Screwed: The Undeclared War against the Middle Class ... and What We Can Do about It
by Thom Hartmann, Mark Crispin Miller

Softcover: 249 pages
ISBN: 9781576754634, 1576754634
Berrett-Koehler Publishers
May 2007

Under the guise of "freeing" the market, conservatives have enriched themselves and their fat-cat cronies and screwed everyone else. By exposing the machinations of those whose greed and irresponsibility is destroying the middle class, Screwed empowers readers to stand up, speak out, and return America to the principles envisioned by its founders.

Beginning with the Reagan administration, the U.S. government has steadily instituted policies and legislation that favor corporations over citizens, argues Air America host Hartmann (The Ultimate Sacrifice). Analyzing the rhetoric and policies of the current administration's 'compassionate conservatism,' Hartmann goes on to detail the ways in which safety nets for working people (from progressive taxation to antitrust legislation to Social Security) have been steadily weakened, and argues that an empowered, educated middle class is crucial to a functioning democracy. Chapters detail the ways in which what gets called 'the free market' is not really free (for good reason, he notes), how 'We the People create the middle class,' how the policies of the Founding Fathers and figures like FDR still have a lot to teach us, and ways for 'Leveling the Playing Field.' Though far from comprehensive, and despite its sensationalist title, Hartmann's latest is an intelligent critique of the contemporary plight of the middle class." - Publishers Weekly

This book nails the truth about how both parties have been screwing the American people, except for the one hundredth of one percent who earn over $6 million a year. He offers great solutions as well as unique, insightful perspectives on the problems.

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