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Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and StickYou with the Bill)
Free Lunch answers the great mystery of our time: How did our strong and growing economy give way to job uncertainty, debt, bankruptcy, and fear for millions of Americans? Acclaimed reporter David Cay Johnston reveals how government policies and spending have reached deep into the wallets of the many to benefit the top 1% of the wealthiest.
He shows exactly who has been ge...more
He shows exactly who has been ge...more
Paperback, 336 pages
Published
December 30th 2008
by Portfolio Trade
(first published 2007)
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I knew it would make me mad to read this book.
And I was right. But, I suppose that's a good thing.
Reading this book is designed to make you mad, to want to do something about the 'pigs at the trough' as Ariana Huffington calls them; no, not the welfare mothers with their $241/mo checks. Heck, that's small potatoes.
I'm talking about major corporate welfare here; the subsidization of millionaires and billionaires. Sounds absurd, doesn't it? Especially when yo...more
And I was right. But, I suppose that's a good thing.
Reading this book is designed to make you mad, to want to do something about the 'pigs at the trough' as Ariana Huffington calls them; no, not the welfare mothers with their $241/mo checks. Heck, that's small potatoes.
I'm talking about major corporate welfare here; the subsidization of millionaires and billionaires. Sounds absurd, doesn't it? Especially when yo...more
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Pretty depressing. I mean I knew that there were a small handful of people getting rich at the public trough but it's disheartening to see facts and figures laid out for all to see. Makes you wonder how they get away with it until realize that folks with that much money and power don't answer to the same laws as you and I do. A few grains of salt are suggested as it's clear that the author has a bit of an axe to grind but if even half of what he alleges is true, I'd turn the grindstone for him.
I think everyone who wonders about the tax, subsidy and political systems at play in industries such as the utilities, ground transportation, retail, sports teams, hedge funds, health care, the airlines, etc., should read this book. David Cay Johnston does an extraordnary job of researching and chronicling (not without bias which he unambiguous about) a number of current cases that interrogate the distinct free pass/free lunch we extend to corporate capitalism. This, of course, at the cost to "...more
This is a great book, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you want a healthy dose of cynicism added to your literary diet. Every single one of the examples Johnston discusses makes you realize that the "haves" in our society often do not get ahead by being better capitalists, but rather by being masters of manipulating our (taxpayer) money. I think the most positive message this book has to offer is that opponents of free trade and capitalism as a system are often completely groundless ...more
NYT investigative journalist David Cay Johnston explores how complex government rules and subsidies for business skew market forces despite free market rhetoric of many CEOs and politicians. The subtitle is "How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense and Stick You With the Bill", perhaps indicating a certain bias. Interestingly, he uses free market arguments to reach traditionally "liberal policy" ends (e.g. less globalization).
While I do...more
While I do...more
marcali
rated it
·
review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
everyone
Shelves:
worth-owning,
dystopia
Devastating-- even more so than Shock Doctrine.
The number are clear. Change in average incomes over last 30 years:
Vast majority (270 million): 3% less (from $29,968 in 1975 to $29,143 in 2005)
The Rich (3 million): 209% increase ($359,501 to $752,058)
Superrich (30,000): 650% ($3,430,164 to $22,296,801)
In the end, the controlling party in government is Greenbacks. We are now in the midst of a new Robber Baron age -- approaching the same wage inequities seen before th...more
The number are clear. Change in average incomes over last 30 years:
Vast majority (270 million): 3% less (from $29,968 in 1975 to $29,143 in 2005)
The Rich (3 million): 209% increase ($359,501 to $752,058)
Superrich (30,000): 650% ($3,430,164 to $22,296,801)
In the end, the controlling party in government is Greenbacks. We are now in the midst of a new Robber Baron age -- approaching the same wage inequities seen before th...more
Johnston packs a lot of eye-opening data into this book, taking on major league sports, eminent domain abuse, health care, the laws touted to taxpayers as “deregulation”, and more. He calls upon both Adam Smith and the Bible to damn both Democrats and Republicans that have forsaken their duty to the people. There are many surprises— for instance, I had no idea that baseball was exempt from antitrust law and that big-league sports were not, overall, profitable without subsidies and tax breaks.
...more
...more
Mary Fahnlander
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone concerned about our national debt
Recommended to Mary by:
MPR Chitaqua speech by author
I learned how riled up a book can make me. When I saw how special interests and deregulation have increasingly pulled money away from the taxpayers with the theme of "letting the markets work" I was appalled. The book reminded me of "Freakonomics" as it paired unlikely cause/effect relationships, e.g. the home security industry as a major cause of increasing gang activity. The health care section was very informative as well. Johnston includes many easy first steps we cou...more
Linda
rated it
·
review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
(did) Nancy, Aunt Pat, Father Bob
Recommended to Linda by:
July, 2008 Library Book Discussion
Shelves:
chcpl,
book-discussion-read
Oh, my, gosh! This book will cause your blood pressure to soar into the unhealthy range. Johnston's well-researched book works both sides of the political aisle - Republicans and Democrats don't remain unscathed. You will wonder how we can break the chain of incentives and how we ever got into this mess to begin with. Since I was leading a bookclub discussion on this book, I tried to find comments against this book. I didn't find any. From the first story about an Amtrak train which derail...more
This book was hugely informative about government hand outs to big corporations. After hearing the author speak about a few chapters on NPR i was sold, and I have to say I enjoyed reading it more than I thought i would. That said my enjoyment came more out of a, dear lord I'm glad I know now those fucking wanker politicians should die, but it was still interesting. If gov stuff bores you it may still tickle your fancy since you learn about the history of things like health care in America and ho...more
Heated report on how the rich get richer on your dime
Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter David Cay Johnston exposes how the wealthy have used the U.S. government to distort markets, eliminate competition, support lavish lifestyles and appropriate tax dollars. He explains how developers get resorts subsidized, and how big businesses extract huge concessions from cities based on promised benefits that rarely materialize. He details how big sports teams get taxpayers to build palatial stadi...more
Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter David Cay Johnston exposes how the wealthy have used the U.S. government to distort markets, eliminate competition, support lavish lifestyles and appropriate tax dollars. He explains how developers get resorts subsidized, and how big businesses extract huge concessions from cities based on promised benefits that rarely materialize. He details how big sports teams get taxpayers to build palatial stadi...more
I need some heavy doses of liver-destroying acetaminophen after reading this. This is a sampling of how the rabble that makes up the lower 90% of our population gets screwed over by big corporations and ultra-rich peeps who have, mainly during the last three decades, figured out the mechanisms to put tax dollars to work for their bank accounts. I was familiar with such aspects as subsidies to big box stores and professional sports franchises and the legalized gambling know as hedge funds. But by...more
If you’re concerned about congressional earmarks, stock options (especially backdated options), hedge fund tax breaks, abuse of eminent domain, subsidies to sports teams, K Street lobbyists, the state of our health-care system, to say nothing of the cavernous gap between rich and poor, you’ll read this with a growing sense of anger. Free Lunch makes it clear that it’s high time for the ordinary citizens to stand up and be counted.
Johnston does his best to raise your blood to a boiling point, going into real detail about how the wealthy are ripping us all off. He examines a host of issues and connects dots,
offering many examples of how public money is filling the pockets of private enterprises with minimal benefit to the people footing the bill, from a ritzy golf course for the well-heeled in Bandon, Oregon, to the implementation of Byzantine rules that make AMTRAK responsible for the mismanagement of rail lines ...more
offering many examples of how public money is filling the pockets of private enterprises with minimal benefit to the people footing the bill, from a ritzy golf course for the well-heeled in Bandon, Oregon, to the implementation of Byzantine rules that make AMTRAK responsible for the mismanagement of rail lines ...more
The complete title explains the theme of this book well. This book is infuriating to read because the author shows how much the upper class and corporations are coddled in our current society, with the poor and middle class paying for their luxurious lifestyles. The book has a 2007 copyright, so it is outdated a bit, but it is very timely with the Occupy Wall Street protests that have been happening in 2011. The next time your local government wants to hand out all kinds of tax rebates and givea...more
This is a collection of stories by investigative reporter David Cay Johnston documenting government subsidies and protections doled out to corporations and wealthy individuals. For example, there are the wealthy owners of professional sports teams who receive subsidies to build stadiums. Pharmaceutical companies that receive protection from competition, guaranteeing them out sized profits.
In one particularly annoying example a railroad company apparently convinced the federal gov...more
In one particularly annoying example a railroad company apparently convinced the federal gov...more
David Cay Johnson has a great article in Mother Jones, hope the link persists:
http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/...
If you cannot read free lunch, read his article over lunch, unless of course you want to keep your lunch down because it will turn your stomach.
Before reading this I had one hump of hate, now I have two. If rage and helplessness are feelings you cultivate, read this book. If you need a catalyst to embark on a life of underground living, ...more
http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/...
If you cannot read free lunch, read his article over lunch, unless of course you want to keep your lunch down because it will turn your stomach.
Before reading this I had one hump of hate, now I have two. If rage and helplessness are feelings you cultivate, read this book. If you need a catalyst to embark on a life of underground living, ...more
In this new era of corporate bailouts and stimulus packages, it's funny to watch some of our elected officials pontificate about the evils of "socialism," seeing as these same officials have spent the last thirty years building a corporate welfare state. David Johnston shows how the working and middle classes have been compelled to further enrich (through taxes, eminent domain seizures, and judicial fiat) the already wealthy.
I suppose I already knew about (or at least susp...more
I suppose I already knew about (or at least susp...more
David Cay Johnston has produced a very obviously well-researched work. However, the tone of this book comes across as condescending and overly partisan. I think that, were some of the abuses chronicled in this book to be addressed more generally, it would appeal to a greater range of readers. This is not to say that I disagree with Johnston's assessments. On the contrary, he clearly knows of what he speaks. It's just that, after repeatedly reading about the dastardly deeds of "Bush"...more
A don't normally read books that sound depressing from the title. But a friend recommended it so I did. It was depressing reading story after story about how people take advantage. Some of the stories I had been aware of, most I had not.
I didn't rate the book higher for two reasons:
1) I felt it was repetitive. There's some themes in there and they aren't really summarized.
2) The conclusion "what can we do" is a bit thin. I was hoping for something more tangible...more
I didn't rate the book higher for two reasons:
1) I felt it was repetitive. There's some themes in there and they aren't really summarized.
2) The conclusion "what can we do" is a bit thin. I was hoping for something more tangible...more
I’m giving this book a “4” based on it’s depth of information and the clearly excellent research that the author performed.
Like many similar books, it dragged once I had gotten about a quarter of the way through it. Not because it was poorly written or because the contents were dull; these books have a style that comes close to being a diatribe after a while. How best to put it? If everything is being shouted at you eventually you lose the ability to respond to a loud voice with a...more
Like many similar books, it dragged once I had gotten about a quarter of the way through it. Not because it was poorly written or because the contents were dull; these books have a style that comes close to being a diatribe after a while. How best to put it? If everything is being shouted at you eventually you lose the ability to respond to a loud voice with a...more
A disturbing look at regulatory and government capture in The United States. More specifically, how government at all levels has enacted legislation, tax rebates and judicial decisions which have enriched a few at the cost of the many. This has occurred by using the power of taxation to transfer cash from a community to an individual such as occurs when building sports stadiums or providing tax incentives to open a Capellas Sporting Goods store. Personal connections at the highest levels o...more
David Cay Johnston's goal is to show how several millionaires or big businesses have worked the system getting tax cuts, incentives, and deals then show how tax payers end up paying for them.
I've been reading this book on and off for a while now and finally finished it. It certainly boils the blood but while it seems well-researched, if you look at the citations, most come from the New York Times. While a good newspaper, the NYT is not scholarly. But then, this isn't an academic work,...more
I've been reading this book on and off for a while now and finally finished it. It certainly boils the blood but while it seems well-researched, if you look at the citations, most come from the New York Times. While a good newspaper, the NYT is not scholarly. But then, this isn't an academic work,...more
This read became depressingly repetitive with examples of how the wealthy in America are disproportionately compensated compared to the average worker. That said, its a great primer on how, over time, we got to be in the financial mess that the world finds itself today, and in no small part thanks to the financial wizardry of the American banking system (I don't care how good you are at your job, no one is worth $11M a week - can you say hedge fund managers..?). Congress and U.S. lawmakers, to s...more
Wow! I know the few extremely wealthy American's take advantage of the system, but I did not know how much. This book reveals a lot even for a cynic like me. Check out the information on Obama's friend Warren Buffett.
Anyway, it still appalls me how people turn their noses down on a mom getting food stamps while they seem to have no interest or dismay in the wealthfare in this country.
The wealthy use all the infrastructure in this country, take advantage of every loophole...more
Anyway, it still appalls me how people turn their noses down on a mom getting food stamps while they seem to have no interest or dismay in the wealthfare in this country.
The wealthy use all the infrastructure in this country, take advantage of every loophole...more
This book is not well written.
I am not saying that I myself am a fabulous writer, nor do I envision myself breaking ground with dry business writing, but this effort by Mr. Johnston is quite bad. Too often he slips into cliches and poorly constructed metaphors in the middle of sections detailing rational arguments against government sponsored capitalism. Yet, if this was the worse offense, Free Lunch would still be tolerable. It is the overabundance of moralizing and self-righteousn...more
I am not saying that I myself am a fabulous writer, nor do I envision myself breaking ground with dry business writing, but this effort by Mr. Johnston is quite bad. Too often he slips into cliches and poorly constructed metaphors in the middle of sections detailing rational arguments against government sponsored capitalism. Yet, if this was the worse offense, Free Lunch would still be tolerable. It is the overabundance of moralizing and self-righteousn...more
I don't care what your ideology is -- this book should make you very angry about how politicians at all levels make sure corporations and fat cat CEOs are taken care of at the expense of the ordinary citizens. Don't think that money should be spent on social programs, okay, fine. But I can't imagine that anyone wants to see companies like Walmart and the insurance industry be given anything they want, while at the same time not paying their fair share in taxes and killing small business.
Major thesis: most Americans are not better off how than they were 28 years ago when Ronald Reagan asked, "are you better off now than you were four years ago?" If we were willing to throw Carter out on that basis, the book argues, then we should throw out Reaganomics on the same grounds because it has not worked for the vast majority of us. In this way, Johnson hoists Reaganomics on its petard. He goes on to hoist free market fundamentalism and its alliance with Christian fundament...more
Much better documented from a factual standpoint than many books in this genre. May leave reader so angry that they want to hit something. Utterly disgusting behavior by those highlighted as examples. Interesting that modeling not previously done under economic umbrella shows deregulated utilities are a failure for the public. (Interesting from the standpoint that an economist didn't previously computer model the behavior; merely sad from a consumer standpoint.) Adam Smith would be ashamed ...more
Jill
rated it
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Anyone Interested in Government, Economics, or Social Justice
This book had an interesting premise. It was about how the wealthy manage to become rich at the expense of government, making the rest of us pay. I wasn't really surprised about anything I read, but it did tick me off to think about how much less money there is for things like school lunches and education, because some executive desperately needs $60 million. And I can think of some better things to do with my money as well.
It was an interesting enough read for like half the boo...more
It was an interesting enough read for like half the boo...more
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