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Summary
Summary
The year 2010 marked when the National Bureau of Economic Research declared an end to the Great Recession. The economy had shed over six million jobs in 2008 and 2009, but few had been recalled to work by 2010. Today, government policies have yet to make a significant dent in unemployment. In End Unemployment Now , Ravi Batra explores why this is the case. He explains how joblessness can be completely eliminated--in just two years, and without the help of our painfully incompetent Congress. The President and the Federal Reserve have the legal authority to generate free-market conditions that will quickly end the specter of unemployment, all without involving Congress.
Some examples of how to end unemployment without congressional intrusion:
* Creating a bank by the FDIC to compete with banking giants and then charging only 5% interest rates on credit card balances, instead of the standard 10-35% seen today
* Banning mergers among large and profitable firms, as such mergers directly cause layoffs and reinforce monopoly capitalism
* Aid to small businesses in the form of cheap loans and government contracts, because small firms have been real job creators since 1980, while Big Business has been a job destroyer
* Offer retiree bonds to increase the incomes of pensioners who live on savings and whose incomes have been practically destroyed by the collapse of interest rates
* Bring oil prices down to $20/barrel, which would lower a gallon of gas to $1.50
Author Notes
DR. RAVI BATRA, a professor of economics at Southern Methodist University, is the author of six international bestsellers. Previously, Batra has been ranked third in a group of "superstar economists," according to Economic Enquiry . Dr. Batra has been written up in major newspapers and magazines, such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Time, Newsweek , etc., and has appeared on CBS, NBC, CNN, ABC, CNBC, among many other networks. He lives in Dallas, TX.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this important book, Southern Methodist University economics professor Batra offers practicable solutions to many of the economic problems plaguing America. Most promisingly, these ideas can be implemented without involving Congress and the party loyalties that so often gum up the legislative works. Batra denounces our current system of monopoly capitalism as the main problem, positing free markets and competitive capitalism as the solution. While free markets would by necessity involve congressional input, Batra states that the President can bring about truly competitive capitalism without political hindrance. Batra's cogent inventory of what he sees as the current obstacles to be overcome includes a "Do Nothing" Congress, high unemployment, monopoly capitalism, and stock market bubbles. He finds the cure for these economic ailments in the sectors of banking and finance, oil and gasoline, big pharma, and foreign trade. This worthy treatise concludes with a concise summation of its key proposals, including creating a bridge bank to bring down credit card interest rates, gradually raising the minimum wage in concert with inflation and national productivity levels, and preserving competition by not allowing large profitable firms to merge. Even readers new to this level of detail should recognize the wisdom of Batra's ideas. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Batra (Economics/Southern Methodist Univ.; The New Golden Age: A Revolution against Political Corruption and Economic Chaos, 2009, etc.) offers far-reaching proposals to end joblessness quickly. Taking a broader overview of unemployment than the narrow definition employed to boost claims for the strength of economic recovery, the author offers a macroeconomic look at the causes of joblessness and income inequality. "The ultimate source of joblessness," he writes, "is monopoly capitalism, which enables industrial giantsto charge exorbitant prices while restraining wages and extracting huge productivity from employees. This creates overproduction, hence layoffs." Batra disagrees with those who believe that domination by virtual monopoly corporations is part of the proper functioning of a free market. He advocates for the use of the executive branch to adopt and enforce regulations to launch a shift away from corporate domination and toward truly freer markets. Interestingly, he recommends as a model the approach adopted by American occupation authorities in Japan and Germany after World War II. Japanese industries were configured as vertical monopolies and called Zaibatsu, which "earned high profits by keeping wages low." The U.S. military dissolved them and the owners were removed from their positions. The conglomerates were then broken up into the smaller, more agile and creative pieces, which helped Japan recover from the war with free market methods. The U.S. military did the same to Germany's war economy, breaking up IG Farben, which provided the gas for many concentration camps. Batra believes "the president has to take charge and deliver the poor and middle class from the damning status quo." The author argues that the president should break up the corporate monopolies of the finance and retail sectors, along with oil and pharmaceutical industries, by administrative fiat. A similar approach, he argues, could be adopted to reregulate foreign trade. An innovative approach that will appeal to those who question current claims of economic recovery. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
A novel publishing strategy stands behind this book. After holding an enthusiastic audience with then-speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Southern Methodist University professor with unique economy-busting ideas is then referred to (at the time) fed chairman Ben Bernanke. Nothing happens. So why not write a book? Batra, in an atypical academic fashion, details all the issues that led up to the U.S. wage gap, horrendous oil prices, and high interest rates and, yes, a loomingly alarming high-unemployment rate. He does so in simple English (no economists' jargon), plain charts and graphs, and a straightforward approach that compels without selling. Part 1 diagnoses all possible issues, from oligarchy (the concentration of wealth) to monopoly capitalism and wage gaps throughout the world, ending with an intriguing town-hall-style debate. Part 2 is the cure, with some startling yet commonsense recommendations, such as don't allow mergers and acquisitions among large and profitable firms; reform the FDIC as a bridge bank and competitor to other financial institutions; raise the minimum wage; and offer five-year bonds for retirees at a fixed-interest rate of 3.5 percent, among others. Much food for thoughts; write your congresspeople now.--Jacobs, Barbara Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Batra (economics, Southern Methodist Univ.; The New Golden Age) writes how President Barack Obama, or any American president, can radically reform the U.S. economy without the aid or obstruction of Congress. He argues that monopoly capitalism and political oligarchy have eliminated the competitive market that makes regulated capitalism so vibrant. Batra details the rise of a few giant multinationals in oil, banking, and pharmaceuticals, and their collusion with corrupted politicians to keep prices and profits high while driving down wages-he sees the widening gap between productivity gains and artificially low wages as the fundamental problem. The book then describes how the president could use executive agencies to restore competitive markets by breaking up economic cartels, using federal agencies to force oil companies, drug manufacturers, and huge banks to compete, and developing policies that support labor unions and consumers in re-creating the high tax, high growth, high wage economy of the post-World War II era. VERDICT Batra writes passionately about a novel solution to the broken political and economic system in today's America.-Duncan Stewart, Univ. of Iowa Libs., Iowa City © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| Acknowledgements | p. ix |
| Preface | p. xi |
| Part I The Diagnosis | |
| 1 Introduction | p. 3 |
| 2 A Do-Nothing Congress | p. 9 |
| 3 Unemployment: A Curse | p. 19 |
| 4 Monopoly Capitalism and the Theory of Free Profits | p. 29 |
| 5 What Really Causes Unemployment? | p. 41 |
| 6 Bubbles Are Troubles | p. 61 |
| 7 Monopoly Capitalism and the Rising Wage Gap | p. 83 |
| 8 A Town Hall-Style Debate | p. 107 |
| Part II The Cure | |
| 9 Free-Market Outcomes: Banking and Finance | p. 129 |
| 10 Free-Market Outcomes: Oil and Gasoline | p. 155 |
| 11 Free-Market Outcomes: Big Pharma and Foreign Trade | p. 167 |
| 12 Eliminating Global Poverty | p. 191 |
| 13 A Free-Market Manifesto | p. 203 |
| 14 Appendix: A New Theory of Unemployment-Globalization and the Wage-Productivity Gap | p. 209 |
| Notes | p. 227 |
| References | p. 231 |
| Index | p. 233 |
