American dream, 11, 80, 103
American Idol (television show), 127
American Independent Party, 147
American Revolution, 42, 43
American Voices (radio show), 64–71
Americans Elect, 148–152
Americans with Disabilities Act, 13, 66–67
Anderson, John, 147, 151
Angola, 112
Aristotle, 41
Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, 73, 89
Australia, 124, 127
Austria, 106
Automobile companies, 26, 80, 81, 82
Baby boomers, 118
Baker, James, 99, 100
Bangladesh, 124
Bankrupt: Entitlements and the Federal Budget (Tanner), 31–32
Bankruptcies, 33, 34
Banks, 136
and bailouts, 18, 47
and derivatives, 56–57
and Dodd–Frank, 59
and Glass–Steagall, 54–55, 95
and Great Depression, 91, 94, 95
and housing, 19, 21, 23, 57, 58, 78
and lending, 17, 18, 19
and major crises, 20
and subprime mortgages, 57
and taxes, 37
Barker, Molly, 67–68
Bay of Pigs, 112
Benkler, Yochai, 72
Berger, Suzanne, 83
Bin Laden, Osama, 114
Birth rates, 118, 119
Black, Hugo, 50
Bosnia, 65
Boston Consulting Group, 82
BP, 61
Bradley, Bill
and American Voices, 64–71
and budget balancing exercise of former U.S. senators, 40–41
and constituents, ix–xi
grandfather of, 160
parents of, xi
as presidential candidate, 16, 64
and September 11 attacks, 70
as U.S. senator, 13, 35, 37–38, 47, 54, 139–140, 141, 143
Brazil, 5, 29, 115, 121, 123
Bremner, Linda, 68–69
Brenner, Joel, 130
Bretton Woods, 29
Brittany (girl), 67–68
Bronner, Ethan, 11
Brown vs. Board of Education, 50
Buckley vs. Valeo, 49, 50, 60
Buffett, Warren, 58
Bull Moose Party, 147
Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S., 83
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S., 88
Burma, 124
Burton, Harold, 50
Bush, George H. W.
and government, 99
and Iraq, 113
and 1992 election, 147
as vice president, 98
and Washington knives and press, 13
Bush, George W., 149
and Albania, 114
and government, 100
and leverage, 58
and September 11 attacks, 114
and transportation bill, 26
and 2000 election, 147
Caesar, Julius, 42, 43, 45
Campaign finance and spending, 141
and corporations, 49, 51, 60–62
and financial industry, 54
and hedging bets and compromising beliefs, 157
increase in, 47–48
laws, 146, 151
and lobbyists, 48
and Obama, 147–148
and reform, 48, 50, 59–62, 156
and Supreme Court, 49–51, 60
and third parties, 146
and Unity08 and Americans Elect, 148–149, 150, 151
Canada, 6, 39, 152
CareerBuilder, 76
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 26
Carranza, Venustiano, 109
Carter, Jimmy, 113
Catholic Church, 3
CBS Sunday Morning (television show), 15
CDOs, 56–57
CDSs, 57
Census Bureau, 76
Center for Responsive Politics, 49
Central America, 113
Childcare, 85, 87
Chile, 112
China
as ally, 128
and currency, 27, 28, 29, 126
and defense, 121–122
and economic competition with United States, 121, 122
and economic power of, 121, 126, 127, 131
economy of, 24, 28, 121, 122, 123, 125, 126
and espionage, 129–130
and euro bailout, 126
and global economy, 126
and high-speed rail, 122–123, 125
and international rules, 128–129
investment in the United States, 82–83
and joint ventures and foreign companies, 125
and lawlessness and corruption, 128
and long-term economic aspirations, 124–127
and manufacturing, 81–83
and minorities, 119
and natural resources, 122, 123, 124, 127
rise of, 5
and stimulus, 18, 125
strategic thinking of, 122–129
and Taiwan, 122, 130
talent pool in, 117
and Tibet, 129
and transportation routes and ports for trade, 123–124
and U.S. debt, 27–28
and U.S. decline, 155
and U.S. economic growth, 28–29
and U.S. foreign interventions, 115
and U.S. pressure on, 128–131
and water and energy, 123, 125
and Wilson, 109, 110
and workers, 19, 79, 124–125
CIA, 101, 104, 112
Citigroup, 57–58
Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission, 49–51, 60
Civil War, xii, 8, 92, 136
Civilian Conservation Corps, 24–25, 95
Clay, Henry, 106–107
Clean-air legislation, 13
Climate change, 128, 157
Clinton, Bill, 13, 57, 99–100, 113, 144, 147
Clinton, Hillary, 14, 148
Cold War, 13, 40, 41, 112, 116, 122, 132
Collateral damage, 115
Colombia, 123
Compromise, 14, 34, 36, 41, 50, 99, 139, 141, 142, 143
Congress
and appropriations, 36–37
approval ratings and disgust with, 12, 151
and campaign finance, 49, 51, 60, 61, 156
and China, 129, 130
and collegiality, 139–141, 142
and corruption in U.S. history, 136–137
and derivatives, 56
and districts, 142, 156
and economic crisis, 44
and economy, 18
and foreign policy, 108, 110
and Glass–Steagall, 54
and government reporting requirements, oversight, and reform, 103, 104
and Great Depression, 94, 95
and indirect and direct election, 136–138, 151
and later employment as lobbyists, 156
millionaires in, 49
and Nixon, 97
and party duopoly, 146
and presidential appointments, 52
and Social Security, 35
and taxes, 18
and third party, 152–153
and 2014 elections, 151, 152
and 2010 elections, 159
Constitution, U.S., 49, 51, 96, 116, 135, 141–142, 153
Cook, Tim, 20
Corporations and companies
assets of, 23
and campaign finance, 49, 51, 60–62
and Chinese espionage, 129
and crisis management, 4–5
and financial reform, 60
and health care, 87–88, 158
and innovation, 7
and international trade, 24
and lobbying, 54
and manufacturing, 80–84
and new technologies, 83
and pensions, 79
reducing costs of, 87–89
and short term, 2
and taxes, 32, 37,
39, 87, 88–89
and turnarounds, 30
and unselfishness, team play, and ethics, 72–74
and vocational education, 84–85, 158
and workers and jobs, 4, 21–22, 23–24, 39, 72–74, 79–80
Corzine, Jon, 47
Council of Europe, 114
Courts, 33
Credit, 19, 20, 24, 58, 59, 60, 78, 90, 94
Credit cards, 33, 60
Cuba, 112
Culture, 2, 3, 119, 155
Currency
and American Revolution, 43
and dollar, 6, 27, 28, 29, 30
and Great Depression, 94
and other countries, 19, 27, 28, 29, 30
and U.S. debt, 27, 28
wars, 19
Cyberwar, 132
The Cycles of American History (Schlesinger), 105
Daley, Richard M., 117
Danforth, Jack, 40
Debs, Eugene V., 147
Debt (federal), 2
financing, 27–30
and historical lessons, 41–44
and interest, 31, 32
limit, 36, 159
and major banking crises, 20
and taxes, 25
Debt (personal), 20, 21, 23, 33, 77
Declaration of Independence, 108
Deepwater Horizon, 61
Defense industry, 4, 47
Defense spending, 32, 40, 41, 98, 121–122, 132, 133
Deficit, 90
and China, 28
cyclical, 17, 31
financing, 29
and interest rates, 31
and investors, 141
long-term structural, 17, 31, 156
and mortgage refinancing, 23
projections, 30–31
and Reagan, 99
and taxes, 17, 18, 31, 37
and 2012 election, 160
and unemployment, 21–22
and Washington money culture, 47
Deficit reduction, 156
and budget balancing exercise of former U.S. senators, 40–41
and Clinton, 99
and costs on businesses, 87
and entitlement programs, 32
and George H. W. Bush, 13
and Grand Bargain, 44
and interest rates, 31
and taxes, 30, 32, 38–39
and Washington club’s smugness, 14
Democracy, 21, 96, 133
and Americans Elect, 151
and campaign finance, 50, 60–62
and citizen responsibility and action, xi, xii, 1, 158–159, 161
and compromise, 142
and Congress, 151
and debt, 41–42
defined, 116
and ethics of caring and personal responsibility, 145
indirect and direct, 136–138
and leadership, 8
and narrow interests, 51–52
need for more, 146
and Obama speech, 10, 11
parliamentary, 152
pluralistic, 116, 133
and problems in U.S. history, 135, 136, 138
remaking, 8
as sacred mystery, ix, 109
and skepticism, 141, 142
and standoffs, xii
and U.S. foreign interventions, 113, 114, 115, 126, 127, 133
and World War I, 110
See also Wilson, Woodrow: and democracy
Democratic Leadership Council, 99
Democratic Party, x
and charismatic leaders, 144
and Clinton and Democratic Leadership Council, 99, 100
and congressional districts, 142
and economic crisis, 34
and ethic of caring, 145
and policy language, 144
and self-identification, 143
and third parties, 146
Deng Xiaoping, 126–127, 131
Denmark, 39
Derivatives, 56–57
Dirksen, Everett, 139, 141
Disabilities, 13, 66–67, 89
Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, 59
Downes, Lawrence, 11
Drayton, Bill, 73, 89
Economic crisis, xii, 17–45
Economic insecurity, 76–80
Economy (U.S.), x, xii, xiii, 161
and company turnaround analogy, 30
and consumption, 39
and deficits, 31
and downsizing, 79
and everyday lives, 20
and financial reform, 60
and government, 95, 97, 101
growing and uplifting, 116–117, 118
and improvement in future, 158
and inequality and mobility, 76
and inflation, 24
and infrastructure, 28
and leverage, 58
in nineteenth century, 107
and Obama, 12, 18, 48
and reserve currency status, 30
and seas, 132
and spending, 24
and stimulus, 17–18, 19–20
and strengths, 7
and structural changes, 89
and taxes, 18
and team play, 72
and the unemployed, 88
and U.S. debt, 27
as world’s dominant, 27
Economy (world), 19, 20, 24, 58
Education, x, 117, 141
and adaptability and empathy, 86
and college completion rate, 84
and college’s unaffordability, 77, 79
and debt, 77
and ethics of caring and personal responsibility, 145
failing schools, 69
good public, 80
lifetime and vocational, 84–87, 156, 158
and Lincoln, 96
and No Child Left Behind, 100
and science and math, 117–118
and strengths, 7
and taxes, 52
and teachers, 86
Egypt, 27
Eisenhower, Dwight
and defense spending, 133
and foreign policy, 111
and government, 97, 98, 99
and Suez Canal, 27
wisdom of, 7
El Salvador, 112
Elections, 135–138, 146–153
Energy, 48, 52, 89, 101, 123, 125
England, 4, 121, 152
Entitlement spending, 17, 24, 32
Environment, x, xii, 69, 101, 141, 157, 158
Europe, 124
and America, 6, 105, 107, 108, 109
and debt and banking, 24
Eastern, 108, 117, 119
and euro bailout, 126
and immigration, 119–120
and Normandy and World War II, 11, 97
Fannie Mae, 22, 57–58
FBI, 101, 104
Fears, J. Rufus, 41
Federal Election Commission (FEC), 146, 148, 149
Federal Reserve
and company assets, 23
and financial collapse, 17, 58–59
and inflation, 24, 31
Fifteenth Amendment, 135
Financial crash and crisis, 6
destructive ramifications of, 102
and economic mismanagement, 10
and government response, 17–18, 39, 60
and greed and bad government policy, 54–59
Financial industry, 2, 52, 54–60, 80, 156, 161
Financial reform, 52, 59, 95
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, 128
Ford, John, 90
Foreclosures, 23, 33, 54, 92
Foreign policy, x, xii, xiii
and China, 121–131
and control of seas, 132
and coups, 112
and ideals and human rights, 107–109, 111, 113, 114, 128
and imperialism, 115
and Kennan and containment, 111, 112–113, 115
and Kennedy, 111–112
and leading by example, 116–117, 156
and mass media
, 3
and militarism, 116, 122, 156
and modernized, adaptable forces, 132
need for another path in, 115–116, 133, 152, 156, 160
in nineteenth century, 105–107
and objectives and policymaking, 133
and post-Vietnam interventions, 112, 113–115
and voting, 144
and Wilson, 109–111
Fox News, 3
France, 42–43, 110, 119, 120
Franklin, Benjamin, 43
Freddie Mac, 22, 57–58
French Revolution, 42, 44
Gallatin, Albert, 106
Garner, John Nance, 91
Gasoline, 26, 38, 39, 40, 41, 89
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 111
Germany, 81, 110, 119, 121, 125, 152, 160
Get America Working!, 73, 89
Gingrich, Newt, 141
Girls on the Run, 67–68
Glass–Steagall Act, 54–55, 95, 102
Global warming, 100, 124, 161
Goldwater, Barry, 98
Gore, Al, 147
Government, x–xi
as alleged problem, 95, 98, 99, 100, 157, 159
animosity toward and disgust with, 12, 141–142
and bureaucracy, 103–104
and compromise, 142
and costs on businesses, 87–88
and economy, 95, 97, 101
effectiveness and reform, 103–104
employees, 101–102, 103
and general welfare, 95–104
and Great Depression, 94, 95
ineffectiveness, 52
and job creation, 21–22, 25, 89
lack of confidence in, 18, 21, 80
and selflessness, 67, 69–70
trust in, 62
and vocational education, 84–85
Grant, Ulysses S., 107
The Grapes of Wrath, 90
Great Britain, 27, 29, 109, 110, 119, 120
Great Depression, 19, 24–25, 91–95, 102, 118, 155
Greenspan, Alan, 58–59
Greenstein, Scott, 63–64
Grenada, 113
Grey, Zane, 160
Guatemala, 112
Gulf Cooperation Council, 29
Gulf War, 13
Guzmán, Jacobo Árbenz, 112
Hamilton, Alexander, 7, 43–44, 141
Hanna, Mark, 49
Hart, Gary, 40, 41, 144
Health care, x, xii, 64, 77
and access, 117
and China, 128
and companies, 87–88, 158
and deficit reduction, 32
and elderly, 87, 99
and ethics of caring and personal responsibility, 145
and insurance, 79, 90, 97, 99, 158
and lobbying, 52
and reform, 14, 48, 52, 158
spending, 40, 41
and state and local governments, 2, 33, 34
and taxes, 52
Hearst, William Randolph, 137
Helms, Jesse, 139–140
Helms, Mrs. Jesse, 140
Helsinki Accords, 114
High-tech, 85–87, 125, 129
Hill, Ed, 92
Hockett, Robert, 19
Holland, 43
Holocaust, 117
Homelessness, 69
Homestead Act, 96
Hoover, Herbert, 91, 92
Housing, 24
bubble, 58, 78