Book Review: Third World America

The full title of this book is actually "Third World America: How Our Politicians are Abandoning the Middle Class and Betraying the American Dream" and it's by Arianna Huffington of the Huffington Post. It is a non-fiction political book but it isn't as partisan as you might think given that Arianna is widely known as a liberal Democrat. She rags on politicians on both sides of the aisle.

The book starts out with doom and gloom, as these kinds of books are wont to do, but then she turns it around and talks about things we can all do to turn our country around. We can make changes without waiting for the government to get some mojo and take action. The ideas she has are practical and do-able, for instance, if you are fed up with the big bonuses and excesses at the big banks, tired of their "tricks and traps" designed to part you from your money, then just MOVE YOUR MONEY. It's that simple. Take your money OUT of the too-big-to-fail banks and make them just a little bit smaller by banking with a small community bank or credit union. You can find such a bank in your community by inputting your zip code at the Move Your Money web site. This has nothing to do with partisan politics, liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican. This has to do with exercising our power to choose and letting Wall Street know that there are consequences for bad behavior.

The book ends on a positive note. The author, as an immigrant from Greece, believes in this country. She feels our "can-do American spirit" will surge to the fore to solve the problems we are facing. I hope her positive predictions are right!