Publisher's Synopsis
This is a book intended to help the average voter sort out the constant stream of misinformation and rhetoric emanating from political candidates, media, talking heads, and talk shows in order that they can formulate their own strategies about what's best for our country and intelligently exercise their most precious asset to support those who agree with their position, their vote. What is suggested here is nonpolitical in terms of party or ideology and does not argue whether any economic theory offers the correct solution. It is concerned with the economic condition of the country and what political policies best impact the economy, but does not support any party or radical group and the ideologies they promote to accomplish their solutions. Although a long-term member of the Republican Party, I claim no current party affiliation. This book offers methods of determining how political entities use tools designed to mask their true intent and gain the voters support. This is accomplished by identifying tactics used by parties, talking heads, and politicians to achieve their ends and by giving some basic economic training and review techniques to assist the voter in finding the factual information necessary to rebut the constant flow of rhetoric and fallacy with which they, the voter, are constantly bombarded. Conversations with friends, family, and business colleagues have convinced me that because we are continuously subjected to this rhetorical bombardment by all these groups, we are confused. This confusion was clearly demonstrated by the November 2010 elections where, as a nation, we voted for individuals running on policies that will most likely make our major problems of GDP growth, unemployment, and deficit spending much worse. The worst part is the Tea Party and others told us they were going to cut social benefit programs but wrapped it up in a rhetorical blanket of fear: "We're going bankrupt, but we'll save you with our austerity programs" and "Let's take our country back." Back from what? I am sure we don't know. I am convinced that most of this constant flow of rhetoric is deliberate misinformation designed to control our thinking. I further believe we intuitively understand we are being manipulated, and this understanding is at the heart of the anger and divisiveness rampant in the United States today. And because we can't deal with it, we simply react to our frustrations, unfortunately often with less than good judgment. This book is a simple step to help the voters of the United States make informed choices based on facts that support what they believe is best for the nation.
