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We Can All Do Better (2012)

by Bill Bradley(Favorite Author)

3.87 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

1593157290 (ISBN13: 9781593157296)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Vanguard Press

review 1: The listening to this book coincided with the reading of The world is flat by Thomas Friedman, and many topics and conclusions were identical. That is worrisome, since the worries expressed by Friedman in 2004, with subsequent updates in 2005, and 2007, and with Bradley's book published in 2012, show no big change in US politics, nor US education. Both authors show that many countries perceive that the US is predatory, and no longer the leader worldwide. A country like China, on the other hand, is hungry and has strategies for world domination, not by war, but by executing small economic steps, which includes educating many very well.
review 2: I have always been a Bill Bradley fan. He was my guy in 2000, and he is still my guy. Having said that, it is hard t... moreo see what influence a book by a guy, who could not beat Al Gore, will have.Reading this is a lot like reading Utopia by Thomas More: it is "nowhere."Like many on the Left Senator Bradley overestimates the effect of money. The correlation is often not there. Money does provide a convenient excuse for those who failed to make a persuasive argument.I do not think it was his primary intent, but the case that the government made a salient contribution to precipitating the "Great Recession" is very well documented.The twenty-fifth book I have finished this year.p. 30 - 31. . . . if interest rates on government debt return to their levels of the last two decades (5.7 percent per annum, on average), they will add $420 billion in costs in 2014 alone.Of course Professor Krugman is pretty sure this will not happen.The bottom of p. 38 seems to fail to recognize the Jevon's Paradox.p. 49. Just 9 percent of Americans are millionaires.p. 52. Government unions block accountability for the performance of government workers.p. 54. "Learn how to write an English sentence, know the history and literature of the country. And then with a little luck, you can become a U.S. Senator, too."p. 57. So in the last year of his administration, President Bill Clinton signed a law, passed by a Republican Congress, which specifically prohibited the government from regulating derivatives.p. 57. You could instruct Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to take on greater risk by investing in subprime mortgages given to people who, by traditional standards, would never have qualified for a loan. The relaxed underwriting standards quickly spread to private banks.p. 59. Middle-class Americans participated in this fiasco by borrowing money for homes and consumer goods they couldn't afford.p. 77. As housing prices rose beginning in the mid-nineties, millions of people borrowed billions of dollars against the increased equity value in their houses and spent the money on consumption.p. 79 is very good on jobs.p. 81. . . . in part because foreign labor has become more expensive. For example, Chinese wages are rising between 15 and 20 percent a year.p. 83. Lifetime Education p. 85. If there's a deep federal commitment to basic R&D across the board, we;ll see a public /private partnership that will serve American well.This issue here, or course, is that federal R&D is getting squeezed out by Baby Boomer entitlements.p. 86. Investment in the platform, including higher teacher salaries and greater accountability, should be among our highest priorities.In a world of rapid change a premium will be placed on adaptability.You have to love The Grapes of Wrath reference on p. 90. We will go on. Senator Bradley does not comment on the fact that it is women pulling the men, who have failed to adapt, along.p. 97. His vice president, Richard Nixon, would continue in the liberal Republican tradition that government should not be dismantled but used to make American stronger. Far from attempting to repeal Social Security or Medicare, President Nixon worked with a Democratic Congress to advance the public's interest. His proposals for catastrophic health insurance, affirmative action, and welfare reform, while less generous than the Democratic alternatives, amounted to broad government commitment to the lives of ordinary Americans.p. 101. These are public goods. Without them, the private sector would wither.p. 101. . . . and their unions often seem to be more interested in job security than in a job well done.p. 118. Forty-seven of the most advance countries are at 1.6 or less.Like most commentators, Senator Bradley completely misses (p. 122) the challenge posed by China's coming implosion due to its degraded and degrading environment.p. 123. Another example of China's long view is its aim to dominate its neighbors through management of water resources.p. 132. . . . and availability of natural resources such as water, oil, and arable land.How could Senator Bradley not have seen this in his section on China?p. 142. One way to do that is to change the way we draw congressional district lines.Well - yeah? How exactly do we get there from here?p. 144. . . . Republicans use a moral language, whereas Democrats use policy language.p. 145 is great on collective action vs. personal responsibility. Also on getting ready for retirement.p. 147. Bill Clinton won in 1992 because Perot took votes from George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush won in 2000 because Ralph Nader took votes from Al Gore.Senator Bradley's enthusiasm (p. 151) for Americans Elect seems misguided (Utopian?) in retrospect.p. 155 - 156. To raise living standards, we must tax labor less and things more, adopt a massive infrastructure program, invest heavily in research, educate our citizens for a lifetime in a world of constant change, and reduce the structural budget deficit.Of course none of this happens as long as the AARP succeeds.p. 158. Above all, we need citizens who recognize their role in the American democracy.Welcome to "Utopia." less

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