Grand Collusion: How the two parties collude to divide the spoils of governing, corrupting democracy and American capitalism

This book has recently been updated to address the dynamic going on with the populist movements within each of the parties - with Trump, Cruz, and Sanders receiving much more support and attention than previously expected. It also has a much more comprehensive discussion on foreign and defense policies than earlier versions. Another change is a link to figures for those with e-readers that don't display the graphics well - grandcollusion.blogspot.com.

Over the past 50 years America has experienced increasing public and private debt, long wars that could not be won, increasing political influence by industries and increased fragility of our financial institutions. We’ve also observed increased spending by companies and individuals to obtain access and influence over our government economic and foreign policies while the political discourse has become more heated, particularly over social issues. These trends are not unrelated, and Americans sense that something is wrong – that our elected officials are more beholden to those that fund their elections than the citizens they represent. This is the story of how we got to this point, the tactics that both political parties use to ensure that this remains the status quo and that the monopoly they share over access to our government is not threatened by third parties or other threats. It is also about the damage that has been done and how to correct it.

As the author demonstrates, neither political party adheres to their purported principles. When presented with an opportunity to increase party power, each party has evolved when the opportunity was presented. But the stakes were raised in the 1960s and 1970s. Once the federal government abandoned sound money policies in the late 1960s to fund the Viet Nam war and Great Society programs and officially ended the gold standard in1971, deficits suddenly became painless – spending could be increased without the need to increase taxes. Public and private debt also became painless thanks to inflation. This made it possible for the government to fund all sorts of defense and social programs while also “bailing out” those failed businesses with political influence without also making hard choices. This is when the lobbyists of K Street started their rise to power, and lobbying became the profession for retired congressmen. This is when Americans started to increase their personal debt to raise their living standards despite stagnant wages for most Americans. And, it wasn't long after this point that the two major political parties tightened their grip on power in Washington - all but eliminating third parties.

The result of this trend is that many Americans have been marginalized, with participation in our democratic processes as well as impact on them the lowest of any major democracy. Compared to the size of our economy, public and private debt is greater than it was prior to the Great Depression and will be a drag on our economy for decades. Wealth inequality is much greater than in any other major democratic nation with an advanced economy. It is hard to find another nation with higher wealth inequality than the United States that one would actually want to live in.

In this book the author explores how we got to this point, the methods the two parties and others have used to take us to this point, the damage that has been done, and also possible solutions.

But, be forewarned. If you have a strong personal identity with one or the other major political party, this may not be the book for you. Your suspicions of the other party will be confirmed while your support for your chosen party will be challenged.