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Billionaire Democracy

By George R. Tyler

$9.99$16.95

In Billionaire Democracy: The Hijacking of the American Political System, economist George R. Tyler lays out the fundamental problems plaguing our democracy. He explains how the American democratic system is rigged and how it has eroded the middle class, providing an unflinching and honest comparison of the US government to peer democracies abroad and breaking down where we fall short. Tyler outlines practical, immediate campaign-finance reforms to improve the political responsiveness of our government.

What to know before purchasing an ePub.

ISBN: 978-1-944648-93-0

Publication Date: January 2018

ISBN: 978-1-942952-92-3

Publication Date: January 2018

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Description

“A powerful critique of America’s dysfunctional democracy. Tyler vividly illustrates how government policy is bent to serve the needs of the wealthy few and shows that only fundamental political reforms can make America truly democratic.” —Martin Gilens, author of Affluence & Influence: Economic Inequality and Political Power in America

“George Tyler’s Billionaire Democracy is a profound, clearly and provocatively written indictment of the American political system by an insider who has seen up close how it works. This book is a must-read for all sentient American citizens.” —Clyde Prestowitz, author of The Betrayal of American Prosperity and president of the Economic Strategy Institute

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This isn’t your America.

We’re told that when we vote, when we elect representatives, we’re gaining a voice in government and the policies it implements. Then why don’t American politics, unlike those of its European counterparts, actually translate our preferences into higher living standards for the majority of us?

The answer is that, in America, the wealthy few have built a system that works in their favor and one which maintains the illusion of democracy. The reality is that the quality of democracy in the US is the lowest of all rich democracies in the world.

In the US, voters have little influence on eventual policy outcomes, especially when compared to peer democracies overseas. Our economy has been misfiring for most Americans for a generation, with wages stagnating and opportunity dwindling. The income bias engineered into politics by the Supreme Court in 1976 has American lawmakers competing to satisfy the preferences of donors from the top one percent, and the gridlock engineered into American government by the Founding Fathers has made it easy.

In Billionaire Democracy: The Hijacking of the American Political System, economist George R. Tyler lays out the fundamental problems plaguing our democracy. He explains how the American democratic system is rigged and how it has eroded the middle class, providing an unflinching and honest comparison of the US government to peer democracies abroad and breaking down where we fall short. Tyler outlines practical, immediate campaign-finance reforms to improve the political responsiveness of our government.

The income bias and Congressional gridlock mean the decades to come will differ little from the past decades of dwindling economic opportunity for most Americans. The only realistic pathway to improve middle-class economics is to raise the quality of American democracy. Reform faces formidable barriers that can only be overcome by a visionary Supreme Court willing to change the rules of American politics.

It’s time for the people of this nation to demand a government that properly serves us—the way any real democracy should.

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About the Author

George R.  Tyler

George R. Tyler

George Tyler is an economist who has extensive private- and public-sector exposure to international issues and foreign economics and political systems. Author of What Went Wrong, he worked in the United States Senate for 18 years. Tyler served as senior economist to former Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey and to Sen. Lloyd M. Bentsen (D-TX). Appointed by President Clinton as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Tyler has worked closely with top policymakers like Lawrence Summers and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. His international exposure was intensified when working at the World Bank in Washington.

Drawing on his international experience and contacts, Tyler co-authored the creation of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) in 1999. He envisioned DNDi as a non-profit NGO conducting research on medicines for the neglected diseases of the developing world. The international aid group Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontiéres or MSF) endorsed the concept and provided critical seed funding to the Geneva-based NGO. MSF continues to support the $19 million budget in conjunction with the U.S. National Institutes of Health and private donors like the Gates Foundation. As a member of the DNDi audit committee, Tyler gained extensive exposure to Europe and economic systems across the globe.

Coupled with his time in the U.S. Senate and Treasury, this experience gives Tyler an expansive perspective on the many variations of capitalism and democracy across the globe. Tyler is also treasurer of the international aid group Bikes for the World, which recycles American bicycles to Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and Latin America.

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Publication Details

Format: E-book (epub)

ISBN: 978-1-944648-93-0

Publication Date: January 2018

Format: Paperback

ISBN: 978-1-942952-92-3

Dimensions: 6 x 9 x 1 in.

Weight: 1.25 lbs.

Publication Date: January 2018

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