Legacy: Paying the Price for the Clinton Years

Book Description

Richard Lowry explores the real importance of the Clinton years--the Clinton administration appeasing and ignoring the ever-growing threats to American security from hostile regimes and parties, rogue states, and global terrorist networks. Lowry offers the first sweeping-and stunning assessment of what the Clinton era really meant and means for America.

Customer Reviews:

Know the Truth..........2007-03-25

Legacy: Paying the Price for the Clinton Years by Rich Lowry provides the reader with an intense and thorough analysis of the Clinton Era. Legacy is rich with actual quotations from Clinton, his wife and, most importantly, the people from his inner political circle, his aides and advisors. The book immerses deep into Clinton's insidious past and presents a wealth of forgotten truths to the reader, not as conservative propaganda, but, as cold hard facts. Lowry's powerful use of syntax and diction paints a very deep and honest portrait of Clinton. From Clinton's insecurities and capricious behavior to his inability to take action and responsibility, Rich Lowry does NOT hold back from exposing Clinton for what he truly is...a self-absorbed coward. Overall, Lowry does a splendid job of compressing eight years of mistakes, scandals and lies into one book. I applaud him. Being in the military, I experienced much of the aftermath from Clinton's budget cuts and other bogus endeavors and I can attest that we, as Americans, have paid a heavy and painful price for his cowardice and dishonesty. I encourage all Americans to open their eyes, read this book and acknowledge the fact for now is time to know the truth about Clinton.

Makes you wonder how he got away with it.......2007-01-14

it kind of tells it like it was. He as not the smiling guy he comes off as. Get it at the library for free. I gave it three stars because it does bring out some of the seedy things he did. I really never finished it.

Devastated by passage of time.......2006-11-04

Wow, what a difference five years makes.

For all the flaws Lowry finds in Clinton (and there are several which bear noting), even the most serious pale to what we now find in the Executive Branch. If only we had a president who cared about his legacy enough to correct mistakes in judgement and reverse course when desperately needed. If only we had a president today who cared about polls, and the will of the people. If only we had a leader who acted cautiously, intellectually, and with the aid of evidence rather than "gut feelings".

I remember well the days when I thought Clinton would be the worst president our country would ever see. How quaint those days seem.

Shipment early, packing condition.......2006-07-29

Book arrived on earliest date listed. Packing was simply a tight bubble wrap envelope that (I am sure) resulted in bent corners of book. Otherwise, book in great condition.

Why the Change? .......2006-06-18

This review is somewhat belated. I read the book shortly after its original release. The copy I have has a scarlet letter "A" in the title, which I thought represented perfectly the legacy of this brilliant, but terribly flawed man. It's too bad the title was retooled.

The Price of Liberty: Paying for America's Wars

Average customer rating:

Good Book
A highly recommended addition to American History shelves, and a sharp warning against the obstacles facing America's future.
4% of GDP
Mundane
Three Flaws Easily Corrected, Views are of Strategic Importance

The Price of Liberty: Paying for America's Wars
Robert D. Hormats
Manufacturer: Times Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Economic History | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Public Finance | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Debt & Deficits | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression
Second Chance: Three Presidents and the Crisis of American Superpower
Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA
Statecraft: And How to Restore America's Standing in the World
The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies

ASIN: 0805082530
Release Date: 2007-05-01

Book Description

In a bracing work of history, a leading international finance expert reveals how our national security depends on our financial security

More than two centuries ago, America’s first secretary of the treasury, Alexander Hamilton, identified the Revolutionary War debt as a threat to the nation’s creditworthiness and its very existence. In response, he established financial principles for securing the country—principles that endure to this day. In this provocative history, Robert D. Hormats, one of America’s leading experts on international finance, shows how leaders from Madison and Lincoln to FDR and Reagan have followed Hamilton’s ideals, from the greenback and a progressive income tax to the Victory Bond and Victory Garden campaigns and cost-sharing with allies.

Drawing on these historical lessons, Hormats argues that the rampant borrowing to pay for the war in Iraq and the short-sighted tax cuts in the face of a long-term war on terrorism run counter to American tradition and place our country’s security in peril. To meet the threats facing us, Hormats contends, we must significantly realign our economic policies—on taxes, Social Security, Medicare, and oil dependency—to safeguard our liberty and our future.

Customer Reviews:

Good Book.......2007-10-10

I just saw this author give a lecture with Richard Brookhiser at the New-York Historical Society, and although it was brief, the author gave an extremely cogent overview of how the U.S. paid, and is paying, for its wars. The book is engrossing and very highly recommended.

Wars are extremely expensive and destructive; it's a pity the monies spent on defense cannot be allocated elsewhere (but, I am a firm believer that defense spending is more a stimulus to the economy than simple transfer payments.) However, in the near future, pressure from other budgetary obligations will necessitate a drastic reduction in defense spending, or an extreme cut back in social spending.
I feel sorry for the baby boomers and their quickly disappearing dream of retirement.

A highly recommended addition to American History shelves, and a sharp warning against the obstacles facing America's future........2007-10-07

Former member of the board of directors of the Council on Foreign Relations and international finance expert Robert D. Hormats applies his expertise and extensive historical research to The Price of Liberty: Paying for America's Wars, a thoughtful history of how America has paid for its conflagrations from the Revolutionary War debt (deemed a threat to the nation's creditworthiness and very existence by America's first secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton) to the invention of the greenback during the Civil War, the adoption of a progressive and populist income tax during World War II, the arms race budgeting that allowed the United States to outlast the Soviet Union during the cold war, and the diplomatic cost-sharing of the first Gulf War. A critical look at America's precarious modern-day financial position - including the heavy toll of over-dependence on oil, and a debt that relentlessly climbs especially due to unchecked social security spending and rising interest payments - closes The Price of Liberty, along with a lament that Hamilton's wisdom has been all but forgotten today. A highly recommended addition to American History shelves, and a sharp warning against the obstacles facing America's future.

4% of GDP.......2007-08-06

Foreign Investment: foreign loans provided the nation with critically needed money. Hamilton argued, the lack of national tax condemned the nation to a permanent weakness and the government to debilitating dependence on the state for revenues. State Power ruled supreme when central government was bound. The new constitution gave Congress exclusive authority to authorize federal borrowing and to lay and collect duties, excises, and imports. Congress determined that the treasury could spend. The nations commander and chief was over the military but depended on Congress to authorize funding of war debt.
Duties: Import duties were consider a tax on the rich where direct taxes were assessed on the value of the individual's assets. The average American lived on a farm or in a small village and bough few imports.

Direct Taxes: Direct taxes were seen as more coercive than import duties. Property owners were compelled to pay the direct tax. Direct taxes were used in times of emergency and limited by Congress to impose. The direct tax was appropriated among the several states and the national population corresponds to the tax portion. The direct tax could not disproportionately gang up on the slave states to pay more taxes. Initially customs and duties provided the bulk of government revenues. Property tax appeared during war times and existed in the 19th and 20th century, as a result of continual war. The revenue bill passed as a tax on importation necessary for support of government, the discharge of debts, and the means to encourage production and commerce. Duties on coffee were 5 to 15% and luxury items 15% tax. The tonnage act placed modest duties on registered tonnage of American owned ships.

Coalitions: The war in Iraq was seen largely as a unilateral American effort. No Islamic nations were involved. Building strong coalitions helped establish international legitimacy and encourage participating nations to pay a large portion of their costs. War required massive borrowing. In the early part of the war, the American people were assured costs would be low. Politicians cast aside worries about post war reconstruction believing that Iraqi oil production would reach 2.3 million barrels per day and defer much of the reconstruction expense. It didn't happen.

GDP: Politician managed to sidestep tax increases, hard recession, and increased nonmilitary spending (social security, Medicaid, and Medicare). The war was only costing 4% of GDP, whereas, the Korean war cost 10% of the GDP and Vietnam cost 15% GDP. The war was marketed as a "long war on terror" with financial similarities to the cold war. Prior to 9/11 pentagon spending was slowly decreasing. GDP pressure to spend on non-military expenditures is predicted to increase. Social security, Medicare, and Medicaid are face with entitlement blitz from some 79 million, post WWII baby boomers. The demand for entitlement is sure to crowd out discretionary spending.

Democrats: Democrats during the war wanted a tax increase. Republicans feared cuts of entitlements. Fed man Greenspan said he "would pursue tight monetary policies until a meaningful deficit reduction package was enacted." Four issues were at hand: 1. entitlements and mandatory program reform 2. Tax revenue increases 3. Orderly reductions in defense expenditures 4. And budget process reforms. Republicans cared about issues one and four.

Consumer Spending: Unlike past wars there were no bipartisan calls for patriotic sacrifice. Instead, Americans were encouraged to spend money to boost the economy. 2003, $87 billion in emergency supplement appropriation was requested and 2004,2005, and 2006 the supplements were controversial. In 2006, Department of Defense budget totaled $290 billion and foreign aid reached $28 billion. 2007, $270 billion more was required. From 2004 through 2006, Fed revenues rose from 16% of GDP to 18.4% of GDP at the same time deterioration of GDP of 6 percent in 4 years was the largest drop in 50 years. Four other times matched the drop: Civil War, WWI, Great Depression, and WWII. In 2008 and 2009, funds will be made through the national budget process.

"Pressures to withdraw troops intensified in 2006, primarily because to mounting causalities and growing fustration that enormous mistakes had been made and victory highly improbable." "Faith in the ability of tax cuts to drive the economy and dramatically or eliminate deficits heavily influenced thinking in fiscal policy." "Supply side effects from tax cuts arising from increased work and savings are unlikely to have revenue feedbacks of over 10%" "If Congress were to make recent tax cuts permanent, and fail to enact significant entitlement reform, the county would face a steep rise in the debt burden in the next decade.

Mundane.......2007-07-14

The bulk of "The Price of Liberty" summarizes how America paid the costs of its former wars, ensuring its future stability. This provides the backdrop for today - increased spending on non-war items, combined with increased defense spending in a long-term struggle and a major tax cut. Obviously, this is a major break with the past and "does not compute."

Three Flaws Easily Corrected, Views are of Strategic Importance.......2007-06-28

I would normally deduct one star for three flaws, but because they are easily corrected and the author's former boss is now Secretary of the Treasury, and perhaps powerful enough to ignore Dick Cheney's craven amoral direction as documented in both The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O'Neill and Vice: Dick Cheney and the Hijacking of the American Presidency, I restore the one star for actionable potential. My review of the latter itemizes 23 high crimes and misdemeanors committed by Dick Cheney as documented by the authors, and no review our fiscal decrepitude can be complete without understanding how Dick Cheney has bankrupted the Republic and betrayed the Nation and our troops.

I like this author. He gets it. I would gladly work with him in remediation as he suggests, which I summarize below. First, however, the three flaws:

1) He really believes the government baloney about how the military budget is a tiny fraction of our disposable income in comparison to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Not so. See my first image. If we restore universal service (inclusive of demanding two years from anyone asking for citizenship), end most of the "support" (read: looting) contracts that transfer taxpayer wealth to Halliburton and others of their ilk, and if we reform our national health system to provide a mix of lifestyle, environmental, alternative or natural, and medical care, with drug prices based on global wholesale prices, we drop drug unit prices from $600 (US) to $6 (global), bypassing the current Canadian pricing ($60). Extend the retirement age, modify education to be lifelong, and dramatically improve minimum wages, end illegal immigration, and introduce children to the work force as apprentices earlier, and we have the flexibility to heal ourselves and get out of insolvency, which the Comptroller General told Congress is where we are as of six months ago.

2) The author understands that asymmetric warfare allows our enemies to spend $1 and we have to spend much more. Bin Laden actually said this publicly a few years ago, and my second image illustrates both "the Bin Laden equation" of $1 from them requires $500,000 from us, and also the ten threats and twelve policies that must be addressed in a harmonized inter-agency and coalition fashion, using transparent accountable information as the "glue" for information arbitrage, a term I devised in the 1990's, the conversion of information into intelligence and intelligence into profit or cost and risk reduction. The hedge fund managers have been doing this for decades, with one big difference: they manage for the profit of the few rather than the sustainable profit to the many.

3) Alluded to above, and certainly in strong support of the author's recommended program, is the role that information and public (legal, ethical, sharable) intelligence can play in creating infinite wealth. See for instance, the books below (or read my reviews as a short-cut):

Revolutionary Wealth
The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom
The Wealth of Knowledge: Intellectual Capital and the Twenty-first Century Organization
Powershift: Knowledge, Wealth, and Power at the Edge of the 21st Century
Infinite Wealth: A New World of Collaboration and Abundance in the Knowledge Era

I take the trouble to emphasize the above prior to summarizing the author's views, and loading a third image on how I am attempting to work with Amazon and others to create a global information arbitrage economy that includes serious games and empowers every *locality*, because "The Price of Liberty" is NOT financial, it is intellectual. Where we have gone wrong these past decades is in forgetting that if We the People drop out of politics, we are left with corrupt minority parties that are Running on Empty: How the Democratic and Republican Parties Are Bankrupting Our Future and What Americans Can Do About It and a Congress that is impeachable for failing to act on two stolen elections and as the Article 1 branch of government (see for instance:

Breach of Trust: How Washington Turns Outsiders Into Insiders
The Broken Branch: How Congress Is Failing America and How to Get It Back on Track (Institutions of American Democracy)

It is in this larger context that the author's views become vital to the Republic, and actionable by the current and next Secretary of the Treasury. For the record, I am betting on Bradley-Bloomberg and 16 years of transpartisan government with multi-party (5-6 parties, not two) announced in advance and elected as part of "Our Deal."

This is a lovely history with deep meaning for our future. The author's core point is that a long war requires a long-term fiscal strategy. His elaborations make it clear that the Bush-Cheney Administration, which made fiscal policy from the Office of the Vice President and continues to demean the Cabinet, has bankrupted the Nation.

The author is especially strong at showing the differences between past indebtedness and today's indebtedness. Today we have no surplus, we have an energy deficit, we have idiotic tax cuts for the wealth and an unfair burden on the poor, we continue benefits that are unaffordable and crippling to our evolution, and we are not planning for the future needs of our rapidly aging and often needy.

I was moved to conceptualize "Our Deal" after reading the author's brilliant but down to earth discussion of how the Roosevelt "New Deal" and the Truman "Fair Deal" and the Johnson "Great Society" all ran aground, more or less, because of the rocks of war. The author is clear is saying that it was the Reagan era that turned us into a debtor nation.

The author connects social justice at home with the sacrifices of our troops abroad, and concludes that the Pentagon, above all, must re-examine its allocation of resources (see my fourth image, the "Four Forces After Next" that I began recommending in 1992).

Amnesia & Ambivalence are the death of a Nation. Lack of inter-agency coordination is killing us. We need energy patriotism, savings patriotism, and I would add, democratic patriotism. I am working to create a "big bat" for Transpartisanship, one capable of raising $500M a year in Liberty Bonds with which to buy back our government and force Congress to attend to the people's priorities.

This book helps us all.

For Sale by Owner: A Complete Guide: Everything You Need to Sell Your Home at the Highest Price Without Paying a Broker!

Average customer rating:

Good information, but no downloads

For Sale by Owner: A Complete Guide: Everything You Need to Sell Your Home at the Highest Price Without Paying a Broker!
Steve Berges
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Buying & Selling Homes | Real Estate | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Real Estate | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The For Sale By Owner Handbook: Fsbo Faqs: From Pricing Your Home Right And Increasing Its Curb Appeal To Negotiating The Contract And Hassle-free Closing
The For Sale By Owner Kit
The Complete Kit to Selling Your Own Home: Smart, Fast and for Top Dollar (Complete Kit to Selling Your Own Home)
House Selling for Dummies
How to Sell Your Home Without a Broker

ASIN: 0071458255

Book Description

How to sell a home without a broker for maximum profit in minimum time

FSBOs (for sale by owners) are one of the quickest- growing methods of home sales in the business.

For Sale by Owner: A Complete Guide is the most up-to-date, comprehensive guide available to selling a home independently. It covers all the bases, arming readers with:

Insider tips on surefire, low-cost, high-impact home improvements, guaranteed to yield maximum profits
Step-by-step guidance on home valuation, including tips on researching the market, hiring an appraiser, and setting prices
Inexpensive marketing and advertising techniques--with a section on marketing a home over the Internet
Expert advice on how to select the best title company, negotiate a deal and close the sale, protect against future lawsuits, and more

Customer Reviews:

Good information, but no downloads.......2007-02-16

Although the information in this book is very helpful, the #1 reason why I purchased it was because it said that you could download all the legal forms needed to do a FSBO from their website. However, when I went to the website listed in the book, the forms were not there. I tried emailing them at the address listed on their site, but the message was undeliverable.

DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK IF YOU WANT TO USE IT TO DOWNLOAD THE FREE LEGAL DOCUMENTS!

Paying The Playboy's Price (Silhouette Desire)

Average customer rating:

Paying The Playboy's Price (Silhouette Desire)
Emilie Rose
Manufacturer: Silhouette
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Romance | Subjects | Books

Silhouette Desire | Series | Romance | Subjects | Books

General | Contemporary | Romance | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Exposing The Executive's Secrets (Silhouette Desire)
Bending To The Bachelor's Will (Silhouette Desire)
The Soon-To-Be-Disinherited Wife (Silhouette Desire)
Satisfying Lonergan's Honor (Silhouette Desire)
Expecting Brand's Baby (Silhouette Desire, No. 1463)

ASIN: 0373767323

Average customer rating:

Hawaii & Real Estate
Waves of heartbreak, horror and hope
Exceptionally well-developed characters
Reads Like a Tour of Maui
A True Glimpse of Paradise

Paying the Price
Madge Tennent Walls
Manufacturer: Dialogue Publishing, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Divorce | Women's Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Punahou Blues
The Known World
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel
Water for Elephants: A Novel

ASIN: 0976490471
Release Date: 2005-10-03

Book Description

Paying the Price is the story of a real estate deal on Maui that goes terribly bad, threatening to wreck the lives of everyone involved. Add a heaping helping of mother-daughter conflict, and you've got an armchair trip to the Valley Isle that will keep you turning the pages and cheering for our Realtor heroine Laura McDaniel all the way to closing.

Customer Reviews:

Hawaii & Real Estate.......2007-08-18

I must admit it took me a lil' longer than normal to read "Paying The Price" by Madge Walls. The book was good. It bought new light to the actual residents of Hawaii and people that are in the real estate business. Her characters sparked an interest in you from the very begining. They were people that you may have known and/or seen in some of your own neighborhoods. She also bought to life the real and not so distant fear that many of us try not to think about. Yes the fear of our own child being sexually used. She told a story with suspense, horror and love all mixed in with hope for a better future!

Thanks for sharing Madge!!

Waves of heartbreak, horror and hope.......2007-07-22

I just finished reading Madge Walls' novel Paying the Price. More of an experience--a vacation--than just a book, this wonderful tale had me neglecting my own activities so I could keep turning the pages.

The protagonist, Maui Realtor Laura McDaniel, deals daily with loads
of trouble: her demanding, often unreasonable clients; her well-meaning but overbearing mother; her traumatized, pregnant, teenaged, prodigal daughter; her attractive ex-husband who has troubles of his own; and genuinely dangerous, local loons.

Laura's struggles: feast or famine finances, mother/daughter/grandmother guilt, and the loneliness of facing huge, life-changing decisions alone, are so real and so universal that they make the shocking twists and turns of the book believable and all the more jolting.

Peppered with island words and phrases, food, scenery, and cultural oddities, the setting surrounds and complements the story. Each time I opened the book, I rode the waves of heartbreak, horror and hope in beautiful Hawaii. If I put it to my ear, I can almost hear the ocean now.

Exceptionally well-developed characters.......2007-05-30

I couldn't put this book down. From the very beginning, you relate to and really care about the characters - no one-dimensional stereotypes here! As a fellow real estate agent, it was refreshing to see an agent portrayed as a real person, not some hyped-up caricature a la American Beauty. For anyone interested in a real estate career, the situations and people Laura encounters are dead-on - so to speak. Paying the Price describes perfectly what a real estate career is all about; sometimes exhilarating, sometimes devastating, but always interesting. Terrific job, Madge, can't wait for the sequel!

Reads Like a Tour of Maui.......2007-02-07

The fictional agent, Laura, indeed pays the price. Madge Walls deftly describes the chaos that can descend on a real estate agent at any moment, even among the other-earthly beauty of Maui. I felt with her as she traveled the island and thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

A True Glimpse of Paradise.......2006-11-26

This novel, set on Maui, is true-to-life in so many ways. Life on the Island of Maui is not all palm trees and beach parties; there is hard work involved in order to live in paradise. Add emotional woes such as a wayward teenage runaway daughter, a conniving ex-husband, and a really difficult real estate transaction, and you have Madge Walls' debut novel; a gripping page-turner of a plot woven seamlessly with authentic island life. Walls' use of the pidgin vernacular is splendid, and her depiction of life on Maui is right-on. I can almost taste the shave ice from Azeka's Market as Laura, the protagonist, drives along South Kihei Road, and the whiff of fresh Upcountry air is divine as the car turns towards Kula and Makawao. Born in Honolulu and raised on Maui, I appreciated the authenticity of Madge's use of descriptive island phrases such as "da kine" and "shaka!" I simply could not put this book down. It is a delightful combination of page-turning plot twists inticately woven together with real life on Maui.Please, Madge, we need more of Laura's story in future books!

Paying the Price: Ignacio Ellacuria and the Murdered Jesuits of El Salvador

Average customer rating:

Paying the Price: Ignacio Ellacuria and the Murdered Jesuits of El Salvador
Teresa Whitfield
Manufacturer: Temple University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Human Rights | Constitutional Law | Law | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Terrorism | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

History | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Ground Beneath The Cross: The Theology Of Ignacio Ellacuria (Moral Traditions)
Love That Produces Hope: The Thought Of Ignacio Ellacuria
Voice of the Voiceless: The Four Pastoral Letters and Other Statements

ASIN: 1566392535

Book Description

On November 16, 1989, on the campus of El Salvador's University of Central America, six Jesuits and two women were murdered by members of the Salvadoran army, an army funded and trained by the United States. One of the murdered Jesuits was Ignacio Ellacuría, the university's Rector and a key, although controversial, figure in Salvadoran public life. From an opening account of this terrible crime, Paying the Price asks, Why were they killed and what have their deaths meant? Answers come through Teresa Whitfield's detailed examination of Ellacuría's life and work. His story is told in juxtaposition with the crucial role played by the unraveling investigation of the Jesuits' murders within El Salvador's peace process.

A complex and nuanced book, Paying the Price offers a history of the Church in El Salvador in recent decades, an analysis of Ellacuría's philosophy and theology, an introduction to liberation theology, and an account of the critical importance of the University of Central America. In the end, Whitfield's comprehensive picture of conditions in El Salvador suggest that the Jesuits' murders were almost inevitable. A crime that proved a turning point in El Salvador's civil war, the murders expressed the deep tragedy of the Salvadoran people beyond suffering the heartless cruelty, violence, and deceitfulness of a corrupt military and their patrons in the U.S. government.

Product Description

A lucid, informative, and digestible comic (illustrated graphic guide is probably more accurate) on the real costs (social, economic, community and personal) of what it means when a prison is built in a (typically poor, rural) town. There are more prisons in America than Wal-Marts. And there are more prisoners in America today than farmers. Kevin Payle and Craig Gilmore lay it all out.

Paying the Price: The Status and Role of Insurance Against Natural Disasters in the United States (Natural Hazards and Disasters)

Average customer rating:

Excellent resource that is a must for non-insurance people!

Paying the Price: The Status and Role of Insurance Against Natural Disasters in the United States (Natural Hazards and Disasters)

Manufacturer: National Academy Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Sustainable Development | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Disaster Relief | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Natural Disasters | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0309063612

Customer Reviews:

Excellent resource that is a must for non-insurance people!.......1998-12-04

Kunreuther, et al have made a major leap forward in helping to educate and inform insurance and non-insurance people alike on the threats associated with natural hazards of all kinds, how insurance companies historically and are now reacting to how those hazards affect their business as they seek to help their insureds manage the risks they face, to demystify the complex world of insurance, and to offer some well reasoned suggestions for all who have a stake in managing the risk of damage from catastrophic natural hazards like hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, etc. Whether the reader is: an individual homeowner; a member of the scientific or academic community; an interested federal, state or community official; an insurance or reinsurance company employee; or one of the other parties who should be concerned about how catastrophes might impact their customers and constituents, this book is a must! Read it to understand the extent of the problem. Read it to understand how mitigation of future damage may be a key part of the solution for the risk that the individual homeowner whose home is located in harm's way (nature's fury) faces. Read it to understand what's been tried and what's suceeded or failed. But mostly read it to seriously consider how you can participate in the solution. The responsibility rests with the individual homeowner to make sure that his or her home is as safe and strong as it should be - for the sake of his or her loved ones (including the family pets), his or her irreplaceable or prized possessions, and that their psychological well-being and lifestyle are not significantly disturbed after a major catastrophic event. And he or she must see themselves as part of a safe and strong community that can similarly weather what Mother Nature can (and at some time certainly will, regardless of how small the probability) throw at them so that the goods and services it provides can be continued after such an event. This book provides a balanced approach to helping the reader understand the role insurance can, should, and does play. But it also helps place it into perspective and suggests some next steps. It explores the reasons for why the different stakeholders act the way they do. Why do people not react to the risk they face by demanding and then paying to make their homes stronger and safer? Why do insurance companies not offer premium incentives? How do various public policies and practices get in the way of efforts to invest significant tax dollars to promote stronger, safer homes and communities, when the original objective of that investment was to avoid spending significantly more tax dollars every year to bail out people and communities living in areas at risk to hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, and other natural hazards (sometimes repeatedly) because they either didn't fully understand the risk or they simply chose not to act to avoid or reduce the subsequent damage? Read this book to learn. Read this book to capture a vision of what needs doing. Seek more information from the Federal Emergency Management Agency or from the Institute for Business and Home Safety on how to retrofit your own home or how to contribute to community based programs. Both have very good web sites that are mentioned in the book. And finally carefully evaluate your own risk to natural hazards and take action to protect your family (both physically and psychologically), your irreplaceable and prized possessions, and get involved with others in your community to do the same thing for the environment in which you live, work, and recreate. Thanks to Kunreuther, et al for giving us such a wonderful resource to get us thinking about the status and role of insurance against the adverse impacts of natural disasters in the United States, but also for helping awaken us to our own status and role in protecting our families, our homes, and our communities because it should now be clear that insurance is only part of the solution. Keeping it affordable and available requires us to begin seeing insurance as just one, albeit very important, part of our arsenal for managing our individual and corporate risk of loss from natural hazards that threaten us where we live. Respectfully submitted, Dennis Fasking

Beating the Check: How to Eat Out Without Paying

Average customer rating:

...and please remember to stiff your waiter
Excellent Book / Excellent Author
FREE FOOD!

Beating the Check: How to Eat Out Without Paying
Mick Shaw
Manufacturer: Loompanics Unlimited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Hospitality, Travel & Tourism | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Customer Reviews:

...and please remember to stiff your waiter.......2005-07-03

Oh the fun you'll have and stories you'll tell. Here's a book written by an insider (viz. waiter) about how to get free meals from restaurants. By 'free' of course, I mean 'stolen', but what's the difference? Particularly charming is the section on getting the whole family involved--using your children as pawns in a gambit to acquire that elusive free Bloomin' Onion. A fun read, but I don't have the balls or desire to go to jail to actually do this stuff.

Excellent Book / Excellent Author.......2004-03-14

I love this book!! This is an excellent book on how to beat a check, and also a little "beating the world around you" if you read into it properly! I put it right up there with gaslighting! I also met the author once...great mind/great person! Would recommend 100%!! Happy reading!

FREE FOOD!.......2000-06-22

Come on... read this book, who wouldnt like a book that gives you very good instructions on how to eat for free... I am very acomplished in this skill, but i got banned from all of the Pizza huts in my area (which is pretty bad because i live in wichita, KS, where the first Pizza hut was) because i found a sure fire way of getting free pizzas! (all you do is tell them you have a credit for a large pizza with the toppings you want) What are you waiting for! go buy this book now!

Long-term Care: Knowing the Risk, Paying the Price

Average customer rating:

Long-term Care: Knowing the Risk, Paying the Price
Various Chapter Authors
Manufacturer: Health Insurance Association of America
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1879143348

Book Description

This book provides the reader with a basic understanding of long-term care - what it is and what it is not, who needs it, who provides it, and the traditional ways of financing it. The text also describes a new product developed by the insurance industry to help people effectively plan for the potential costs of long-term care. There is a brief discussion of the early development of this product, its current status as it continues to grow and change to meet the needs of the consumer, and the regulations that govern it. Finally, there is a discussion of how consumers have reacted to the potential need for long-term care and its cost.

Chapter authors all have extensive experience in the health insurance industry, and bring a practical, real-world perspective to their treatment of the subject.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books