Act of Congress: How America’s Essential Institution Works, and How It Doesn’t
Act of Congress: How America’s Essential Institution Works, and How It Doesn’t
An eye-opening account of how Congress today really works—and doesn’t—that follows the dramatic journey of the sweeping financial reform bill enacted in response to the Great Crash of 2008.
The founding fathers expected Congress to be the most important branch of government and gave it the most power. When Congress is broken—as its justifiably dismal approval ratings suggest—so is our democracy. Here, Robert G. Kaiser, whose long and distinguished career at The Washington Post has made him as keen and knowledgeable an observer of Congress as we have, takes us behind the sound bites to expose the protocols, players, and politics of the House and Senate—revealing both the triumphs of the system and (more often) its fundamental flaws.
Act of Congress tells the story of the Dodd-Frank Act, named for the two men who made it possible: Congressman Barney Frank, brilliant and sometimes abrasive, who mastered the details of financial reform, and Senator Chris Dodd, who worked patiently for months to fulfill his vision of a Senate that could still work on a bipartisan basis. Both Frank and Dodd collaborated with Kaiser throughout their legislative efforts and allowed their staffs to share every step of the drafting and deal making that produced the 1,500-page law that transformed America’s financial sector.
Kaiser explains how lobbying affects a bill—or fails to. We follow staff members more influential than most senators and congressmen. We see how Congress members protect their own turf, often without regard for what might best serve the country—more eager to court television cameras than legislate on complicated issues about which many of them remain ignorant. Kaiser shows how ferocious partisanship regularly overwhelms all other considerations, though occasionally individual integrity prevails.
Act of Congress, as entertaining as it is enlightening, is an indispensable guide to a vital piece of our political system desperately in need of reform.
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Categories: Loan Products Tags: 2008, allowed, America's, Congress, doesn't, Essential, Institution, Price, Works
Aftershock: Protect Yourself and Profit in the Next Global Financial Meltdown
Aftershock: Protect Yourself and Profit in the Next Global Financial Meltdown
Recovery? What Recovery?
Did you lose money in the stock market in the last financial crisis of late 2008?
Has your home lost value? Are you “underwater” in your mortgage or concerned about selling?
Do your dollars buy less than they used to at the grocery store and the gas pump?
Have you lost your job or know someone who did?
Are you worried about the safety of your money and investments?
Don’t Get Fooled Again!
While the “experts” want us to believe that all is well (or will be soon), nothing could be further from the truth. The worldwide financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 was just a sneak preview of what is to come. For those who act quickly and correctly, there is still time to protect yourself, your family, and your business in the next global money meltdown. Updated and fully revised, this Second Edition of the Wall Street Journal business bestseller Aftershock can help you:
- Protect and grow your assets before, during, and after the next global financial crisis
- Spot and cash in on the best new investment opportunities
- Know which jobs, careers, and business sectors will fare the best
- Profit rather than lose when asset bubbles collapse around the world
From the reviews of the critically acclaimed First Edition:
“Their scenario is dark, and their strategies bold and unconventional. But after being on target the last time they went against the grain, the Wiedemers merit being heard out.”
The Associated Press
“Surrounded as we are by growing talk of recovery and news about ‘green shoots,’ it’s still refreshing to consider the different perspective that Wiedemer, Wiedemer, and Spitzer offer here.”
Robert J. Hughes, SmartMoney
“Aftershock makes a compelling argument for a chilling conclusion. Their track record demands our attention.”
Sam Stovall, Chief Investment Strategist, Standard & Poor’s
“The fragility of today’s economy demands that we, as investors, allocate our assets with more prudence and focus than ever before. The authors’ prescience in their first book lends credence to their new warnings. This book deserves our attention.”
Robert Friedman, former CFO, Goldman Sachs
“Their first book, America’s Bubble Economy, was one of those rare finds that not only predicted the subprime credit meltdown well in advance, it offered Main Street investors a winning strategy. Now they’ve done it again.”
Paul B. Farrell, JD, PhD, Senior Columnist, Dow Jones/MarketWatch
Bonus Chapter: Available Exclusively on Amazon.com
Read a bonus chapter–available exclusively on Amazon.com–which details the authors’ predictions and recommendations for a post-dollar-bubble world.
Q&A with the Book’s Authors
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Isn’t the economy recovering now? Why worry about an Aftershock?
It may look like a recovery but this is really a fake recovery, driven by printing money and massive government borrowing that are temporarily slowing the fall of our multi-bubble economy. We are just kicking our problems down the road and making the future Aftershock that much worse.
How is the second edition of Aftershock different from the first edition?
The new Aftershock is more than 35% updated and contains our latest analysis of the current economy, plus our forecasts for 2012 and beyond. There are two entirely new chapters that you won’t want to miss, especially the one on how the Federal Reserve’s medicine will become a poison when thier program of quantitative easing eventually causes dangerous inflation and rising interest rates ahead. Future inflation is the single biggest threat to the economy and to your stocks, bonds, real estate, and cash. Throughout the new Aftershock, we show you how future inflation will damage the already falling bubble economy and what to do to protect yourself and your assets when it hits. There will even be a few ways to make money on inflation — but only if you see it coming.
How is this book any different from all the rest?
Aftershock is the only book to correctly predict the economic mess we are in today and foresee what is next, based on a proven macroeconomic view of the evolving global economy.
What will be some of the first signs of the coming Aftershock?
Actually, it’s already happening now, but it isn’t easy to see unless you know what to look for. The second edition of Aftershock explains in detail what is ahead, how to see it coming, and what to do about it right now, while there’s still time to protect yourself.
Have we seen the “aftershock” of the 2008 market meltdown yet? If not, when do you predict we will see its effects?
No we haven’t seen the “aftershock” of the 2008 market meltdown. We will see it when inflation nears 10%, which is likely about 2 – 3 years away.
List Price: $ 27.95
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