Obamanomics: How Bottom-Up Economic Prosperity Will Replace Trickle-Down Economics

by John R. Talbott

Barack Obama’s greatest strength has been his ability to bring the country together in a meaningful dialog. For far too long the divisions among races, religions, cultures, and genders have prevented Americans from coming together to solve the most important problems of our Environment and energy shortages Mortgage and housing crises War and terrorism Healthcare and Social Security Poverty in the world’s richest nation As the Obama administration takes on the current economic crisis amid accusations of planning a socialist system, economics and political writer John R. Talbott argues that such complex problems found both at home and abroad cannot just be left to the actions of government or the free market business world, or the Bush administration's version of Reagonomics that still sticks to a “trickle-down” policy. The change that Talbott sees from a Barack Obama presidency is one based on justice and cooperation, principles that have not held sway in Washington, DC for a very long time. Obamanomics, infused with Obama’s speeches, campaign policy statements, and other writings, describes not just a government but a NATION acting according to democratic principles to reform lobbying, banking, and housing as well as restore economic growth, address the healthcare system, improve education, and find solutions to our aging population and declining energy sources. Once emphasis is placed on citizen involvement, real solutions become apparent to our most pressing problems. The American values of goodness, justice, and fairness is reflected in this man with roots from Kenya, Kansas, Hawaii, and Illinois can once again be incorporated into our economic and financial system. A former investment banker for Goldman Sachs, John R. Talbott is the author of four books on economics and politics, including The Coming Crash in the Housing Market making him one of the first to predict the current housing and mortgage crisis. He has appeared on CNN, Fox News, CNBC, and CBS Marketwatch and has written for The Wall Street Journal , the Financial Times , and the Boston Globe .

Genres: Economics, Politics, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

John Talbott is an economic consultant who has authored academic papers on economic growth and development and made presentations on the subject to the governments of Russia, Jordan, and Qatar. A visiting scholar at the Anderson School at UCLA, Talbott is also a former vice president in the investment banking division of Goldman, Sachs, and Company.

Reviews

[Jbryon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good policies but appreciated the excerpt in the NY Times magazine more than the book. The goal for this Nov. should be to pass on the abridged version published in the magazine to as many undecided voters as possible. The book itself is concise but it won't be read by as many voters as are necessary.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Way too fluffy, not enough information.

[Massimiliano Mauriello]

Today, on the occasion of the release of the italian edition of the book by John R. Talbott "Obamanomics" published in Italy by "Università Bocconi Editore", has been held a Round Table at ISPI, where took part Boris Biancheri from ISPI, Tito Boeri from Bocconi University, Alberto Martinelli from Milan State University, Fabio Ranchetti from Pisa University and Corriere della Sera and John R. Talbott himself in a teleconference communication.



Talbott, bestselling author, is considered as one of the first to predict the current housing and mortgage crisis, has been focusing his attention to the economic and social challenges of the new presidency, as well as to economic possibilities achievable under a Barack Obama presidency.

http://massimilianomauriello.blogspot...

[Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't get very far into this book, and I just couldn't finish it. The writing wasn't very good and I don't think I was the best audience. I didn't need to be convinced of how or why Obama's economic policy would work. I would rather read his website than waste my time with all the extra fluff that Talbott wrote. Sorry, but it was a bit disappointing.

[Bonny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obama has seriously thought about the difficult issues that we all face. He has a good plan but it will be hard to accomplish. But he is ready to face the issues! It is not more of the same morass. We all have a lot a work ahead of us.

[Mariah Oleszkowicz · Rating 2 out of 5]

perhaps if I had read this closer to 2008 it would have been more interesting to me. Reading about finance is hard enough to be so out of date. I gave up.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a concise and informative overview of the President's policies on all major issues concerning America today: the current financial crisis and recession, education, health care, global warming, social security, etc. Author and former investment banker John R. Talbot uses his background in banking, his insight on America's financial situation (he predicted the current financial crisis back in 2002 and no one believed him), and his belief that Barack Obama is onto something in his methods and proposed plans to fix the state of our nation to write a book that is easily accessible to the average American and will give them information that will help them make more informed decisions.

Here are a couple of the interesting ideas/concepts I marked while reading:
1. "The best indicator of how well your country is doing today was established some 400 years ago when it was colonized." (p. 38) British colonized America; they created a place in which to live. However, when European nations colonized less hospitable locations (i.e. places in Africa), they extracted resources, but didn't set up living. Those places are not doing as well as we are, although we were colonized by the same people.

2. "We spend twenty years educating our children to widen their horizons, and then, before they can demonstrate their genius, we force them to narrow them." (p. 63) That hit home... college graduates strapped with debt take jobs that will pay the bills. These jobs aren't necessarily the jobs we want or even went to school for.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Talbott was one of the voices warning that was is not happening to the economy would indeed happen. He brings his expertise to the policies of Barack Obama. I think he does himself a bit too much of a favor putting Obama's name so prominently in his title. But, he does do a good job of showing both what is the substance of Obama's economic policies and what he personally believes should be done. He even has the courage to make the important point that most people are afraid to make:

Reagan/Bush style economics (trickle down economics) is easily shown to benefit only a small group of already rich people, and to cause pain for the country as whole. We already know that trickle down economics does not work to improve or retain the strength of a country. But he rightly makes the case that even attempting trickle down economics is morally wrong. It is backwards and wrong to have government encourage wealth for the already wealthy - Barack Obama offers a positive alternative and this book is a pretty good introduction to that alternative.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read on bottom-up economics vs. trickle-down, with some insight on Obama's economic thoughts and intentions. It's not written by or for Obama but rather based on his stance on the issues. Basically, what Talbott, a former investment banker at Goldman-Sachs, believes will happen if we follow Obama's beliefs.

Talbott predicted the housing crisis and even wrote a book on it before it happened (The Coming Crash in the Housing Market). He writes for the average American; not a lot of financial verbiage aimed at financial scholars. A very easy and understandable read.

[Yasmin · Rating 2 out of 5]

An easy and beautiful read. I could not put this book down. Yes, it is high time for bottom-up Economics to replace trickle-down Economics to be able to get back on the track of prosperity. The excerpts from Obama's speeches make the book more interesting. This is one book that addresses issues of globalization, global warming, poverty, etc comprehensively and with clarity. He does not only outline Obama's solutions to address these problems but he also gives his own perspective of these solutions and their positive and negative consequences. He goes on to give various alternative solutions to the problems.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly objective overview of Obama's economic ideologies and proposed policies. It's a general analysis, but has a decent breakdown of the major issues. I feel much more informed about what Obama's intentions are for the economy. My only issue was that in the last few chapters the author seemed to lose a lot of his objective edge; it got a little too mushy for me (as if it was turning into a pro-Obama rally instead of an analysis). Still worth the read, however.

[Damian · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is mainly a campaign restatement, which is somewhat interesting, but given how fluffy campaigns are, and how much doesn't actually pass once a president is in office, I am not sure of the point of reading this book. The policies are also not bottom-up. Bottom-up is encouraging individuals to flourish and work, whereas many of these policies are government-led.

[Candice]

This is a great book for anyone unsure if Obama is ready to face America's economic challenge. The author sometimes takes the opportunity to get on his own soapbox; but for the most part it is an educational read.

[Neu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, provided some insights into Obama's political past. But it was hard for me to tell what was the author's opinion on policy, Obama's opinion and what the author wishes/hopes is Obama's opinion. But interesting nonetheless.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only half of what Talbot says might be attributable to Obama's thoughts. Talbot interjects his own design and desire in the text which subtracts from its intrinsic value as a representation of Obama's platform. Much has changed since....

[Lorie · Rating 3 out of 5]

like the parallel between bobby kennedy and barack obama. interesting. do not agree with every premise, and obama is no messiah, but talbott does do a good job of summarizing the president's ideals. let's see if he can actually practice what he preaches. it takes more than hope to lead.

[Leila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good info on Obama's past positions on certain issues, but it didn't quite fulfill its title to show what policies & how they will replace the current state of the economy.

[Claire S]

Read about it here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/18/boo..., looks really interesting!

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't put it down. This is the first book I've read in a while that I want to pick up and read all over again.

[Elisabeth]

I really want to like this book. I want to agree with it philosophically. But the problem is it's so poorly written and in such dire need of editing, i just can't get through it!

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book doesn't cover anything new but is an interesting recap of what President Obama can (and should) do to fix some of the fundamental flaws in our economy.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This helped me understand a little more clearly what Obama is trying to do to help us out of this economic crisis.

[Melva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting.