Arianna Huffington’s Third World America 8

I finished Arianna Huffington’s Third World America: How Our Politicians Are Abandoning the Middle Class and Betraying the American Dream.  I thought that the book was good in that it told the stories of people who are economically struggling, highlighted political and economic corruption, and had inspiring stories about individuals who are trying to be a part of the solution—-people who cope with their unemployment by serving others, social networks helping people to find employment, etc.  Arianna calls for empathy, and I agree with her that this is important.  I also appreciated her outside-of-the-box thinking, as she did not consistently fit into the left-wing box and was open to a variety of ideas.  I wish that the book did a better job, however, in showing how government policies have contributed to the decline of the middle class.  That’s why I plan to read Lou Dobb’s 2006 book, War on the Middle Class: How the Government, Big Business, and Special Interest Groups Are Waging War on the American Dream and How to Fight Back.