Author: John F. Wasik
Publisher: Bloomberg Press
ISBN: 978-1-57660-356-7

Click Here To Purchase The Audacity of Help: Obama's Economic Plan and the Remaking of America

John F. Wasik, author of The Audacity Of Help, has written twelve other books and pens a regular column for Bloomberg News. He is a public speaker, and co-founder/president of Citizens for Action that is tasked with organizing people toward holding our government to being transparent and accountable for their actions and legislation. John Wasik has a personal blog regarding this book on www.audacityofhelp.net .If you would like to read more about Mr. Wasik you can do so by logging on to his personal web site at www.johnwasik.com or for information about his not-for-profit action group log on to www.citizensactionproject.org .

Mr. Wasik does not appear to favor any one of our political parties in his writing of The Audacity Of Help. Most of this book is dedicated to talking about what candidate Obama promised on the campaign trail and comparing that to what President Obama and congress are accomplishing thus far into his presidency. John Wasik tackles the questions about who wins/loses with regard to proposed legislation in the areas of energy, taxation, education, stimulus funding, and healthcare. His analogies are thorough and well researched. He points out which sectors may benefit investors in each proposal floated by this Administration and why he believes that to be the case.

This book traces the falling down of our economy back to specific incidents in 2008 beginning with Bear Strearns being absorbed by JPMorgan/Chase to nearly 8,500 homes being foreclosed per month that summer to Fannie and Freddie being taken over by the government to Lehman Brothers bankruptcy to the Bernake/Paulson three-page plan to un-freeze credit to massive jobs being lost month after month to what President Obama and congress are attempting to do to stop this downward spiral/depression from worsening. (2009, p.10-14) Mr. Wasik believes that the plans put into place under President Obama will need a couple of years to bear fruit.

Unlike previous President’s, President Obama’s economic plans hinge on “placing social concerns before the alter of economic expansion….and emphasize people-centered principles by focusing on healthcare and education…in order to show how social goals can be combined with capitalism….to create a culture of sharing and responsibility for the entire population.” (2009, p.18) Typically this type of economic planning is called bottom-up and varies greatly from the top-down proposals used by prior Presidents because in this form of economic reform [paraphrase] contends that the government is not the enemy [contrary to what the right says], but can be co-benefactor toward achieving better socio-economic goals for the sinking middle class, those on fixed incomes, and the poor.

Key to the success of this plan according to Mr. Wasik is flexibility of this Administration. He then said that “The way major project money is allocated will also determine how Obama’s policies could re-shape the United States….focuses on giving the lion’s share of the funds to cities and suburbs, then it could trigger a new focus on urban renewal….(2009, p.43) if the Green Deal succeeds on a large scale, it will employ millions in the building trades alone, perhaps offsetting the horrendous job losses of the last several years.” (p.77)  

John Wasik states that [paraphrase] analysts and scholars compare The New Deal (Roosevelt) to what President Obama is doing now with regard to stabilizing our economy and creating jobs, but nobody can deny that under The New Deal four million jobs were created by 1934 and if President Obama can do the same he is going to be heralded as a great president. (2009, p.5) Mr. Wasik calls what President Obama is trying to do The Green Deal and says that it “means redefining connections between government investments and economic growth. (p.8) 

Regardless of what party you affiliate yourself with this book should be a must read in helping to shape the direction of future arguments and/or discussions on the topics and issues of import to all of America at this tumultuous time. The premises and arguments are logically presented and researched and flow to well-founded conclusions. The tips for investment in the financial sector make good common sense for those of you with money to invest toward the long term economic growth of this country. Thank you Mr. Wasik for a very credible, timely, and impressive read. 

 Click Here To Purchase The Audacity of Help: Obama's Economic Plan and the Remaking of America