For example the authors spend a good deal of time beating up the Japanese for their very protective trade rules. The authors imply that the current sets of politicians are so inept that they do not see the issue and can not correct it. What the authors don't tell you is that the US has to play nice in order to keep the large number of US military bases on Japan to keep North Korea in check. We are also pushing Japan with both hands to beef up their own military to help in Asia issues. Due to these issues the US has to make some concessions on trade. Plus with each country and region of the world there are many different social issues at play. It could be that some of these countries would rather buy their own products. Overall the book was interesting, but I felt it was not the full story. I also grew a little tired of the overall level of complaining.
This book is the most well argued book I have read about the current demise of the middle class in the U.S. After reading it I would definitely have to say that I have more concern about political decisions being made in Washington as the authors illustrate that consistently the politicians don't do the right thing for the country.
The authors bring up several concerns
1. Middle class demise via outsourcing of manufacturing to lower cost areas
2. Growing disparity of wealth (the rich own more in % terms)
3. The outsourcing of the 'HIGH TECH JOBS' that are to be the savior of the country.
4. Commentary about various social programs set up and how ineffective they are.
In conclusion I would say this book was extremely well researched and I therefore give KUDOS to the authors. While I don't agree with everything they wrote I believe they have put forth an excellent piece of work.
My main contention with the book is that it focuses on the demise of manufacturing and low-end jobs, along with some high tech. The U.S. is expensive from a labor perspective. As we have outsourced much of our manufacturing we have been able to purchase products at cheaper prices in the U.S.. Imagine what some products would cost if we were paying for labor that was, in some cases, 10x higher than current wages in developing countries? NOWHERE in the book do the authors mention the BENEFIT to our standard of living because we can buy more with our dollars than we would be able to do so otherwise. In general, this book is WAY to the left so reader beware.
My background is a B.S. in Acct., an MBA in finance and current interests in economic and social policy development so I found this to be quite an interesting read.