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| Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You with the Bill) | 
 enlarge | Author: David Cay Johnston
Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $11.94
You Save: $13.01 (52%)
New (48) Used (18) Collectible (7) from $10.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  85 reviews
Sales Rank: 3112
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.3
ISBN: 1591841917
Dewey Decimal Number: 338.97302
EAN: 9781591841913
ASIN: 1591841917
Publication Date: December 27, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new condition with jacket. Will package well and ship fast! (j)
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Product Description
The bestselling author of Perfectly Legal returns with a powerful new expose
How does a strong and growing economy lend itself to job uncertainty, debt, bankruptcy, and economic fear for a vast number of Americans? Free Lunch provides answers to this great economic mystery of our time, revealing how todays government policies and spending reach deep into the wallets of the many for the benefit of the wealthy few.
Johnston cuts through the official version of events and shows how, under the guise of deregulation, a whole new set of regulations quietly went into effect regulations that thwart competition, depress wages, and reward misconduct. From how George W. Bush got rich off a tax increase to a $100 million taxpayer gift to Warren Buffett, Johnston puts a face on all of the dirty little tricks that business and government pull. A lot of people appear to be getting free lunchesbut of course theres no such thing as a free lunch, and someone (you, the taxpayer) is picking up the bill.
Johnstons many revelations include:
How we ended up with the most expensive yet inefficient health-care system in the world
How homeowners title insurance became a costly, deceitful, yet almost invisible oligopoly
How our government gives hidden subsidies for posh golf courses
How Paris Hiltons grandfather schemed to retake the family fortune from a charity for poor children
How the Yankees and Mets owners will collect more than $1.3 billion in public funds
In these instances and many more, Free Lunch shows how the lobbyists and lawyers representing the most powerful 0.1 percent of Americans manipulated our government at the expense of the other 99.9 percent.
With his extraordinary reporting, vivid stories, and sharp analysis, Johnston reveals the forces that shape our everyday economic livesand shows us how we can finally make things better.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 80 more reviews...
 How 1% of Americans Take From the Other 99% and Why We Tolerate It January 3, 2008
242 out of 260 found this review helpful
The author has written a well documented and detailed account of how less than 1% of Americans are getting rich of the backs of the other 99%. And, it isn't just individuals who are reaping millions of dollars from taxpayers...it's also corporations.
Some of the items presented in detail in the book include how one of the largest baseball teams in the country destroyed a public park for a new stadium, had it paid for by the citizens, and then gave payback to politicians who helped.
Or the two major hunting and fishing chains that got millions and millions in tax subsidies to build stores based on false and unsustainable promises, and continue to try to rape the treasuries of communities across the country with more false promises.
Or the company who built a call center in Buffalo using tax subsidies and sold it to the public through a newspaper owned by the same company.
These are just several examples of the material detailed in the book. In addition to showing who is taking, and how, the author details who is fighting back and how they are trying to in an era when the courts and politicians are held by corporate interests.
The book is well written, and well documented. In addition, the author took what can be a very dry subject and made extremely readable. This book should be read by every American, particularly in light of the upcoming presidential elections. Some familiar names will pop out at you as individuals who made their fortunes off our backs.
Excellent Analysis January 3, 2008
98 out of 126 found this review helpful
This book is an excellent analysis of corporate socialism. Johnson clarifies how profoundly industry has taken all the profits in a growing economy, taxing the citizens to do it. This a powerful political wakeup call. Highly recommended.
feeding at the public trough January 3, 2008
98 out of 116 found this review helpful
How can our government be so expensive, yet so ineffective?
Showing it's no accident that our political institutions too often serve the interests of the rich and powerful, Mr. Johnston "follows the money" -- the money that buys special favors, and the money that's siphoned out of our pockets to pay for them.
This is an eminently readable and informative book, that deserves a large audience. But be warned -- being informed can produce outrage!
Eric Alan Isaacson
A deafening silence January 4, 2008
58 out of 67 found this review helpful
David Cay Johnston has been writing about this topic for years.
Question to all: How come no Dateline or 60 Minutes investigation hasn't exposed this ongoing scam?
How come newspapers just won't harp mercilessly on the politicians about that?
THAT is the real tragedy that shall cost this country its very preeminence. A non-informed citizenry is prime material for being robbed of their money and freedoms.
 Much-needed investigative work January 3, 2008
56 out of 82 found this review helpful
I am basing my review on the author's NPR interview on "Fresh Air" January 3 (probably available via podcast.)
Mr. Johnston spoke clearly and compellingly, concisely outlining his research & findings. His subject matter delves into very contemporary topics & illustrate how wealthy private individuals & corporate interests have figured out ways to mine wealth from local communities' fiscal treasuries.
Their schemes include tax-increment financing for big-box retail development, special taxes to build professional sports stadia and even local police resources dedicated to responding to private burglar alarms, the vast majority of which are false alarms.
He also examines how recent deregulation and privatization of electric power utilities permit them to play rate games ala Enron that greatly disadvantage their customers.
Finally, he outlines a mechanism capable of stopping politicians and corporate lobbyists from continuing to drain the taxpayer's cookie-jar.
Any citizen of the U.S. desiring a fair & just society should be concerned with the subject matter on which Mr. Johnston writes.
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