Aftershock

The Next Economy and America’s Future

By: Robert B. Reich

Narrated by: Robert Reich

Length: 4 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

The author of 12 acclaimed books, Robert B. Reich is a Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and has served in three national administrations.

While many blamed Wall Street for the financial meltdown, Aftershock points a finger at a national economy in which wealth is increasingly concentrated at the top - and where a grasping middle class simply does not have the resources to remain viable.

©2010 Robert B. Reich (P)2010 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"Reich's thesis is well argued and frighteningly plausible: without a return to the 'basic bargain' (that workers are also consumers), the "aftershock" of the Great Recession includes long-term high unemployment and a political backlash - a crisis, he notes with a sort of grim optimism, that just might be painful enough to encourage necessary structural reforms." ( Publishers Weekly)

Don't be shocked

Aftershock: The Next Economy explains why the current economic system is unsustainable. I think everybody with any interest with the question of where the economy is going has to read this. Some parts are shocking, but it isn't all doom and gloom. This audiobook explains the problem, the possible consequences and some potential solutions to avert them.

A clear analysis for murky times

Any additional comments?

Mr. Reich's comprehensive review of the last century in American economics gives a clear understanding of how the "Great Recession of 2008" came to be, and what can be done to to bring the nation back to prosperity, at least from a Keynesian perspective. His points are well supported and his conclusions are worth listening to, even by those who might have political differences.

Very plausible assessment of our economy

I heard Mr Reich discuss this book on NPR and immediately downloaded this Audible version. His arguments are very clear, and I 100% agree with his analysis. I’m not completely sure I agree with his solutions – but they are thought provoking ideas. I energetically recommend this book to anyone who is trying to understand these times

Best understanding available

Reich gets it right with his analysis of how allowing the super-wealthy to capture the U.S. has led to its ruin, and how a rational re-distribution of wealth is a pre-condition of prosperity for both rich and poor. Very clearly written for the lay reader, this is the only explanation you need for how the financial system crashed in 2008.

Shocking, Scary, but with some hope

I've listened to this book twice so far and I will again. I assume the print version has pictures or graphics or charts that support his arguments. But Reich is persuasive without them. You can get an idea of that by listening to his commentaries on NPR's Marketplace. But here he gets to expound more fully. He imagines a future dystopia only 10 years away and it is a scary place indeed. So much so that you are surprised that he lets us even consider the possibility. Later he tells us a possible solution. By that time you might be thinking along the lines of Churchill who supposedly said "you can count on the Americans to do the right thing, after they have tried everything else."

One of the strongest points about this Audible book is that it is read by the author. When you get to hear him in this format, his positions are rather apolitical and strongly moral. A conservative who doesn't like Krugman and doesn't believe Liz Ann Sonders should consider the malaise that Reich describes and decide if they have a plausible alternative. A liberal will feel more than a little chastised by Reich and realize that optimism alone won't restore America.

A concise view of how we got to where we are

Having finished "Grand Pursuit" immediately before, Reich's book seems a refreshingly frank and terse coda to Nasar's sweeping and somewhat meandering history of economics and politics. Reich's command of his own narration makes his treatise that much more compelling.

5 Concise Reasons to Read

I love short books. Can you recommend any good, but concise, nonfiction? Great reads under 200 pages?

Here are my 5 concise reasons to read Robert Reich's latest book "Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future"

Reason #1 - Conciseness: Most books are too long. Aftershock is a blessed 192 pages; 4 hours and 29 minutes short in audiobook format.

Reason #2 - Originality: Reich's big argument is that out economy is fundamentally unbalanced. That the growth of inequality that has concentrated economic gains among the top 5 percent of the populations has resulted in an inability of most Americans to adequately consume. We cannot afford to buy what we produce (a problem near and dear to the heart of any parent who works in higher education).

Reason #3 - The Higher Education Plan: Reich actually has a plan for higher education. He would make tuition free (to public institutions), and recoup the costs with a levy on future earnings for anyone who participated. His proposal is more complex than this description, and wildly unlikely to ever be enacted anywhere, but still fun to debate.

Reason #4 - History: Reich was one of the first academic popularizers that I discovered. Back in 1992, he wrote The Work of Nations: Preparing Ourselves for 21st Century Capitalism, in which he argued that economic gains and options would accrue to the "symbolic analysts" - those who manipulate and create information. Reich was ahead of the game in 1992, and if we had listened more carefully to his warnings we might be in better shape today.

Reason #5 - Narration: Reich narrates his own book - and does it beautifully. Usually reading what you have written does not work out so well. Narration is a skill best left to professional readers. But in this case, Reich is the right person to read his own words

A good analysis by a good economist

Would you listen to Aftershock again? Why?

Yes... he provides a lot of analysis and facts that make a second listen worthwhile.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Aftershock?

The use of historical analysis. Dr. Reich's credentials in academia are very well established, but his work at the Labor Department during the 1990s was particularly impressive. As an economist, I often shy away from books from people (even those with as good of credentials as Dr. Reich) that have taken an active roles in political fights. However, Dr. Reich does an outstanding job of stepping outside of his liberal background and offering support and criticism of "both sides". His point is decidedly not to blame anyone, nor is it to engage in class warfare (as someone that is very much a capitalist, I appreciated that investors were not the 'villains'). Instead, his focus was on what can we do to make our economy better for EVERY class. His ability to synthesize economics, numbers, history and behavioral finance and then present it in such a way that is easy to follow and understand makes it clear that he is also a very capable educator. I enjoyed a lot about the book, but would have to say the one most memorable thing is that it was a rational, well reasoned and argued prescription that serves all Americans, and does not seek to vilify anyone.

Have you listened to any of Robert Reich’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not listened to any of his "performances" in audio book before... I have watched some of his speeches and interviews, and this one is relatively comparable. When he is assigned the position of arguing for the political left, he is a bit more partisan than he is in this book, but for the most part it is consistent and always very impressive.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I found myself nodding in agreement a lot... glad to hear someone speaking the clear truth.

Any additional comments?

If you have an interest in gaining a better understanding of where our economy is right now, and some ideas (not the only ideas, but some pretty good ones) on where we can go now to make our country better off... all while not having to listen to how the rich or the folks on government assistance are the bane of our existence, I highly encourage you to listen to this book

exit book with coming sense reasoning

finish the book in 2 days! Well read, well written, great book. a must read if you follow politics and/or economics.

A primer in modern Kainsian economics

Where does Aftershock rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Middle of the pack. There are a lot of things that I strongly disagree with in the book, but I won't argue that it isn't well written and narrated.

What did you like best about this story?

I come from a much more libertarian, Austrian economics point of view and while some of the ideas proposed in the book terrify me, it is well written and does provide a logical explanation as to why they think a Kaisian approach is the best solution to our economic challenges that lie ahead.

Any additional comments?

There are some downright disturbing proposals in this book including the federal subsidy for earners making less than $40k per year to bring them up to a better standard of living. Of course to fund this he proposes things like a 100% tax on any earnings over $500k. While I will agree that the concentration of wealth to a very small segment of the population has led, in part, to our current economic challenges, his solutions fail to really address the size and scope of government, the perils of Europe in their attempts to create a more just economic system, and where the real political power in DC lies. The book is interesting and educational, but I don't for a second think Reich is on the right track with his solutions.