Our Economic Well-Being

A Popular Economics Collective Responds to Questions about the Economy
from a United Methodist Congregation

Edited by Alejandro Reuss, Zoe Sherman, Chris Sturr, and the Dollars & Sense collective.

Edition:

1st

Date of publication:

April 2017

ISBN:

978-1-939402-29-5

Pages:

192

Price:

$24.95

for information about bulk-order discounts for activist groups, church groups, and unions!

• About
• Table of Contents

• The Economic Well-Being Award
• Introduction: From Our Collective to Your Congregation
• Chapter 1: Measuring Our Economic Experience
  • 1. Are We Better Off Than We Were Forty Years Ago? Zoe Sherman
  • 2. The Real Unemployment Rate John Miller
  • 3. Our Triple Jobs Problem Alejandro Reuss
  • 4. The Gig Economy Gerald Friedman
  • 5. What Happened to Wages? Gerald Friedman
  • 6. Myths of the Deficit Marty Wolfson
  • 7. Myths and Realities of Government Spending Gerald Friedman
  • 8. The Great Tax-Cut Experiment Gerald Friedman
  • 9. GDP and Its Discontents Alejandro Reuss
  • 10. Beyond Debt and Growth An Interview with Robert Pollin
  • 11. The Costs of Austerity Gerald Friedman
  • 12. What Happened to the Recovery? Gerald Friedman
• Chapter 2: We Had Choices: What Choices Did We Make That Got Us Here?
  • 1. That ’70s Crisis Alejandro Reuss
  • 2. Inequality, Power, and Ideology Arthur MacEwan
  • 3. A Great Fall: The Origins and Crisis of Neoliberalism David M. Kotz
  • 4. All the King’s Horses: Neoliberal Capitalism, Its Crisis, and What Comes Next David M. Kotz
• Chapter 3: We Still Have Choices. How Can We Change Course?
  • 1. Rank-and-File Economics Katherine Sciacchitano
  • 2. Universal Health Care: Can We Afford Anything Less? Gerald Friedman
  • 3. What Would Full Employment Cost? Arthur MacEwan
  • 4. We Need a (Green) Jobs Program Jeannette Wicks-Lim
  • 5. A Superfund for Workers Jeremy Brecher
  • 6. Equal Treatment for Immigrants Alejandro Reuss
  • 7. Why We All Need Affirmative Action Jeannette Wicks-Lim
  • 8. “Just Cause” and the Attack on Job Security Rand Wilson
  • 9. A Case for Public Ownership Arthur MacEwan
  • 10. Co-op Economics Nancy Folbre
  • 11. Climate Policy as Wealth Creation James K. Boyce
  • 12. Escaping the Dependency Trap of Capitalism Cynthia Kaufman
  • 13. The Future of Work, Leisure, and Consumption An Interview with Juliet Schor
• Appendix: Trumpism: Causes and Consequences
  • 1. Trump and National Neoliberalism Sasha Breger Bush
  • 2. It Can Happen Here David M. Kotz
  • 3. Making America Irate Again Steven Pressman
  • 4. What Trump Can and Can’t Do to Immigrants David Bacon
  • 5. Three Wages of Whiteness Zoe Sherman
  • 6. Surviving in the Age of Trump Dean Baker
  • 7. Green-State America Frank Ackerman
• Contributors