When the nation"s economy foundered in 2008, blame was directed almost universally at Wall Street. But University of California, Berkeley, public policy professor Robert B. Reich suggests a different reason for the meltdown, and for the perilous road ahead. In his book "Aftershock: The Next Economy and America"s Future," he argues that the real problem lies in the increasing concentration of wealth at the top, and in a middle class that has to go into debt to maintain a decent standard of living.
Reich, who served as U.S. secretary of labor under President Bill Clinton, reveals that the last time in American history when wealth was so highly concentrated at the top was in 1928, just before the Great Depression. While this disparity creates great booms, it is usually followed by even deeper busts. Reich"s detailed account of where we are headed financially reveals what he believes is the essential truth about our economy that is driving our politics and shaping our future. Unless this trend is reversed, he warns, the Great Recession will only be repeated.
Members may purchase pre-signed books at the event, provided courtesy of Brazos Bookstore.
