Seeds of Destruction: Why the Path to Economic Ruin Runs Through Washington, and How to Reclaim American Prosperity, Rough Cuts

Description

• Copyright 2010
• Dimensions: 5-3/8 X 8-1/4
• Pages: 288
• Edition: 1st

• Rough Cuts
• ISBN-10: 0-13-237129-4
• ISBN-13: 978-0-13-237129-2

This is the Rough Cut version of the printed book.

If you think the current administration is mismanaging the economy straight towards disaster, you're not alone: so do two top economists from both sides of the political aisle. In Seeds of Destruction, former Bush chief White House economist R. Glenn Hubbard and well-known CNBC commentator Peter Navarro explain why current economic policy is a catastrophic failure. Then, they offer a comprehensive, bipartisan blueprint for reversing the decline of America's currency, manufacturing base, and standard of living - setting the stage for the epic policy debates that will precede the 2010 elections. Hubbard and Navarro begin with a "checklist" of what it takes to be a prosperous, democratic nation - and show why Obama's policies (some of Bush's also) fail on every level. They explain why the activist Federal Reserve and Obama fiscal stimulus policies are doing far more harm than good... why we must restore the U.S. manufacturing base, whatever China says about it... how to transform tax policy into an engine of growth and innovation... how to apply the "tough love" needed to save Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid... why America must resign the job of world policeman... how market-based solutions can finally deliver real energy independence... how to reform our antique financial regulatory system without imposing heavy-handed rules that cause even more trouble.

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Sample Content

Table of Contents

Foreword . . . xii

About the Authors . . . xviii

Introduction: The White House Plants Its Seeds of Destruction . . . 1

Part I Getting from Seeds of Destruction to Seeds of Prosperity . . . 7

Chapter 1 America’s Four Growth Drivers Stall and Our Economy Stagnates . . . 9

The GDP Growth Drivers Equation . . . 11

GDP Growth Has Been Well Below Potential Growth . . . 12

The American Consumer’s Roller Coaster . . . 15

Where Has All the Business Investment Gone?. . . 19

There’s Too Much Government Spending . . . 21

Net Exports Are a Net Negative . . . 25

Conclusion . . . 27

Chapter 2 How to Lift the American Economy with the Ten Levers of Growth . . . 29

Lever One: Free Markets Free of Corruption and Monopoly Best Promote Growth . . . 29

Lever Two: Free and Fair Trade Helps All Countries Grow . . . 31

Lever Three: Entrepreneurship Is the Linchpin of Long-Term Growth . . . 33

Lever Four: Without Savings, There Can Be No Investment and Growth . . . 34

Lever Five: Without a Stable Banking System and Strong Financial Markets, Savings Can’t Be Transformed into Investment . . . 35

Lever Six: Innovation and Technological Change Matter More Than Machines and Workers . . . 36

Lever Seven: “Human Capital” Matters as Much as Physical Capital . . . 38

Lever Eight: Oil Price Shocks Stunt the Growth of Oil-Import-Dependent Nations . . . 39

Lever Nine: A Healthy Nation Is a Productive and Prosperous Nation . . . 40

Lever Ten: A Solid Manufacturing Base Makes for a Strong Economy . . . 41

Part II Fixing America’s Destructive Duo: Monetary and Fiscal Policy . . . 47

Chapter 3 Why an Easy-Money Street Is a Dead End . . . 49

The Return of Fed Activism . . . 52

The Maestro or a Bubble Maker? . . . 53

President Obama Crosses the Activist Rubicon . . . 54

The Road to American Prosperity Cannot Be Paved with a Cheap Dollar . . . 57

Where Have You Gone, William McChesney Martin? . . . 60

Chapter 4 Why You Can’t Stimulate Your Way to Prosperity . . . 63

From John Maynard Keynes to the Kennedy Tax Cut Revolution . . . 66

Part III Getting the “Big Three” Right: Tax, Trade, and Energy Policy . . . 83

Chapter 5 Why Raising Taxes Lowers America’s Growth Rate . . . 85

Ideological Gridlock Over Broad-based Tax Reform . . . 88

From a “Class Tax” to a “Mass Tax” . . . 91

From Double Taxation to Double Whammies . . . 93

Income Tax Evolution or Consumption Tax Revolution? . . . 95

Meeting on the Middle Ground . . . 97

Chapter 6 Why the Best “Jobs Program” May Be Trade Reform . . . 101

The 2000s: A Decade of Large and Chronic Trade Deficits . . . 103

America’s Trade Deficits Cause Inflation and Loss of Political Sovereignty. . . 104

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