The Money-Myth Minefield: Saving American Capitalism

Big-money corporations are in danger. Their own arrogance places them - along with all the rest of us - in peril. Fueled by corporations’ phenomenal ability to concentrate wealth, America’s economic inequality is approaching record levels. Historically, such inequality has been resolved by bloody rebellion, catastrophic war, or financial collapse. Yet corporations don’t even see it coming.

Economic inequality has concentrated political power and robbed our institutions of their ability to protect the citizens. But we’ve barely noticed our power drain away – we are too busy making a living and too dazed by a stream of myths and lies to become outraged. We do not notice, we do not believe, and we do not care that our economic inequality is a product of carefully crafted public policies rigged to create this kind of economy.

The evidence is all around us, but it’s cloaked by the big-money messages that engulf us. An hour of television delivers upwards of thirty commercial messages from big-money interests. Program content itself is vetted by corporate media. The Internet, once praised as the great democratizing force, now delivers a barrage of big-money messages via the most popular channels. And with no opposing voice, big-money messages gradually replace First Amendment free speech while we’re just told, “Economic inequality? Nothing to see here; move along now.”

The author explores the most prevalent myths that foster our tolerance of economic inequality and objectively tests the lies. Using quantitative metrics – numbers - The Money-Myth Minefield guides the reader to an understanding of these myths and lies and how corrupt our institutions have become.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Economic inequality is neither inevitable nor desirable. As proof the author offers a suite of economic policies that can nurture free markets and democracy, property rights and civil rights, respect for the commons and even the health of the business community. It’s a plan that can build a rational, lasting, equitable structure where the invisible hand of Adam Smith coexists with a vigorous and durable middle class consisting of laborers, professionals, and, yes, even capitalists.