Jacob S Hacker

For decades, center-left parties in the West have been moving right on economic issues. They have also become less oriented to the working class, growing their support among the affluent and highly educated-what economist Thomas Piketty has dubbed the "Brahmin Left." Until recently, the U.S. Democratic Party has been no exception-leading to accusations, from both left and right, that it engages in culture wars at the expense of economics. In this...

The very rich have gotten a lot richer these past few decades--even during the current economic crisis--while most Americans haven't. How have they managed to restructure the economy to reap the lion's share, tearing new holes in the safety net and saddling all of us with increased debt and risk? In an innovative historical departure, Hacker and Pierson trace the rise of the winner-take-all economy back to a major transformation of American politics...

"A spirited examination of why what's good for American business elites and what's good for Americans have become misaligned"--Front jacket flap. In the past, government and business were as much partners as rivals, resulting in broad-based growth and healthy social development. But advocates of anti-government market fundamentalism are intent on scrapping the instrument of nearly a century of unprecedented economic and social progress. Hacker and...