It's The Economy, Stupid

by Christos A. Djonis

Since the end of World War II, most people around the world regarded the United States as the land of opportunity. The baby boomers and Generation X knew it best as "the land of milk and honey." It was a place where people could easily raise a family and with hard work could achieve anything they set their mind to. The American Dream, a dream of a land where life is better, richer and fuller for everyone, was alive.
Much has changed, though, in the past four decades. Most Americans today do not realize that since the early 1990s, when the world markets began to merge and globalization took place, America went through a major transformation. Today, the America of yesterday, a place where children grew up to ultimately earn more than their parents, is no longer reality but, in most cases, just wishful thinking.
In today's globalized world, working in America no longer feels any different than earning a living in Europe or Japan. Indeed, income levels and employment opportunities now appear to be similar. Are they, though? Do Americans still have the edge or has the American Dream finally slipped away? Is it possible to conceive that American workers could be disadvantaged when compared to those living and working in other countries? While most people live their everyday lives never knowing, one thing is clear. Anxiety about the future is in the air, but what causes it? Can the past be restored? One thing is certain. Americans cannot afford to remain complacent with the status quo.

Genres: Nonfiction

130 pages, Paperback

Published March 31, 2018

About the author

Those who know Christos best describe him as a serial entrepreneur. He is a professional business owner, a real estate investor, an upscale home designer-builder, and an award-winning best-selling author of non-fiction books—all "passion projects," as he calls them.
CYPRUS - The Island of Aphrodite (2011), is a travel guide to the Greek island of Cyprus.
UCHRONIA (2014), touches on several controversial topics, including Plato’s Atlantis. In 2017, “New York City Big Book Awards” voted UCHRONIA as one of their Distinguished Favorites!
IT'S THE ECONOMY, STUPID! (2017), outlines the economic conditions that currently exist in the US. With dozens of charts and government data covering sixty years, it demonstrates beyond a reasonable doubt that Americans are worse off today than at any other time since 1968. In 2018, won Gold Awards from both the Independent Press Awards and NYC Big Book Awards.
ATLANTIS - The Find of a Lifetime (2021), effectively reveals Atlantis' submerged island (a prehistoric setting now beneath 400 feet of water) and shows how Plato's 2000-year-old story ultimately transforms into real history.
UCHRONIA - Updated and Expanded Edition (2021) is not just an extension or a more in-depth analysis of the original work published in 2014, but an opportunity to illustrate how several recent scientific events and archaeological discoveries now further support many of the earlier conclusions noted in the original edition.

Reviews

[Elizabeth Connor]

I wasn't really sure what to expect when I requested this book from Netgalley, but it turns out this was a good pick for me. If, like me, you're sick and tired of non-stop partisan propaganda, this book will provide you with unbiased facts. The fact that I have to specify unbiased facts, as if there are any other kinds of facts, is really much of the problem. And it's embarrassing to admit this, as I consider myself well-educated enough to be logical and objective, but even I have fallen prey to the machinations of the media.

Don't get me wrong. I am disgusted by the lack of coverage of issues that really matter. But I have allowed myself to watch discussion panels to obtain differing points of view. I have a tendency to shut down when people use inflammatory language, and I'm realizing maybe that's because I instinctively know that when someone resorts to insults and repetition of sound bytes, they've probably been brainwashed already. This book made me realize just how prevalent that is — and it goes both ways.

Overall, I would have to say this book was both enlightening and depressing. The author points out that if the minimum wage had risen along with worker productivity and inflation since the early 1950s, today it would have been set at $21.72 per hour! And, this little factoid was particularly depressing: “Due to the rising debt, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that in the next twenty years, the annual income of a family of four (when adjusted for inflation) will be worth $16,000 less than today! A disturbing estimate not only for the 44 percent of people whose earnings today can buy less than the minimum wage in 1968, but to every American, since within the next two decades, with the value of the dollar going down and the cost of living going up, millions more will be joining those already struggling to make ends meet.”

No discussion of the economy would be complete without addressing the military industrial complex as well as propaganda. This quote from Hitler's propaganda chief, Herman Goering was particularly chilling: “Of course the people don't want war. But after all, it's the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to greater danger.”

The book is chock-full of charts and graphs and numbers to prove the points, and he even finishes with a list of very sensible suggestions to fix things. The problem is that groups have become so polarized to one another that it's difficult to find people who are willing to listen. And it may be even more difficult to effect change at the federal level because the people in power don't want to change anything because it's working for them. Ultimately, I finished this book with very mixed feelings: anger, frustration, despondency, and maybe a little bit of hope. I’m trying to hold on to the hope. I recommend the book.

[Chris Schultz]

This book will bring you to the sober realization that the United States is not the great country that you think it is. So many of our perceptions of our economic well being are sorely misplaced. Through some historical perspective and hard factual statistics, Djonis presents us with irrefutable facts that show how we as a country have lost our compass and thus, our standing in the world. He backs these observations with nearly 22 pages of sources, including many government bureaus and leading economists. This should be required reading for all college entrants. Far from having an agenda for or against capitalism, the book is filled with charts and graphs that provide the reader with hard facts, letting the reader come to his/her own conclusions.

[Carol Turner]

The most readable economics book I've seen in a long while. While Djonis has a political slant, he generally explains well enough that even those who don't agree with him will read on - and maybe be convinced. If I weren't convinced by what he says, the bibliography could keep me busy for weeks.

[Vincent Schaefer]

I won this in a good reads giveaway.

I enjoyed this book. It was well researched. I did learn some facts I was not aware of. Other reviewers mentioned the author had an agenda. I did not feel that way. Sadly, everything today gets put in a political party bucket.

[Cristina]

This short book is a quick n' easy dive into the economy of United States. How did our democracy achieve this level of corporatism? What effects have the booming military-industrial complex and the War on Drugs had on our budget? And of course, what is the state of our welfare system and what are some options for correcting the course of our deficit?
The text has clearly been well researched, but it was a bit disappointing to only hear one side of every argument. Overall, Djonis has presented his statistically informed opinions in this "passion project." Still an interesting and clearly well-researched read, but it leaves me wanting more information, really just a more critical dissection of the economic solutions posited.

[Nan Williams]

The author clearly has an agenda for pushing socialism as a replacement for the American capitalist economy. He has lots and lots of charts throughout the book.

It was not enjoyable and disturbing rather than enlightening.

I can not recommend this book and will not seek others by this author.

NetGalley and the publisher, Page Publishing, Inc., made this ARC available to me in exchange for an honest review.

[Timothy]

A must read! This book details all of the economic woes and how we got there. It offers advice on how to fix the problems. Depressingly, we will never get there when the voting public only seeks confirmation of what it already believes and closes its mind to new ideas.

[Ronald Gruner]

Every engineer knows that "data drives out speculation". So being an engineer, I enjoyed Christos Djonis's book, It's the Economy Stupid! More importantly, I found it enlightening with the dozens of color charts and graphs explaining the American economy from the decline of middle-class income as a percentage of GDP (page 40) to the steep growth of prison populations since 1980 (page 71).

Everywhere we hear America's growing welfare state condemned. But why is the welfare state growing? This book answers that question in the first few pages: "...stagnating and poverty wages, not only in the last ten years, but for the past four decades, led to the current crisis where today more than 100 million Americans rely on some form of government assistance." (page 6)

Politicians continually make unjustified and just plain wrong claims about economics, taxation and other matters. They're depending on a poorly educated and credulous population to believe them. Spending an evening with this book will help concerned Americans separate the true wheat from the political chaff.

[Cristina]

// I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This short book is a quick n' easy dive into the economy of United States. How did our democracy achieve this level of corporatism? What effects have the booming military-industrial complex and the War on Drugs had on our budget? And of course, what is the state of our welfare system and what are some options for correcting the course of our deficit?
The text has clearly been well researched, but it was a bit disappointing to only hear one side of every argument. Overall, Djonis has presented his statistically informed opinions in this "passion project" while steering clear of other perspectives. Still an interesting and clearly well-researched read, but it leaves me wanting more information, really just a more critical dissection of the economic solutions posited.

[Connie Flynn]

This book should be read by everyone in the country who is over twelve. This is a political book, but not political. Instead it lays out the problems and then does something very rare. Suggest intelligent solutions. I recommend this book to anyone interested in understanding what our crazy economy is about. Afterwards, you'll never cast an uneducated vote.

[Melinda M]

It's the Economy, Stupid by Christos A. Djonis and is about the economy. It was disappointing as it pushes a socialism agenda. Christos A. Djonis offers only one side of the argument . It is a quick read. the best part of the book is that Christos A. Djonis does a good job of explaining economy terms.

I received a copy thru a Goodreads Giveaway.

[J]

As the subtitle says, this book is a "quick evaluation" of some important issues in the U.S. economy. It's easy to read, fairly short, not dry, explains jargon, and has plenty of graphics to make the info easier to understand. It'd be a great read for anyone who knows very little about the economy but would like to start to understand it better.

[Tena]

I won a kindle version #GoodreadsGiveaway

[Joan]

Djonis admits right away that he is not a professional economist. He is a business owner and avid researcher. He wanted to better understand what voters thought of the 2016 presidential candidates, the federal court, and the economy. This book is the result.

He begins by helping readers understand economic terms and the fundamentals of the U S economy and how the actions of politicians affect it. I found the definitions a bit hard to understand and had to reread some several times before they became clear.

However, the rest of the book was great. I did not know to the degree the quality of life in the U S had declined in the last forty years. With stagnating wages, one in three Americans “cannot sustain themselves without some form of government assistance.” (110/1281) In other words, they live below the poverty line. Employee benefits are not regulated in the U S so the U S employee benefits rank at the bottom of industrialized nations. (141/1281) Djonis writes about corporations, their lobbying and how government policy is manipulated.

There is a great amount of well presented information included in this book. I can tell he has done a great deal of research. He gives many graphs and charts to illustrate his findings. He adds what he thinks should be done to strengthen the U S economy and draw down the ever growing national debt.

I recommend this book to readers who would like to understand how the U S economy works. You'll find lots of information on corporations, wages, medical expenses and more. You'll also be encouraged to take action. Unfortunately, most of that action would need to be taken by our representatives and senators. I think the economic future of the U S looks dim.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book through NetGalley. My comments are an independent and honest review.