Does IT Matter? Information Technology and the Corrosion of Competitive Advantage Review

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Does IT Matter Information Technology and the Corrosion of Competitive Advantage ReviewJust reading through the reviews already posted here shows how big a stir Carr's ideas have caused. Because of vested interests or emotional ties, some people have a deep fear of any criticism of IT, and it blinds them to the reality of the situation. In my humble opinion, as someone who's worked in the IT field for nearly two decades, I think Carr has it exactly right. It's best to treat the technology as a fairly boring necessity - be frugal, buy standardised components, don't believe the hype. The book is carefully argued, and it makes for quite compelling reading. Ignore it at your own risk.Does IT Matter Information Technology and the Corrosion of Competitive Advantage Overview

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The Great Financial Crisis: Causes and Consequences Review

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The Great Financial Crisis: Causes and Consequences ReviewI've been teaching the financialization of the US economy for some years now. It's not been easy to find a clear, thorough and convincing analysis of the tendency of the economy to shift from industrial production to financial speculation and other forms of debt as a source of business profits. The onset of the current financial crisis makes it more urgent to have available to both students and the general public a lucid and detailed explanation of what's happening and why. In my opinion, this book fits the bill. There's nothing else quite like it.
Foster and Magdoff's book makes the economic and political issues crystal clear without undue simplification. So, for those who suffer from "economics anxiety" this book is an oasis in a desert of dry, incomprehensible and often ideologically obfuscating economicspeak. The authors discuss the financialization of what was previously an industrial economy, the explosion of debt and speculation which followed the deindustrialization of America, the household debt bubble and how all this came to a head in the present meltdown.
The book is helpfully divided into two parts, the first discussing the causes of the meltdown, and the second describing and analyzing the consequences. Key terms such as securitization and derivatives are defined, the views of major economists from Milton Friedman to J.M. Keynes and Hyman Minsky are explained and, perhaps most importantly, there is an extensive analysis of the relation between the financial and the real, i.e. tangible-goods-and-services-producing, economies.
The authors demonstrate that the real economy is afflicted with a built-in tendency toward mounting underutilization of its technological and human resources, so that the gap between actual and potential production tends to get wider and wider. This manifests itself as growing unused productive capacity (what economists call "capacity overhang"), unemployment and wasteful production. As this problem grew in severity and profitable industrial investment opportunities withered, investment-seeking capital moved toward financial means of generating "profits." The scare quotes indicate that what this process of financialization produces is phantom, spurious "wealth," which must eventually dissipate in popped bubbles, recession or depression and the liquidation of real wealth as the widget-producing economy disintegrates in escalating unemployment and widespread business failures.
A brief review cannot do justice to this very helpful and insightful book. I have come across no better analysis of what will probably turn out to be the most severe crisis to beset modern capitalism, bar none, including the Great Depression.
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Investments (6th Edition) Review

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Investments (6th Edition) ReviewI've read a lot of popular books about investing. Some of them were helpful in introducing me to investing in general. I decided, however, that I wanted a more thorough knowledge of the subject. I bought "The Portable MBA in Investment" by Peter Bernstein and found it utterly incomprehensible. If I wanted to be well-grounded in investing, this was unacceptable.
I borrowed Sharpe's text from the library and have been blasting through it for the past few days. It isn't an easy text; anyone who wants to tackle the subject should have some background in math and statistics. And I would suggest that people be at least somewhat familiar with investing. Otherwise, they may be turned off completely by the stuff. Once you're ready to go, though, make sure you read Sharpe's book first.
I've sampled other texts, and Sharpe's is the clearest and most relevant. Nothing is omitted. Everything from factor models to reading stock tables is included. The book is extremely well-written. Most of the material is presented simply. For example, the formulas are illustrated with examples that make understanding infinitely easier. And each chapter has a sidebar called "Institutional Issues" which puts a real-world spin on the chapter's subject matter. An invaluable book for the serious investor.
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The Divided Welfare State: The Battle over Public and Private Social Benefits in the United States Review

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The Divided Welfare State: The Battle over Public and Private Social Benefits in the United States ReviewAt a time of renewed debate over Medicare and Social Security, this is an important and insightful look at the origins and effects of America¡¯s distinctive public-private system of social welfare. Hacker¡¯s main point is that the American ¡°welfare regime¡± (he prefers this formulation to the common term, ¡°welfare state¡±) is a lot larger than most people think because, unlike most European nations, the United States relies heavily on private social benefits provided by employers, for example, private health insurance. The book carefully explains why private benefits play such a large role in the United States, why the role of private benefits differs between the two biggest areas of U.S. social policy -- health insurance and retirement pensions -- and what difference all this makes for the politics of U.S. social policy and the nature of present political debates. The book is original and well-researched. And even if you delve into the more theoretical parts of the book, it's a joy to read -- a rare combination of academic rigor, lucid prose, and clear thinking about current affairs.The Divided Welfare State: The Battle over Public and Private Social Benefits in the United States Overview

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The Social Meaning of Money: Pin Money, Paychecks, Poor Relief, and Other Currencies Review

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The Social Meaning of Money: Pin Money, Paychecks, Poor Relief, and Other Currencies ReviewThis book is an academically rich history of the role of money in society - particularly US society since the late 1800s. It begins, somewhat vehemently in establishing its credentials as an alternative way of looking at money. Cash isn't just a neutral medium of exchange; a medium that renders all human effort and interactions in mere dollar terms. Today this argument doesn't need to be made so forcefully, though I wonder if the author had a point to prove. She wrote this over several years in which Friedman economics was at its callous height. Today there is a richer body of work about the psychology of money - for example the studies on 'mental acounting' of Kahneman and the late Amos Tversky. But those authors are theoreticians. What Zelizer demonstrates through a startling degree of social research is that humans being humans, we have an extraordinary facility of earmarking money with specific social meanings. In your home you may well have a petty change dish for the parking meter money, a secret stash of emergency money and a piggy bank for the kids' savings. And because we attach different meanings to these different stashes, we treat them differently also. We operate each stash by different rules. Zelizer shows how household money (once the domain only of the husband - she cites a New York judge who find a woman guilty of theft for "stealing loose change" from her husband's trouser pockets) has changed, and how the rules have slowly though not easily altered also, as society has become more consumerist, and as gender roles have changed also. I found equally fascinating the description of the little white lies that husbands and wives tell, in order to keep a little extra "me money" outside of the household budget. This book totally gels with the findings I've seen in focus groups that I've run where I've found big ticket purchases have been less about the actual cost than about how husbands and wives (or partners) get what they want while trying not to rock the relationship boat. Zelizer's social history is fascinating to read. It is well footnoted (the references are copious): a book that makes pertinent points about the rich social dimension of cash. This is very interesting material and heartily recommend for researchers, for those in the finance sector and for anyone who wants to better understand the financial dynamic of their own relationships. It is a rewarding portrait of our society and the way we attempt to reconcile our rational and emotional selves.
Zelizer's follow-up volume is also well worth investigating: The Purchase of IntimacyThe Social Meaning of Money: Pin Money, Paychecks, Poor Relief, and Other Currencies Overview

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The Black Book of Outsourcing: How to Manage the Changes, Challenges, and Opportunities (Wiley Desktop Editions) Review

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The Black Book of Outsourcing: How to Manage the Changes, Challenges, and Opportunities (Wiley Desktop Editions) ReviewAn excellent source for information and guidance. The book's three main parts cover: how to plan, lead and manage outsourcing initiatives; a guide to finding an outsourcing career; and a guide for outsourcing entrepreneurs. Some specific topics include: making decisions to outsource; what is needed to be known before starting; assessing cost, benefit, and risk; outsourcing options; selecting suppliers and vendors; and much more. Includes an annotated, extensive vendor directory. Offers a wealth of information and insights.The Black Book of Outsourcing: How to Manage the Changes, Challenges, and Opportunities (Wiley Desktop Editions) Overview

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Beyond the Keynesian Endpoint: Crushed by Credit and Deceived by Debt — How to Revive the Global Economy Review

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Beyond the Keynesian Endpoint: Crushed by Credit and Deceived by Debt — How to Revive the Global Economy ReviewThis is a well written book. It begins by telling us laypeople just what the Keynesian Endpoint is and then how we (or any nation) reached this point in our economic history. Then he tells us the ramifications of having reached this KEP and finally some ways individuals can protect themselves from the position in which we have found ourselves. The author seems to be writing from an Austrian school viewpoint and insightfully lays out the causes of our present economic problems and goes further to address some ways out.
Keynes argued essentially that in times of economic downturn that government spending money obtained by borrowing would cause a multiplier effect on the economy thus pulling it out of recession.
Crescenzi sets forth to show us what has happened to our economy and why the Keynes theories won't/ can't work in the future. First he shows how we reach the KEP where there is no longer money on our balance sheets to borrow and spend.
Chapters 2-8 tell us how we have gotten ourselves into this mess at the KEP through such things as Consumption Binging, Public Employee Unions with their profligate demands and excess power, Political dishonesty, Ponzi Schemes like QE I and QEII, and finally Age Warfare and as he calls it Gerontocracy.
Chapter 8 attempts to tell why with all of us having much more disposable income than our parents we all feel like we don't have enough and thus the necessity for govt. to hide the costs of inter-generational debts.
The last 2 chapters give us some pointers on how to deal with our present situation before the worst things like 1979 interest rates or post WWi German inflation happen.
Anyone reading this book can see how Europe is ahead of us in having reached the KEP in Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain(PIIGS). Their Sovereign Debts are overwhelming them today. There is not enough money for the safer economies like France and Germany to bail all of them out. With our Credit Rating having been lowered and further lowering threatened we are fast on the way to fiscal disaster.
I am not an economist, but Crescenzi lays out his arguments in detailed and concise language without mathematical terminology so that anyone can tell where we are and where we are heading economically if we do not act fast , which will cause some pain for all in places.
This is a must read book. I'm already looking at some of his other books and such books as /Where Keynes Went Wrong/ by H Lewis.Beyond the Keynesian Endpoint: Crushed by Credit and Deceived by Debt — How to Revive the Global Economy Overview

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Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance (Political Economy of Institutions and Decisions) Review

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Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance (Political Economy of Institutions and Decisions) ReviewThese are strange times in the economics profession. Most economists insist upon representing actual economic systems with mathematical models that bear little resemblance to reality. The results of these models are often quite strange. Government deficits are offset by taxpayers who save more money in anticipation of higher future taxes. Monetary policy is neutral; it has no real predictable effects. We are in equilibrium in every phase of the business cycle. Investors might as well pick stocks by throwing darts. Economic analysis is judged by its formalism, not its realism.
This book by Douglass North is a refreshing change from `economics as usual'. Here the factors that matter most are real institutions and actual history. North draws upon the right kind sources for his theoretical underpinnings (Coase, Hayek, Ostrom, Olson, Veblen- yes Veblen too). North also focuses on an issue of primary importance- economic performance through time. How does economic development happen? Why does it happen in some nations and not others?
There are some important ideas here. We need to think in terms of adaptive efficency (p80-81). Incremental changes in institutions comes from entrepreneurs (p8). We should understand institutional change in terms of transaction costs, relative prices, and ideology (p86). North has constructed a theory of institutional change using a blend of common sense and subtlety that is rare in modern economics. This book should be required reading for all econ grad students.
There are some historical examples sprinkled through this book. Personally, I would have liked to see more history. But it is still the case that there is more history here than one typically finds in contemporary economics. Institutions, Institutional Change, and Economic performance is not easy reading, but it is easier to read and vastly more informative than the math models that most economists try to pass off as proper economic analysis.Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance (Political Economy of Institutions and Decisions) Overview

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Contrarian Investment Strategies - The Next Generation Review

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Contrarian Investment Strategies - The Next Generation ReviewThe key idea in this book constitutes sound common-sense advice to any investor: buy a diversified portfolio of out-of-favor stocks with sound underlying businesses (e.g., low P/E firms) and sell when the market recognizes their value. The book is controversial because it slams current academic theories on how the market works, especially the idea of "efficient markets". Dreman believes that simply because of the way our minds work, the market tends to systematically over-react or under-react to news (especially earnings reports), and this can be exploited forever (because the way our minds are wired is not going to change). Other controversial ideas: 1) don't buy index funds (because the committees which make indexes tend to put in firms which have had a price run-up and drop firms which have had a price decline, so that buying the index involves buying high and selling low); 2) don't buy NASDAQ stocks unless they have great volume (because NASDAQ market-makers are not regulated enough, and will cheat you on the spread); 3) avoid international (non-US) stocks (because international markets have performed much worse than the US stock market over time); 4) equities are a safer way to hold money than treasury bonds or gold or cash (because of inflation and taxes). The author presents fairly detailed statistical evidence to show that his methods have worked over the past several decades. This is actually evidence that even academics are beginning to notice.
That said, it should be noted that the author's Kemper-Dreman fund (ticker: KDHAX) has done pretty badly in the last few years. Also, some of the stock picks in his Forbes column have been horrible. The most glaring example would be Prison Realty (ticker: PZN), which is currently hovering on the verge of bankruptcy. Dreman recommended it because of its REIT status and its high dividend yield both of which went away shortly after.
My 2c: consider the guy's broad investment strategies with respect, but don't follow his (or anyone else's) picks without putting in your own research.Contrarian Investment Strategies - The Next Generation Overview

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The Science of Success: How Market-Based Management Built the World's Largest Private Company Review

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The Science of Success: How Market-Based Management Built the World's Largest Private Company ReviewThe Science of Success is a rare opportunity to learn how Charles Koch built one of the most successful companies in history. Think about it. This company:
1. Didn't have a sexy product or build a national image
2. Didn't get jump-started with a technological breakthrough, or create a new industry
3. Didn't rely on political connections or Wall Street gurus to help sell its products
4. Didn't, as a privately held company, have access to expansion capital from stock sales, and
5. DID face stiff competition from some of the largest and most competitive companies in the world.
Yet under the guidance of Charles Koch, Koch Industries grew from a relatively small company to the largest privately held firm in the country, along the way building a record of profitability that leaves most companies you thought were successful in the dust.
If you haven't heard of Koch Industries, you're not alone. This story really hasn't been available to the public until now. How did Koch do it? With Market-Based Management, the business philosophy he lays out in this book. The book includes a thorough discussion of what MBM is and how it was used to create phenomenal value for the owners, employees and customers of Koch Industries.
I'm usually highly skeptical of books "written" by successful businessmen. How many truly successful people are really willing to share their secrets? How many really take the time to write a book? But I have some experience with Koch Industries (I'm a former employee and still do some consulting for the company), and I can verify that these are the same concepts Charles Koch has been teaching his employees, from top management on down, for at least 20 years.
Obviously Charles Koch, as a billionaire, doesn't need money from book sales. He truly believes in the principles and applications in this book, and he's genuinely interested in sharing them with anyone who will take the time to read and learn.
Again, a rare opportunity to learn from a master.
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The Quest for Cosmic Justice Review

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The Quest for Cosmic Justice ReviewThis book is good, not great. And the people who would get the most out of this book are those who are most unlikely to read it. If you are already familiar with Sowell, or read Forbes or The Wall Street Journal on a regular basis, then you are already familiar with most of the ideas and concepts in this book. Nonetheless, the book makes for an interesting read. Sowell persuasively points out that many of those seeking "justice" (cosmic or otherwise) frequently don't give a darn about the costs and benefits of their current flavor of justice on society. Sowell provides many examples, and gloomy predictions, about what happens when the liberal elite impose their visions on the rest of us. As an attorney who just graduated from NYU Law School, I couldn't agree more with Sowell's comments regarding how the rule of law is systematically undermined by our nation's elite law schools. Once the rule of law is gone, you decide justice given the judge's present whims, which is awful close to monarchy---which the liberal elite unfortunately fail to recognize. I was taught nothing but contempt for precedent and the rule of law at NYU, I'd even go so far as to say that most of my professors seemed to feel you should just examine each case from the perspective of who you feel is "disadvantaged" and rule for them. After three years of that attempted brainwashing, Sowell's book is like climbing out of a dark cave and realizing light still exists.The Quest for Cosmic Justice Overview

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Economics of Good and Evil: The Quest for Economic Meaning from Gilgamesh to Wall Street Review

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Economics of Good and Evil: The Quest for Economic Meaning from Gilgamesh to Wall Street ReviewVery few book do I read that just surprise my by their originality. The Economics of God and Evil is one. Sedlacek is a Czech Economist, journalist and Economic Advisor to the first Czech President after the fall of communism. This book was originally written and published in Europe (and was adapted as a theater piece) before being reworked and now published in the US.
Few really well documented books (footnotes are about a third of almost every page) also clearly explain fairly academic subjects as well as this book does.
The concept is that Sedlacek traces several texts that show how we have thought of economics in history. These include the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Old Testament, Ancient Greece Philosophy, Christianity and New Testament, Descartes, Mandeville (who I had no concept of) and Adam Smith. He showed how the concepts of economics were different under each of these worldviews and how they influenced the rise of Western Thought about economics. Throughout he gives hints about places where he thinks that modern economics may have ventured away from what might be a better explanation.
Then he traces modern economic thought. The rise of desire, the change of economics from a philosophical science to a mathematical predictive science, the movement of 'invisible hand', the rise of the rational human, the dependence on progress and the eventual bloat of economies due to debt.
There is a real argument here and I am not going to trace it all, but I would encourage anyone that is really interested in economics, especially if you are a Christian (because I think Sedlacek best work is his exposition of the Old and New Testaments), to pick this up and really read it. I found it interesting that this week a survey was released that said that Evangelicals are most likely to think that there is no conflict between Christianity and Capitalism compared to the general population or any other segment of Christianity. In other words, those that are most conservative about their Christianity are also most likely to believe that it matches with the dominant economic model of the day.
In the end, Sedlacek calls for a renewed study in economics on morality and the philosophy of why our economy works as it does. He does not want to do away with the mathematical models that he criticizes so frequently, but to partner them with a deeper (almost religious) view of ethics. The final section is about the limitations of economics (and primarily the mathematical models of economics) and how economists (and those that rely on economists) need to be humble about what economics can reliably do.
One of the more interesting side tracks was the tracing of economics from a 'dismal science' to a progressive science, which views everything improving and getting better. He thinks that it is as much about the personality of the major thinkers as anything else, but he does think that we have moved too far toward a concept of perfectionism (which definitely has some Christian roots). But he is far from the only religious critic of progressiveness. He quotes CS Lewis as saying disapprovingly that we have begun to believe that, "Goodness equals what comes next."
Honestly, this is one of the most insightful and challenging books on economics I have read. I highly recommend it.
_______
This book was provided by the Amazon Vine program for the purposes of review.Economics of Good and Evil: The Quest for Economic Meaning from Gilgamesh to Wall Street Overview

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A Brief History of Neoliberalism Review

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A Brief History of Neoliberalism ReviewThe term neoliberalism is usually heard in the pejorative sense, often coming from Latin American leaders such as Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales. The term refers to an international economic policy that has been predominant in policy-making circles and university economics departments since the 1970's. The four faces on the cover of this book (Reagan, Deng, Pinochet, and Thatcher) are considered by David Harvey the primemovers of this economic philosophy. Reagnomics, Thatcherism, Deng's capitalism with Chinese characteristics, and Pinochet's free market policies marked the beginning of new era of global capitalism.
Neoliberlism as a philosophy holds that free markets, free trade, and the free flow of capital is the most efficient way to produce the greatest social, political, and economic good. It argues for reduced taxation, reduced regulation, and minimal government involvement in the economy. This includes the privitization of health and retirement benefits, the dismantling of trade unions, and the general opening up of the economy to foreign competition. Supporters of neoliberlism present this as an ideal system. Detractors, such as Harvey, see it as a power grab by economic elites and a race to the bottom for the rest.
In this short, but very well researched book, Harvey charts the capital flows of the last thiry years. In the 1970's, there was the breakdown of the Bretton Woods system, with its fixed exchange rates, tariff barriers, and capital controls. It gave way to floating currencies and high trading volumes. Capital started searching the globe for comparative advantage. Proponents claimed that this routed out corruption and inefficiencies, while opponents saw instability and exploitation. Indeed, Harvey produces ample statistics showing how the rich got richer and the poor stagnated. More surprisingly, he points out that the aggregate economic growth during the years of Keynesian management (the decades between World War II and the 1970's) was greater than during the neoliberal era (the 1970's to the present). The neoliberal era benefitted mainly the wealthy. In the US, the richest 1% now control 15% of the wealth as opposed to 8% at the end of World War II.
When Reagan and Thatcher came to power in the late 1970's and early 1980's they used their control of the IMF and World Bank to impose neoliberal policies on the developing world - especially Latin American countries. In the case of Chile, Pinochet - after violently ousting the Allende government - instituted free market policies as prescribed by the Chicago school, and was relatively successful. Other Latin American countries were not so successful, and it created a backlash of populist nationalisms in the form of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and Evo Morales in Bolivia.
The section on China is one of the best in the book: "Neoliberalism with Chinese Characteristics". Harvey points out that China is not a pure neoliberal state. There is still heavy state intervention in the economy and management of the currency. And as a further criticiem of neoliberalism, he reminds us that China has produced some of the highest growth rates - 9 to 10 percent annually. On the downside, the gap between the rich and poor is growing, and because their currency is held artificially low they are building dangerous overcapacity.
Neither does the US, for that matter, operate according to neoliberal principles. Even as it is urging other countries to maintain minimal goverment and balanced budgets, it is running huge deficits and issuing ever more t-bills to cover its excess spending.
With China and the US - two linchpins in the world economy - not playing according to the rules of the game a crisis is bound to happen. One country is totally geared toward producing and exporting, while the other is content with importing, consuming, and creating more debt. Harvey believes that the global economic readjustment that is going to take place will be painful and possibly violent.
Harvey's excellent little book illustrates, once again, that the perfect market, presupposed by neoliberalism and classical liberalism, does not exist. Unfortunately, he does not offer any remedies to rectify the current situation, nor does he offer an alternative system. Nevertheless, this book is very insightful.A Brief History of Neoliberalism Overview

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The High-Beta Rich: How the Manic Wealthy Will Take Us to the Next Boom, Bubble, and Bust Review

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The High-Beta Rich: How the Manic Wealthy Will Take Us to the Next Boom, Bubble, and Bust ReviewThis is an excellent book about a little known subject: Plutonomy. The Plutonomy theory was advanced in 2005 by three Citigroup stock analysts, including Ajay Kapur mentioned in the book. Their research report was called "Plutonomy: Buying Luxury, Explaining Global Imbalances." This theory was so controversial that Citigroup removed it from its website. The main point is that the rich (typically defined as the top 1% of earners) control a very large and rising share of national consumer spending. Mark Zandi, the chief economist for Moody's Analytics uncovered that the top 5% of American earners account for 37% of consumer spending (up from 25% in 1990). This same group has also the lowest savings rate at 1.4% vs 8% for the rest of Americans. Therefore, their spending habits have a disproportionate impact on the overall economy including our savings rate and related Current Account Deficit.
Robert Frank advances the Plutonomy theory further by tying Ajay Kapur's work with the working paper of two Northwestern University economists, Jonathan A. Parker and Annette Vissing-Jorgensen titled "The Increase in Income Cyclicality of High-Income Households..." Fusing those two works, Robert Frank states that since 1982 the rich have become risk takers and gamblers. This is because starting in 1982 government policies have favored risk taking by lowering interest rates, inflation, and taxes, and deregulating the financial markets. The combination of those policies contributed to an excessive extension of real estate credit and a succession of real estate and stock market bubbles caused in part by the High-Beta Rich exploiting the mentioned government policies.
One of the most powerful insights from this book is that the High-Beta Rich are very vulnerable and associated with a rapid turnover among their ranks. Among the top 1% of American earners (income > $380,000), only half made the cut more than once over a ten-year period (pg. 217). Frank also shows two charts early in the book that compare the gains and losses in income of the top 1% in the U.S. vs all taxpayers. Before 1982, the fate of both groups was similar. Then, after 1982 the two groups diverged radically. Whether up or down, the changes for the top 1% became a high multiple vs the norm. The top 1% boosted their income a lot more during expansions. But, their loss was also far greater during contractions. This is because the High-Beta Rich have a surprisingly low savings rate and are very leveraged. Their leverage does multiply both their gains and their losses. The mentioned economists uncovered that before 1982, the top 1% had a Beta of less than 1 (meaning they took less risk than the general population and their fortune was less volatile). But, after 1982 their Beta jumped to between 2 and 3 as they took on far more risk than the general population. Their high Beta is due to a greater concentration of their wealth in volatile assets such as stocks and real estate and a greater leverage.

The High-Beta Rich volatile income causes chronic Budget Deficits at all levels. In California the top 1% of earners were paying 41% of taxes during the dot.com boom in the late 90s. Capital gains taxes accounted for a large share of tax receipts. When the dot.com Bubble burst California tax revenues tanked and it experienced chronic State Budget deficit crises in the early 2000s. However, by 2007 the top 1% of earners were accounting for an even greater share of CA State tax receipts at 48% (nearly half!). This was due to a recovery in the stock market (capital gains tax) and the housing boom (property tax). The ensuing financial crisis caused the rich income to drop by three times as much as the general population (Beta of 3). By 2011 California tax revenues cratered associated with a $26 billion budget hole. The same is true for New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut with many High-Beta Rich. It is true at the Federal level as the top 1% earners pay more than 38% of federal income taxes.
Frank states that the financial behavior of the High-Beta Rich contributes to exacerbating business cycles with more bubbles and ensuing crashes of greater magnitude and greater frequency than otherwise. Large concentration of wealth may be both a cause and effect of bubbles. Speculative asset bubbles correspond to periods of highest inequality. By 2007, the US top 1% controlled 34% of the nation's residential real estate. Between 1989 and 2007, they increased their relative exposure to real estate by 50% by quadrupling their mortgage debt level over the same period.
If you want to further study the impact of deleveraging, the best book on the subject is Irving Fisher The Debt-Deflation Theory of Great Depressions. Originally published in 1933, it also better explains the current financial crisis than most current books.
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Diffusion of Innovations, 5th Edition Review

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Diffusion of Innovations, 5th Edition ReviewVirtually every piece of change management literature that I have read since being introduced to Diffusion of Innovation either has its foundation in this book or its thesis can be understood in terms of Everett's framework. Do not let the 1962 date of the first edition (up to fifth edition at this writing), make you question the work's currency. While it is regularly called a classic, it is in no way an antique.
One caveat. Whether you are going to respond to D of I as positively as I did will depend in part on your cognitive style. If you are comfortable reading about abstractions that grew out of research from largely non-business fields of study and are comfortable personally having to make the leap from theory to practical application, you will value this book. If on the other hand you need a clearly defined process for applying the framework and have a hard time generalizing non-business research to your own world, you probably want to look elsewhere. Though Diffusion of Innovation is more abstract and less business focused, I personally find D of I to have more practical value than works such as Daryl Conner's Managing at the Speed of Change or John Kotter's Leading Change, both of which I feel are better at creating a sensitivity to change management concepts and fueling a sense of need for "expert" consulting resources than they do providing tools and knowledge.
I have used Rogers' framework to craft change programs in corporate and consulting environments and can confirm that, if you are willing to make an investment in understanding how its concepts can be applied within your context, D of I is an invaluable resource.
Bottom line: a great framework based on sound research, well written and entertaining, and, if you can make the leap from abstraction to application, eminently practical.
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The Strategy of Conflict Review

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The Strategy of Conflict ReviewSchelling's major contribution to game theory (and the study of culture) was the concept of focal points. He observed that in real life bargaining each player would rather make a concession than fail to reach any agreement at all. And there are a wide range of outcomes that would be preferable to both of them than no agreement at all. Now without some procedure to select among those acceptable alternatives, people might never come to a satisfactory agreement. This is where the key concept of "focal points" comes into play. Schelling defines focal points as "intuitively perceived mutual expectations, shared appreciations, preoccupations, obsessions, and sensitivities to suggestion." He criticized traditional game theorists for failing to recognize that "players" actually achieve much better coordination and cooperation when they are able to rely upon focal points. Although he does not make this analogy, it seems that focal points represent some sort of a "templat! e" or "blueprint" that helps to unify understanding and coordinate action. However, for Schelling, "focal points" are quite arbitrary-whether and to what degree they serve to coordinate action and expectations is the key question.The Strategy of Conflict Overview

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Intellectuals and Society Review

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Intellectuals and Society ReviewThis is a book review by the YouTube channel [...]Intellectuals and Society Overview

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Framework for Understanding Poverty Review

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Framework for Understanding Poverty ReviewAs an educator, I found Dr. Payne's book to be one of the most useful and practical books I've ever read. Just as the title reads, she offers a framework for understanding an issue that is influencing not only our schools but also our society. Her definition of poverty as related to the eight resources she describes rather than being solely defined by one's lack of finances is especially helpful for educators. In addition, Dr. Payne offers concrete strategies for working with some of our most misunderstood students. I found her explanation of the registers of language and issues surrounding them to be particularly useful in understanding some of the problems in schools today that are related to both cognition and behavior. I highly recommend this book for educators and believe also that anyone who works with individuals from poverty will also find it helpful. It makes so much sense!Framework for Understanding Poverty Overview

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Liberty Defined: 50 Essential Issues That Affect Our Freedom Review

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Liberty Defined: 50 Essential Issues That Affect Our Freedom ReviewFor one who wants to see Ron Paul win the 2012 Republican nomination, the congressman's latest book is a bit of a let down. In contrast to a hard-charging campaign book like Harry Browne's The Great Libertarian Offer, or a memoir, it offers little of the kind of material media people look for. If Dr. Paul decides to enter the 2012 presidential race, it will do little to garner mainstream media coverage in the crucial early months of the campaign.
But Ron Paul is more interested in being right than he is in being president. Perhaps the only truly reluctant presidential candidate since George Washington, his primary aim is to educate. And he does it in the way of the Ancient Greek teacher; by challenging the untested points of his students' preconceptions, so that they come to the answers themselves.
One of the most interesting chapters in Liberty Defined relates to the obstacle Paul confronts in his aim to educate: demagogues who "manipulate a political issue in a manner to obscure or distort truth with emotionalism and prejudice...to take a principled stand by the proponents of liberty and reason and turn it into support for something ugly and mean."
As one illustration, Paul indirectly addresses the uproar his son, Senator Rand Paul, faced during his 2010 campaign when he suggested that business owners had the right to pick and choose their customers. "What liberal authoritarians don't quite understand," Paul writes "is that, if government has the power to control business establishments and all their decisions, they have justified the intrusion of government in every social aspect of our lives."
Though leaving specifics alone with respect to the Rand Paul controversy, there are enough personal anecdotes in Liberty Defined to satiate those waiting for a Ron Paul autobiography. In "Democracy," he discusses his experience with a stolen election. In "Evolution versus Creation" he recounts how he felt in a debate moderated by Chris Matthews and John Harris when asked to raise his hand if he believed in evolution. And in "Empire" we learn what quote is contained on a laminated card Paul carries with him and the story behind it.
If there is one thing in Liberty Defined that could put Paul at the center of a debate at the start of the 2012 presidential campaign, it is his remarks on civil disobedience. Though he has chosen political action over civil disobedience, he has great respect for those who, understanding what is at stake, challenge laws non-violently, and envisions a day when civil disobedience is the only option.
But to really compete in the Republican primary, Ron Paul needs to present a comprehensive agenda. The majority of journalists and political pundits view libertarian ideas as impractical. For those with a textbook to test paper view of history, libertarianism is a great unknown. Paul would do well, therefore, should he make the decision to run, to go beyond what other candidates offer in the way of details.
Ron Paul's greatest trait is his authenticity. When he sounds optimistic it is because he is feeling so. When he questions whether politics can change things, he does not hide it. You can trust what he says. For this, many philosophical differences are forgiven. His admission that civil disobedience might be the only option suggests a growing pessimism.
In perhaps the most revealing part of the book, Paul tells the story of Cicero, who "heroically refused to join Julius Caesar's betrayal of the Roman constitution and the rule of law." When Caesar was crowned dictator, Cicero wrote a series of books on history and politics and war. "Cicero," Paul writes, "would have been remembered for what he did to save the Roman constitution and the Republic. But his legacy was sealed for more than 2000 years by his philosophic dissertations that, once it was clear to him that the Roman Republic was dead, sprang from his effort to reflect on it."
But Liberty Defined was penned before the recent uprising in Egypt and other Middle Eastern nations. These pro-freedom movements demonstrate that the poorer people grow the more likely they are to revolt.
The price increases that ignited rebellion overseas are starting to be seen in the United States. While prices are rising, wages remain flat. Economists, meanwhile, are using nominal percentage gains in GDP to say that the U.S. economy is growing. Americans are growing poorer and they are being lied to. They are ready to hear a real libertarian agenda. Ron Paul is the person to offer it.
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Health Care Economics (DELMAR SERIES IN HEALTH SERVICES ADMINISTRATION) Review

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Health Care Economics (DELMAR SERIES IN HEALTH SERVICES ADMINISTRATION) ReviewI found the book to be very good. Throughout it emphasizes an economic approach to what is occurring in health care and, what I particularly like, is the author's use of economic figures to illustrate the economic theory. The book covers a lot of health care topics and it's well written. I recommend it. The other students in the class also liked the book.Health Care Economics (DELMAR SERIES IN HEALTH SERVICES ADMINISTRATION) Overview

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