and dangerous economic policy.” Peter Schiff “Tom Woods has written some great stuff over the years, and he's contributed to the education of a lot of people, including myself.” David Stockman, director of the Office of Management and Budget, 1981-1985 About the Author Thomas E. Woods Jr. is a senior fellow of the Ludwig von Mises Institute and host of The Tom Woods Show, a Monday-through-Friday podcast (at TomWoodsRadio.com). He has appeared on CNBC, FOX News, MSNBC, C-SPAN, FOX Business, Bloomberg Television, and many other outlets, and has been a guest on hundreds of radio programs. Tom is the New York Times betselling author of 12 books, including Meltdown (on the financial crisis) and The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History.
A Crown of Thorns: The Governors of the RBI
T.C.A. Srinivasa Raghavan - 2016
The participants in the controversy which raged during June–July this year forgot that as many four previous governors of the RBI have had their terms cut short. The recent debate has to be seen in this context. This volume focuses on all the governors of the RBI since 1935 and describes how almost all of them had problems with the government. It is inherent in the tasks they are charged with. It also shows how, after 1957, when Jawaharlal Nehru accepted the resignation of Benegal Rama Rau after the latter’s quarrel with the finance minister, T. T. Krishnamachari, the RBI virtually became a department of the finance ministry. Its claims to independence have been revived only after 2002, when financial sector reform changed the structure of a large part of the financial economy. The book ends with advice to future governors about what they should remember: they are the servants of the sovereign, not independent Wu-li masters. They have to manage the government, not fight it. Theirs, as a former governor sensibly pointed out, is a circumscribed independence, the perimeters of which are defined by the government.
Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet
Jeffrey D. Sachs - 2008
Sachs-one of the world's most respected economists and the author of The New York Times bestseller The End of Poverty- offers an urgent assessment of the environmental degradation, rapid population growth, and extreme poverty that threaten global peace and prosperity. Through crystalline examination of hard facts, Sachs predicts the cascade of crises that awaits this crowded planet-and presents a program of sustainable development and international cooperation that will correct this dangerous course. Few luminaries anywhere on the planet are as schooled in this daunting subject as Sachs, and this is the vital product of his experience and wisdom.
Everybody Loves a Good Drought
Palagummi Sainath - 1996
In the dry language of development reports and economic projections, the true misery of the 312 million who live below the poverty line, or the 26 million displaced by various projects, or the 13 million who suffer from tuberculosis gets overlooked. In this thoroughly researched study of the poorest of the poor, we get to see how they manage, what sustains them, and the efforts, often ludicrous, to do something for them. The people who figure in this book typify the lives and aspirations of a large section of Indian society, and their stories present us with the true face of development.
Black Money and Tax Havens
R. Vaidyanathan - 2017
Conservatively, Rs. 15 lakh crore (10 per cent of Rs. 150 lakh crore, our GDP in 2016-17). As for Indian money in tax havens around the world? Around Rs. 65 lakh crores. Truly astounding figures. Black money or kala dhan is a topic that has elicited much debate in recent times. The debate has been mostly marked by mud-slinging and name-calling and the discussions that have ensued often have no basis in fact. While most people have a hazy notion of black money, only a few understand it in its entirety. The issue of tax havens is perhaps even more misunderstood. Most people fail to see the connection between tax havens and black money. Black Money and Tax Havens is the first work that discusses both of these issues in depth and offers a 360-degree view to the reader. In this work, Prof. R. Vaidyanathan provides the reader with a brief overview of black money—its generation, its estimates and how and why it is spirited away to tax havens. He also lays bare the danger that is posed to world financial well-being on account of the lack of political will to tackle them. A unique and timely work that packs in much information in an accessible manner.
Understanding the Black Economy and Black Money in India: An Enquiry into Causes, Consequences & Remedies
Arun Kumar - 2017
It has crippled the country’s economy for a long time to come. In this book, Arun Kumar, the country’s leading authority on the black economy, tells us why Modi’s gambit failed. He shows us the way in which the problem can be rooted out, provided the government has the political will and determination to act.Today, the black economy is estimated to be 62 per cent of GDP—or about `93 lakh crore ($1.4 trillion). Corrupt businessmen, corrupt politicians, and corrupt members of the executive (bureaucrats, police and the judiciary) are responsible for controlling the black economy and enabling its growth. If the black economy were to be dismantled and turned into a part of the ‘white’ economy, the country’s rate of growth would be 12 per cent. If it had not grown the way it has since the 1970s, India’s per capita income today would be approximately `7 lakh per annum ($11,000) and India would become the second largest economy in the world. If the black economy were taxed at current rates, it would generate `37 lakh crore in additional taxes and the union budget would show a surplus of `31 lakh crore instead of a deficit.The failure of successive governments to tackle the problem effectively has been the single biggest obstacle to eradicating poverty. It is the cause of both widespread policy failure and the inability of the nation to improve its living conditions rapidly.
Corporations Are Not People: Why They Have More Rights Than You Do and What You Can Do About It
Jeffrey D. Clements - 2012
Jeff Clements explains why the Citizen's United case is the final win in a campaign for corporate domination of the state that began in the 1970s under Richard Nixon. More than this, Clements shows how unfettered corporate rights will impact public health, energy policy, the environment, and the justice system. Where Thom Hartmann's Unequal Protection provides a much-needed detailed legal history of corporate personhood, Corporations Are Not People answers the reader's question: "What does Citizens United mean to me?" And, even more important, it provides a solution: a Constitutional amendment, included in the book, which would reverse Citizens United. The book's ultimate goal is to give every citizen the tools and talking points to overturn corporate personhood state by state, community by community with petitions, house party kits, draft letters, shareholder resolutions, and much more.
Sonic Boom: Globalization at Mach Speed
Gregg Easterbrook - 2009
So what comes next? Growth will resume. But economic uncertainty will worsen, making what comes next not just a boom but a nerve-shattering SONIC BOOM. Gregg Easterbrook - who "writes nothing that is not brilliant" ("Chicago Tribune") - is a fount of unconventional wisdom, and over time, he is almost always proven right. Throughout 2008 and 2009, as the global economy was contracting and the experts were panicking, Easterbrook worked on a book saying prosperity is about to make its next big leap. Will he be right again? SONIC BOOM: Globalization at Mach Speed presents three basic insights. First, if you don't like globalization, brace yourself, because globalization has barely started. Easterbrook contends the world is about to become "far "more globally linked. Second, the next wave of global change will be primarily positive: economic prosperity, knowledge and freedom will increase more in the next 50 years than in all of human history to this point. But before you celebrate, Easterbrook further warns that the next phase of global change is going to drive us crazy. Most things will be good for most people - but nothing will seem certain for anyone. Each SONIC BOOM chapter is based on examples of cities around the world - in the United States, Europe, Russia, China, South America - that represent a significant Sonic Boom trend. With a terrific sense of humor, pitch-perfect reporting and clear, elegant prose, Easterbrook explains why economic recovery is on the horizon but why the next phase of global change will also give everyone one hell of a headache. "Forbes" calls Easterbrook "the best writer on complex topics in the United States" and SONIC BOOM will show you why.
Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future
Bill McKibben - 2007
For the first time in human history, he observes, “more” is no longer synonymous with “better”—indeed, for many of us, they have become almost opposites. McKibben puts forward a new way to think about the things we buy, the food we eat, the energy we use, and the money that pays for it all. Our purchases, he says, need not be at odds with the things we truly value.McKibben’s animating idea is that we need to move beyond “growth” as the paramount economic ideal and pursue prosperity in a more local direction, with cities, suburbs, and regions producing more of their own food, generating more of their own energy, and even creating more of their own culture and entertainment. He shows this concept blossoming around the world with striking results, from the burgeoning economies of India and China to the more mature societies of Europe and New England. For those who worry about environmental threats, he offers a route out of the worst of those problems; for those who wonder if there isn’t something more to life than buying, he provides the insight to think about one’s life as an individual and as a member of a larger community.McKibben offers a realistic, if challenging, scenario for a hopeful future. As he so eloquently shows, the more we nurture the essential humanity of our economy, the more we will recapture our own.
The Meritocracy Trap: How America's Foundational Myth Feeds Inequality, Dismantles the Middle Class, and Devours the Elite
Daniel Markovits - 2019
Even as the country divides itself at every turn, the meritocratic ideal - that social and economic rewards should follow achievement rather than breeding - reigns supreme. Both Democrats and Republicans insistently repeat meritocratic notions. Meritocracy cuts to the heart of who we are. It sustains the American dream.But what if, both up and down the social ladder, meritocracy is a sham? Today, meritocracy has become exactly what it was conceived to resist: a mechanism for the concentration and dynastic transmission of wealth and privilege across generations. Upward mobility has become a fantasy, and the embattled middle classes are now more likely to sink into the working poor than to rise into the professional elite. At the same time, meritocracy now ensnares even those who manage to claw their way to the top, requiring rich adults to work with crushing intensity, exploiting their expensive educations in order to extract a return. All this is not the result of deviations or retreats from meritocracy but rather stems directly from meritocracy's successes.This is the radical argument that Daniel Markovits prosecutes with rare force. Markovits is well placed to expose the sham of meritocracy. Having spent his life at elite universities, he knows from the inside the corrosive system we are trapped within. Markovits also knows that, if we understand that meritocratic inequality produces near-universal harm, we can cure it. When The Meritocracy Trap reveals the inner workings of the meritocratic machine, it also illuminates the first steps outward, towards a new world that might once again afford dignity and prosperity to the American people.
Capitalism at the Crossroads: Aligning Business, Earth, and Humanity
Stuart L. Hart - 2007
The author offers a pioneering roadmap to responsible macroeconomics and corporate growth."-Clayton Christensen, Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School and author of The Innovator's Dilemma"I hope this book will be able to influence the thought processes of corporations and motivate them to adapt to forthcoming business realities for the sake of their own long-term existence. Besides business leaders, this is a thought-provoking book for the readers who are looking for solutions to capitalism's problems."-Muhammad Yunus, Founder and Managing Director, Grameen Bank, Bangladesh and 2007 Nobel Peace Prize recipient"Capitalism at the Crossroads is a practical manifesto for business in the twenty-first century. Professor Stuart L. Hart provides a succinct framework for managers to harmonize concerns for the planet with wealth creation and unambiguously demonstrates the connection between the two. This book represents a turning point in the debate about the emerging role and responsibility of business in society."-C.K. Prahalad, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, co-author of Competing for the Future and author of The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid "Stuart Hart was there at the beginning. Years ago when the term 'sustainability' had not yet reached the business schools, Stuart Hart stood as a beacon glowing in the umbrage. It is clear commerce is the engine of change, design the first signal of human intention, and global capitalism is at the crossroads. Stuart Hart is there again; this time lighting up the intersection."-William McDonough, University of Virginia, co-author of Cradle to Cradle"Professor Hart is on the leading edge of making sustainability an understandable and useful framework for building business value. This book brings together much of his insights developed over the past decade. Through case studies and practical advice, he argues powerfully that unlimited opportunities for profitable business growth will flow to those companies that bring innovative technology and solutions to bear on some of the world's most intractable social and environmental problems."-Chad Holliday, Chairman and CEO, DuPont"Capitalism at the Crossroads clearly reveals the essence of what sustainability means to today's business world. Hart's analysis that businesses must increasingly adopt a business framework based on building sustainable value speaks to the entire sustainability movement's relevance. Sustainability is more than today's competitive edge; it is tomorrow's model for success."-Don Pether, President and CEO, Dofasco Inc."Stuart Hart has written a book full of big insights painted with bold strokes. He may make you mad. He will certainly make you think."-Jonathan Lash, President, The World Resources Institute"A must-read for every CEO--and every MBA."-John Elkington, Chairman, SustainAbility"This book provides us with a vast array of innovative and practical ideas to accelerate the transformation to global sustainability and the role businesses and corporations will have to play therein. Stuart Hart manages to contribute in an essential way to the growing intellectual capital that addresses this topic. But, beyond that, the book will also prove to be a pioneer in the literature on corporate strategy by adding this new dimension to the current thinking."-Jan Oosterveld, Professor, IESE Business School, Barcelona, Spain Member, Group Management Committee (Ret.), Royal Philips Electronics"Capitalism at the Crossroads captures a disturbing and descriptive picture of the global condition. Dr. Hart constructs a compelling new corporate business model that simultaneously merges the metric of profitability along with societal value and environmental integrity. He challenges the corporate sector to take the lead and to invoke this change so that the benefits of capitalism can be shared with the entire human community worldwide."-Mac Bridger, CEO of Tandus Group"Stuart L. Hart makes a very important contribution to the understanding of how enterprise can help save the world's environment. Crucial reading."-Hernando de Soto, President of The Institute for Liberty and Democracy and author of The Mystery of Capital"Stuart Hart's insights into the business sense of sustainability come through compellingly in Capitalism at the Crossroads. Any businessperson interested in the long view will find resonance with his wise reasoning."-Ray Anderson, Founder and Chairman, Interface, Inc."This stimulating book documents the central role that business will play in humanity's efforts to develop a sustainable global economy. Professor Hart presents an attractive vision of opportunity for those corporations that develop the new technologies, new business models, and new mental frames that are essential to a sustainable future."-Jeffrey Lehman, Former President of Cornell University"The people of the world are in desperate need of new ideas if global industrial development is ever to result in something other than the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, with nature (and potentially all of us) suffering the collateral damage. Few have contributed more to meeting this need over the past decade than Stuart Hart by helping to illuminate the potential role for business and new thinking in business strategy in the journey ahead. Capitalism at the Crossroads challenges, provokes, and no doubt will stimulate many debates--which is exactly what is needed."-Peter Senge, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Chairperson of the Society for Organizational Learning, and author of The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of The Learning OrganizationNew Foreword by Al Gore Brand-New Second Edition, Completely Revised with: Up-to-the-minute trends and lessons learned New and updated case studies The latest corporate responses to climate change, energy, and terrorism Global capitalism stands at a crossroads-facing terrorism, environmental destruction, and anti-globalization backlash. Today's global companies are at a crossroads, too-searching desperately for new sources of profitable growth. Stuart L. Hart's Capitalism at the Crossroads, Second Edition is about solving both of those problems at the same time.It's about igniting new growth by creating sustainable products that solve urgent societal problems. It's about using new technology to deliver profitable solutions that reduce poverty and protect the environment. It's about becoming truly indigenous to all your markets, and avoiding the pitfalls of first-generation "greening" and "sustainability" strategies.Hart has thoroughly revised this seminal book with new case studies, trends, and lessons learned-including the latest experiences of leaders like GE and Wal-Mart. You'll find new insights from the pioneering BoP Protocol initiative, in which multinationals are incubating new businesses in income-poor communities. You'll also discover creative new ways in which corporations are responding to global warming and terrorism. More than ever, this book points the way toward a capitalism that's more inclusive, more welcome, and far more successful-for both companies and communities, worldwide.Paths to profitable sustainability: Lessons from GE and Wal-Mart Shattering the "trade-off" myth New commercial strategies for serving the "base of the pyramid" What enterprises have learned about doing business in income-poor regions Becoming indigenous-for real, for good Codiscovering new opportunities, cocreating new businesses with the poor Learning from leaders: 20+ new and updated case studies Best practices from DuPont, HP, Unilever, SC Johnson, Tata, P&G, Cemex, and more About the Author xiiAcknowledgments xiiiForeword: Al Gore, Former Vice President of the U.S. xxivForeword: Fisk Johnson, Chairman and CEO, S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. xxviiPrologue: Capitalism at the Crossroads xxxiPART ONE: MAPPING THE TERRAIN Chapter 1: From Obligation to Opportunity 3Chapter 2: Worlds in Collision 31Chapter 3: The Sustainable Value Portfolio 59PART TWO: BEYOND GREENING Chapter 4: Creative Destruction and Sustainability 87Chapter 5: The Great Leap Downward 111Chapter 6: Reaching the Base of the Pyramid 139PART THREE: BECOMING INDIGENOUS Chapter 7: Broadening the Corporate Bandwidth 169Chapter 8: Developing Native Capability 193Chapter 9: Toward a Sustainable Global Enterprise 223Epilogue 249Index 254
The Science of Stock Market Investment - Practical Guide to Intelligent Investors
Chellamuthu Kuppusamy - 2012
There is nothing wrong with that desire. But you must have known the secrets of avoiding losses. Share Market is a field that has of late developed overwhelmingly. Millions of people invest in it with enthusiasm and are interested in knowing details about this grey area. Sadly, not everyone who invests in it earn profits. Some people who constantly learn end up earning, but those who do not know anything about it and put their trust on luck lose miserably. This book shows the way to avoid losses and increase gains in share market. This comprehensive book touches upon every aspect of stock market investment. A fantastic starting point for anyone aspiring to enter into the unknown world of share market. Even for investors who are already in the market, this book can serve a guide. People say, you either earn or learn in share market. This book preaches the secrets of learning and earning at the same time. This work takes you through an introduction about shares, functioning of share markets, relevance of stock market indices and different approaches for primary & secondary market investments. In also talks about the real qualities of an investor and how he differs from a speculator in the marketplace. Relationship between inflation & investments and the need for achieving inflation adjusted returns are stressed upon. Various stock selection processes, approaches to adapt for different market conditions and more more importantly the art of avoiding losses are discussed in details. You will learn how to analyse a company, its shares, market dynamics, how to value a business, what price to pay for a company etc. All important parameters, numbers and ratios are explained with interesting real time illustrations. Difference between value investing and growth oriented stock selection process is analysed thoroughly, Likewise, fundamental analysis and technical analysis are compared in a rational way. On top of these, this books describe the qualities that differentiate successful investors from ordinary ones. Those qualities are analysed in detail. More importantly, the book stresses the importance of identifying bad companies and unethical management, and teaches how to stay away from them.