Reckless! How Debt, Deregulation, and Dark Money Nearly Bankrupted America... And How We Can Fix It!

In this scathing indictment of the Bush administration and the excesses of big business and corporate gluttony during the past eight years, North Dakota Senator Dorgan (D-N.Dak.) chronicles how Americans’ faith in government has been undermined by a lack of regulation and untrammeled greed. This former state tax commissioner takes wide aim, lambasting Bush and Cheney, financial institutions, the subprime mortgage mess, the current budget deficit, the Iraq War and war profiteering, big oil and what he regards as a flawed health-care system and grossly inequitable tax system. Dorgan’s arguments are convincing and credible, but his recounting of such issues as the mismanagement of Wall Street firms, the Bush regime’s mishandling of the Iraq War and the Bernard Madoff scandal seem late to the game and add little fresh analysis. Dorgan’s decidedly Democratic approach to repairing Americans’ “broken trust” is to increase regulation, police Wall Street and to tax the wealthy. Readers who can wade through his rehashing of wrongdoing will find his practical solutions persuasive and in alignment with the new administration. (June)