Running on Empty: How the Democratic and Republican Parties Are Bankrupting Our Future and What...

Running on Empty: How the Democratic and Republican Parties Are Bankrupting Our Future and What Americans Can ... | Peter G. Peterson | Wake up, young people, and force politicians to act

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Running on Empty: ...

	Running on Empty: How the Democratic and Republican Parties Are Bankrupting Our Future and What Americans Can ... Peter G. Peterson Picador, 2005 - 288 pages average customer review:based on 62 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The national bestseller, described by Tom Brokaw as the ?wake-up call we cannot ignore,? with a new preface by the author Acclaimed by all sides of the political spectrum, Peter Peterson's Running on Empty not only traces the deterioration of America?s finances but offers solutions. This national bestseller is required reading for everyone concerned with America?s long-term economic survival. In clear and concise prose, Peterson offers America not only a vision but the practical steps by which to ensure our children?s economic future. Running on Empty is not only a warning, it is also a manifesto calling for the next administration to finally confront a deep and disturbing problem that politicians of all parties have insisted on ignoring for too long.

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A must-read for anyone concerned with preserving the USA.

Peter G. Peterson has captured the essence of what is happening in the USA that will eliminate the opportunities to succeed that have been the hallmark of our great nation. We must change unsustainable programs, act responsibly and insist that our elected representatives do likewise in order to presereve a land of opportunity for future generations.

Wake up, young people, and force politicians to act

When the media or politicians bleat on about the waning economy or "soft" economic conditions, it's usually in regard to the stock market, gas prices, the unemployment rate or consumer spending. And while all these issues may weigh heavily on the minds of many hardworking Americans -- and are indeed important -- they don't hold a candle to what could someday become a serious economic crisis if politicians and their constituents don't get their heads out of the sand.

Peter G. Peterson's plainspoken book "Running on Empty" can't convey the vast problems any clearer: America is approaching a $10 trillion deficit due to high-spending, tax-cut-happy politicians (Republican and Democrat), who seem to feel that passing on an enormous debt to future generations is an acceptable thing to do. With a flood of baby boomers retiring in the next few decades, the problem is going to get severely worse; programs like Social Security and Medicare will face "unprecedented demands," according to Peterson. What's more, America's trade deficit is staggering, our economy relies on foreign capital to prop it up like a mirage and U.S. citizens barely save any of their income. This is scary stuff, and really I'm just touching on the surface of Peterson's mind-numbing concerns.

Fortunately, the author is not a cynic, and he does talk about solutions at the end of the book, albeit ones that will require great sacrifices from a somewhat disengaged and cream-puff public. Obvious steps in the right direction include educating yourself about America's coming economic nightmare, contacting politicians to start addressing the problems, and planning ahead by saving more of your income and living a healthier lifestyle. Young people in their 20s should pay more attention to politics and understand their rights and duties as beneficiaries and taxpayers. And as depressing as it sounds, current workers who will be in the working world for decades to come will likely have to resign themselves to paying higher taxes in the future -- and receiving fewer retirement benefits than they may have previously hoped for.

Larger-scale mountains to conquer include reforming Social Security, Medicare and Congress's budget process, all of which are way too complex to address in this short space. But despite the numerous obstacles that comprise righting decades of foolish governmental policies, it can be done. Blame must be spared and polarizing politics should be discarded in favor of doing what's right for future generations.

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Thoughtful Expose that Seeks to Empower

This is a book about the culture of Washington that has developed over the course of the past 20 years which has resulted in an inability for those active in governance to serve the common good. Increased partisanship, a preoccupation with fundraising and an increasingly cozy relationship with special interests lead Democrats to create new social programs at any cost and Republicans to cut taxes at any cost. Instead of increasing taxes or cutting programs to make up the balance, members of both parties increasingly rely on deficit spending to dole out goodies today with very little thought to the consequences tomorrow. As political careers depend on each respective member's capacity to "deliver," there is little incentive for politicians to break step with the status quo. Consequently, rather than doing the hard work of addressing politically difficult problems as they arise today, they are instead passed on to become the problems future leaders will be forced to address tomorrow. The point of the book is that problems cannot be passed on indefinitely and must eventually be addressed. However, the longer leadership puts off addressing them, the worse the problems become. He focuses specifically on Social Security and gets into the nuts and bolts of the economics involved offering some potential solutions that, as a layperson, I am in no position to judge the efficacy of.

For me, the best part of the book is Peterson's account of the current culture in Washington and how it became this way. He recounts times in the not-so-distant past where leadership was less partisan, more moderate, more accountable to a perceived common good and less inclined to squander it. Or, more simply, a time when people in positions of responsibility behaved more responsibly. In order to address the problems at hand he sees a time of considerable sacrifice ahead, most of which will be shouldered by young people. Through his account, he reaches out to this younger generation to present to them the problems that they will likely encounter and how this came to be. In a very touching letter at the book's close, he urges them to become politically aware and engaged that they might have some ability to influence how these problems are addressed as proposed solutions could fundamentally shape a future that they have a great stake in. Aside from the economic nitty-gritty, this book is a pretty easy read and provides a good orientation to young people and the layperson on sources of the current malaise with Washington. For this purpose, I'd recommend it.

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A political manifesto we can not ignore

This is a very important book; it will shake you out of your complacency. The author urges us all, Republicans and Democrats, to take action in order to stem the coming economic debacle. Mr. Peterson explains how the aging of our society along with our numerous entitlements (especially those arising from Medicare and Social Security) and the senseless tax cuts that have been enacted, are jeopardizing America's future. We have become an indebted society with no will to make the sacrifices that are called for in order to bring back health into our collective finances.

You will find in this book a sober assessment of our current political and economic situation, which is a dismal one, and, the author's proposals for bringing change about. Mr. Peterson is, in my opinion, a true patriot, the kind of decent person that inspires us all.

My only objection to this book is that the economic arguments are somewhat difficult to follow (at least for a layman like me).

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Great Analysis -- Wrong Conclusions

Before writing my review, I read many of the others and Robert Steele's is best. I agree with him in many particulars, especially since the situation has worsened dramatically in the four years since the first edition was published. Everyone should purchase this book.

Both of author Peterson's twin towers of deficit worsened since 2004. The federal budget deficit became dramatically redder; however, the politicians attempt to spin the numbers as percentages and counting or not counting various segments or overlooking contingent liabilities. One is reminded how our dependence on foreign oil went over 50% in 1978 (Oil & Gas Journal 1978 Annual Report), whereas our politicians managed to cook the books for almost another 20 years before having to admit domestic sources accounted for less than half of our crude oil consumption.

The 2007 trade deficit for the US was 791 billion (The Economist, Pocket World in Figures), almost nine times that of the second place finisher, Spain, at 83 billion. Only eleven nations ran a deficit of over 10 billion. Japan, Germany and China ran by far the three largest surpluses, and it must be remembered that only China enjoys significant natural resources of those three.

But even more telling than those two deficits, is the velocity with which dollars are being repatriated to the US through the purchase of public debt, American corporations, and American land and resources, one of the aspects of the problem skipped over by Peterson. In the 1980s, the Japanese manipulated Congress with a heavy hand based on their control of Federal short term paper, but now they have been joined by Germany, China and Saudi Arabia. Take a look at www.economyincrisis.org for a breakdown in the two trillon that has come in to establish control over American industry since 1978.

So what do our feckless politicians do? Apply misdirection and misdirection. Politics is a game of mirrors and doubletalk. Keep the public focused on abortion, gay rights and other minor issues so the anointed can get elected one more time. And of course, they talk about health when they mean health insurance, and offer nothing to affect the critical situation in Social Security and Medicare. If I hear one more politician talk about a "social security trust fund" I'm going to barf.

So why don't I give this book five stars? Because the author offers a few palliatives that he says will solve the major problems. So the reader can be justly shocked by the facts, but feel comforted when he goes to bed believing that there is and will be a solution. We can't scare the American public too much, can we? And we need to confiscate their guns before they rise up in rebellion.

So what is the solution? There isn't one, just a resolution. That will probably be a division of the US into at least five countries, none of which will assume a dime of the US debt, and all of which will re-organize their entitlement programs on a pay-as-you-go basis. Some may even nationalize or confiscate corporations and resources without compensation to their former owners. Yes, Virginia, these is a Santa Claus, but he's the Grinch. So mode it be.

Those of us unfortunate enough to experience this cataclysm in the mid-21st century will look back at the 20th as America's golden age. But no one, certainly not our politicians or author Peterson, will tell us this. I guess we simply aren't ready for the bad news that we're all emperors without any clothes.

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