What America Lost Decades That Made A Difference

A clear, authoritative guide to the crisis of 2008, its continuing repercussions, and the needed reforms ahead. The U.S. economy lost the first decade of the twenty-first century to an ill-conceived boom and subsequent bust. It is in danger of losing another decade to the stagnation of an incomplete recovery. How did this happen? Read this lucid explanation of the origins and long-term effects of the recent financial crisis, drawn in historical and comparative perspective by two leading political economists. By 2008 the United States had become the biggest international borrower in world history, with more than two-thirds of its $6 trillion federal debt in foreign hands. The proportion of foreign loans to the size of the economy put the United States in league with Mexico, Indonesia, and other third-world debtor nations. The massive inflow of foreign funds financed the booms in housing prices and consumer spending that fueled the economy until the collapse of late 2008. This was the most serious international economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Menzie Chinn and Jeffry Frieden explain the political and economic roots of this crisis as well as its long-term effects. They explore the political strategies behind the Bush administration’s policy of funding massive deficits with foreign borrowing. They show that the crisis was foreseen by many and was avoidable through appropriate policy measures. They examine the continuing impact of our huge debt on the continuing slow recovery from the recession. Lost Decades will long be regarded as the standard account of the crisis and its aftermath.

As the fifties ended, we were about to embark on a journey that would take our American society in a completely new direction. By reviewing history, we can identify how the tumultuous sixties chose our path while each decade, beginning in 1950 and continuing through 2000, determined our course at that time. On this journey, many values and lifestyles experienced by the Baby Boomers were left behind, not passed on to their children, Gen X and Gen Y. The resulting new outlook profoundly influenced attitudes held by these emerging generations. The fascinating field of handwriting analysis serves as our GPS which enables us to identify these attitudes, trace where weve been and understand where society is today. Handwriting is an expression of self and attitudes resulting from personal experiences, social interactions and events that made a significant impact. Reliving the journey with insight is made possible by studying handwriting samples obtained from high school yearbooks covering those five decades. Numerous historical and societal changes profoundly influenced attitudes of today. These attitudes mirror our culture. Handwriting analysis will not reveal precise societal changes; however, it will reveal how these changes impact attitudes.

To many Americans, the 1970s seem a "lost" period, a pale and undistinguished decade compared with the 1960s and the 1980s, just as the presidents of the time -- Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter -- were far less colourful and distinctive than Kennedy, Nixon or Ronald Reagan. In addition, the 1970s were marked by economic recession and a national identity crisis in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, Watergate and the energy crisis. Not even the 1976 Bicentennial celebration was able to break this feeling of collective lethargy and disillusion. Issue 26 of Aarhus University Press's arts and humanities journal "The Dolphin" demonstrates that while the 1970s were indeed rather grey in many respects, they were also a time of reassessment and dynamism in many fields of popular American culture. This point is illustrated by examples from different contexts: Western movies, the National Park Service, self-help psychology, grass-roots activism and popular music.

This book is a collection of poetry for all cultures and lifestyles. It is called "Rhythms of the Heart" due to the fact that it deals with emotions that everyone goes through. The chapters are entitled "Love, Pain and Sorrow, Spiritual, Passion, and A Few Extra Beats".

A sobering account of a disenfranchised American working class and important policy solutions to the nation's economic inequalities One of the country's leading scholars on economics and social policy, Isabel Sawhill addresses the enormous divisions in American society--economic, cultural, and political--and what might be done to bridge them. Widening inequality and the loss of jobs to trade and technology has left a significant portion of the American workforce disenfranchised and skeptical of governments and corporations alike. And yet both have a role to play in improving the country for all. Sawhill argues for a policy agenda based on mainstream values, such as family, education, and work. Although many have lost faith in government programs designed to help them, there are still trusted institutions on both the local and the federal level that can deliver better job opportunities and higher wages to those who have been left behind. At the same time, the private sector needs to reexamine how it trains and rewards employees. This book provides a clear-headed and middle-way path to a better-functioning society in which personal responsibility is honored and inclusive capitalism and more broadly shared growth are once more the norm.

Working Scared will help citizens, policy makers, educators, business, union, and community leaders better understand what is happening to the United States workforce. It also describes the essential national priorities and policies that will assist in restoring the American dream of secure employment and intergenerational progress.

Since the bursting of the bubble, Japan has been unable to sustain economic recoveries. Monetary policy was unable to beat deflation, structural reforms failed to lift potential growth, and fiscal measures were insufficient to reverse the path of ever rising public sector debt. Japan’s revitalization plan dubbed the “three arrows of Abenomics” devises a three-pronged strategy—combining fiscal, monetary, and structural policies—to overcome these problems. Amid a more challenging external environment and an aging population, Japan may well face its last opportunity to avoid a highly disruptive fiscal crisis and restore sustainability in a smooth manner instead. The book discusses mutually reinforcing reforms on several fronts, including aggressive monetary easing, growth-friendly fiscal consolidation, and structural and financial sector reforms to revive animal spirits and stimulate potential growth.

This book examines five features of Japan’s ‘Lost Decades’: the speed of the economic decline in Japan compared to Japan’s earlier global prowess; a rapidly declining population; considerable political instability and failed reform attempts; shifting balances of power in the region and changing relations with Asian neighbouring nations; and the lingering legacy of World War Two. Addressing the question of why the decades were lost, this book offers 15 new perspectives ranging from economics to ideology and beyond. Investigating problems such as the risk-averse behaviour of Japan’s bureaucracy and the absence of strong political leadership, the authors analyse how the delay of ‘loss-cutting policies’ led to the 1997 financial crisis and a state of political gridlock where policymakers could not decide on firm strategies that would benefit national interests. To discuss the rebuilding of Japan, the authors argue that it is first essential to critically examine Japan’s ‘Lost Decades’ and this book offers a comprehensive overview of Japan’s recent 20 years of crisis. The book reveals that the ‘Lost Decades’ is not an issue unique to the Japanese context but has global relevance, and its study can provide important insights into challenges being faced in other mature economies. With chapters written by some of the world’s leading Japan specialists and chapters focusing on a variety of disciplines, this book will be of interest to students and scholars in the areas of Japan studies, Politics, International Relations, Security Studies, Government Policy and History.