Winner-Take-All Politics

by Jacob S Hacker and Paul Pierson

Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer and Turned its Back on the Middle Class, by Paul Pierson and Jacob Hacker identifies the real culprit behind one of the great economic crimes of our time- the growing inequality of incomes and how the US political system has allowed this to happen.

Recommendations from our site

“This book is about rising inequality and it traces back to fundamental causes. I like books that get back to ultimate causes and that think like social scientists about these causes. The question is, ‘Why is inequality getting worse in so many different countries?’ This book particularly focuses on the US. There are a number of traditional answers, but the most prominent among them is this idea that in a modern economy there is a skill bias in technical change. Our computers and communications have led to a winner-take-all society, where only the really smart can make money.” Read more...

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Robert J Shiller, Economist

“Winner-Take-All Politics puts complex economic ideas into language that we understand. It takes a fresh look at the increase in inequality over the last thirty to forty years.” Read more...

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Keith Ellison, Lawyer

“The more I’ve thought about it, the more I’ve come to appreciate some of their conceptual insights. The American political system is resistant to change in a very literal sense. It’s just difficult to pass laws. We have many different branches of government, and a lot of diffusion of power.” Read more...

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Matthew Yglesias, Political Commentator