The Wolf at the Door: The Menace of Economic Insecurity and How to Fight It Hardcover – February 18, 2020

I was concerned this might be too boring but I wanted to know about this specific issue- economic insecurity. This was well written and interesting ideas.

If you wish that political divisions could be healed, then everyone, everyone should read The Wolf at the Door. Among many other things, I’ve read almost every editorial page and op-ed page in The Wall Street Journal for the past 40 years. (Don’t be horrified, I’ve kept an open mind, but you can surmise that I know the policy arguments that economically conservative writers have made.) On the issue of the increasing economic insecurity suffered by a huge swath of the population, I’ve considered the suggestions of everyone from Robert Bartley to Robert Reich, and quite a few in between. It seems, at least recently, that every new administration brings a mix of policy preferences that are greeted enthusiastically by half the population and dismissed with derision by the other half. To build a bridge over that gulf, you need an objective assessment of what has been tried (both successes and failures), what should be tried, and how to make it work. To paraphrase Vin Scully, in a year that has been so improbable, Professors Michael Graetz and Ian Shapiro have done the impossible: They lay out a richly detailed, pragmatic, and politically achievable recipe for building coalitions around public policies that can banish the wolf. There are elements that will be uncomfortable to every end of the political spectra, but solid research (the footnotes are a delight) and carefully illustrated explanations make you know that their analysis should not be ignored. If you think this review sounds overly enthusiastic, read the book, and you’ll see it is not.

In their timely and aptly named book, Professors Graetz and Shapiro describe the economic maladies and policy blunders that have lead the Wolf to our Door. The stories they tell are familiar and compelling. It’s an easy read and they don’t mince words in calling to task the delusional quest for policy perfection and the untold damage caused by Corporate America’s shift from stakeholder to shareholder capitalism. But building on the foundation of the truths they tell, the authors offer a practical, common sense way forward to restore the economic security That has been denied so many.Fred Goldberg, former IRS Commissioner and Assistant Treasury Secretary for Tax Policy

I finished this a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it. It was a real eye opener to me to see how much needs to be done to combat the enormous inequality that is only growing worse. Wall Street is doing fine but what about Main Street? Mike and Ian have great ideas on how to address some of the most pressing issues. This was a real eye opening book for me on how much more good can be done for those who really struggle.

I love the insightful analysis matched with real life examples describing the social and economic changes we find ourselves in. Authors look both ways into history as well as to the present both from practical as well as theoretical perspectives. I recommend this high-caliber book for lecturers, students but also for those who wonder why we feel so insecure in this contemporary world of business, policy, and politics.

Comprehensive review of common sense, potentially bipartisan, domestic policy alternatives on a variety of topics. A good source book. I will reread specific chapters again as policy debates come to the surface.

This book offers a good practical incite for those with an interest in US and global political science.

I'm rarely drawn to write reviews on Amazon, but I felt compelled to heap praise on this book in the hopes that more people will pick it up. This is the book to understand what is going on, and a prescription for the future. If you're like most Americans, you probably feel that 2020 is the one of most difficult and challenging years in your lifetime (and perhaps even your parents' lifetimes), with generation-defining crises from public health to economic to racial. But you also probably feel that this can be a pivotal year that can set up a generation for success -- if only we had the right leaders doing the right things. This book is a blueprint of thought provoking insights about how we can set up America for success -- in areas from infrastructure to reemployment to dignity in work. These ideas buck party lines; they're rooted in common sense; and best of all, they make you think. Whether or not you agree with their policy prescriptions, Shapiro and Graetz will get you to think further than you'd probably thought before -- and as such, they may have written the very book perfect for this very time.