Greedy Bastards

Review

“This book might be the smelling salts that wake up America.”—Alan Grayson
“Greedy Bastards is superb. Dylan’s policy recommendations track with what the Committee for Economic Development has been saying on: health care, the federal deficit, corporate governance, education, a consumption tax, and campaign finance reform. His explanations are clear, and he nails health care with his criticism of the fee-for-service model. Greedy Bastards deserves wide readership!”—Charles Kolb, President of the Committee on Economic Development
“Some books explain a problem, this book gives you an entire world view. Greedy Bastards, puts everything in context and makes the enormity and entirety of our crises understandable. Dylan, as always, is incisive, sharp and pointed.” —Eliot Spitzer
“Greedy Bastards is a fantastic book! It has the perfect tone and is completely convincing.” —Lawrence Lessig, Director of the Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics at Harvard University and Professor of Law at Harvard Law School
“Exiles on Wall Street like us have a platform and a responsibility to speak out. Dylan's book shows that our problems don't stem from too much capitalism but not enough of it relative to our jerry-rigged system" —Mike Mayo, financial analyst and author of Exile on Wall Street
“Very sharp, funny, and splendidly written, Dylan Ratigan's new book is perfect for Americans disgusted with both our political parties who are trying to understand the roots of our broken economy and political system.” — Thomas Ferguson, University of Massachusetts, Boston and the Roosevelt Institute and author of Golden Rule
"Readers will find a great deal to ponder, as Ratigan covers why and how he's certain the USA is 'going seriously wrong.'"—USA Today
“Ratigan delivers an energetic, powerful, and at times unsettling portrait of America in crisis … And even though his portrait of the U.S. is bleak, he believes we have options.”—Publishers Weekly
“Greedy Bastards helps us better understand why we suffer recurrent, intensifying financial crises. First, cheating has become the dominant strategy in finance. Second, cheating is dominant because finance CEOs create such intensely perverse incentives that fraud becomes endemic.”— Bill Black, author of The Best Way to Rob a Bank is to Own One and associate professor of economics and law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City

Product Description

The host of the eponymous MSNBC show, Dylan Ratigan offers a bold and original post-partisan program to resuscitate the American Dream. At a time of deep concern with the state of America’s economy and government, it seems that all the media can give us is talking (or screaming) heads who revel in partisan brinkmanship. Then there’s Dylan Ratigan—an award-winning journalist respected and admired across the political spectrum. In Greedy Bastards, he rips the lid off of our deeply crooked system—and offers a way out.Employing the nuanced reporting and critical analysis that have earned him so much respect, Ratigan describes the five “vampires” that are sucking the nation dry, including an educational system that values mediocrity above all else; a healthcare system that is among the priciest and least-effective infrastructures in the industrialized world; a political system in which lobbyists write legislation; a “master-slave” relationship with our Chinese bankers; and an addiction to foreign oil that has sapped our willingness to innovate. In offering solutions to these formidable and entrenched obstacles, he does nothing less than lay the groundwork for a political movement dedicated to tackling the rot at the heart of the country. In its desperation, America needs more than just endless stock tips and Wall Street navel-gazing. It needs passionate debate and smart policy—and a hero to take on the establishment. Dylan Ratigan is that hero, and this is the book that will rally people behind him.