Shakedown: The Continuing Conspiracy Against the American Taxpayer

In his latest effort, Malanga (The New New Left) argues that the U.S. government's expansion into previously unprecedented realms, from managing mortgage programs to expanding welfare, has increased personal taxes and stifled business growth. While president Obama entered office on a promise of change, in Malanga's view, he is the perfect poster child for this new political climate—a community organizer whose work was heavily funded by taxpayer dollars and pork barrel projects. Malanga, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, argues that America has lost the work ethic and discipline that once made it great and replaced those traits with an entitlement complex that will beggar the nation. Of great concern to the author is the lobbying muscle of public sector unions and the mishandling of welfare programs, and he heaps praise on former president George W. Bush and Rudy Giuliani for their efforts in addressing those issues. Malanga is a compelling narrator with a command of statistics, and though he assigns blame and praise in a mostly bipartisan manner, readers who don't share his views will be left wishing he'd considered the complete social picture behind his doomsday story. (Oct.)