Additional Praise for American Gridlock doc

[...]... jobs that were “outsourced” would probably have been saved But the U.S government buckled at every stage of the way, always apologizing for China and never forcing that nation to pay any price for its unfair practices It is time for the U.S government to stand up for its citizens, earning an A rather than a D in Bargaining Theory 101 Drawing upon groundbreaking work by mathematician John F Nash Jr... recognition that win-win solutions exist But they do exist, and they are exactly what the doctor ordered Such policies are needed to build bipartisan support on issues, and thus to terminate gridlock here in America, and gridlock elsewhere for that matter My third goal is to demonstrate that the win-win solutions I deduce for the five problems analyzed are neither Right wing nor Left wing in nature Because... stance toward Islamic radicalism, and to entitlements reform—health-care reform in particular Everyone on both sides of the aisle concedes that there is gridlock and that little, if anything, is being done about our most pressing problems But there is widespread misunderstanding about the true cost of policy gridlock This cost can take two very different forms First, it can mean that nothing is done about... done about a problem when arriving at a consensus is impossible Social Security reform to date offers an example of this form of gridlock The can is forever kicked down the alley and nothing is done to improve matters The problem with procrastination is that the longer-term cost of remedial action skyrockets Second, gridlock can be broken and legislation passed even when there is no consensus, provided... 8:12 AM xxii Preface informal induction, you could survey hundreds of college graduates to arrive at a consensus probability In doing so, you will discover that there is a 7.5 percent chance of a common birthday But don’t use this result as it is wrong, and will be bad for your wallet! But how then do you learn the truth? Using more formal inductive logic, you could organize and pay for one hundred similar... parare,” which translates to, “If you wish for peace, prepare for war.” So once again, my proposals of how to negotiate with the Chinas of the world are neither Left nor Right wing, even if they might appear hawkish on the surface Chapter 6, the final chapter, fleshes out the concept of an idealized political economy, and what this concept implies for making life better for us all With Anglo-Saxon capitalism... Hurwicz contributed to the subject He was a former teacher of mine at Harvard, and the best teacher I ever had He was a notoriously “big” thinker who fpref.indd xxvi 03/12/11 8:12 AM Preface xxvii extended the criteria for good resource allocation systems to include numerous societal norms other than economic efficiency, norms like freedom and privacy For this work and for his related theory of mechanism design,... profound and intrinsically interesting part of the book Intended Readership This book has been written for anyone troubled by the decline of the United States, and indeed of the West, for anyone who seeks compelling solutions to today’s policy challenges, and for anyone sick and tired of pessimism and gridlock No mathematics has been used, except in Appendix B where the health-care spending theorems are... all, the time seemed ripe for a book reprising all these past and present interests I am particularly indebted to Kevin Commins of John Wiley & Sons for approaching me to write this book in late 2009 when I had no intention of doing so, to John O’Leary for invaluable assistance with Appendix B on health care expenditure, and to Eugene Lancaric, Mary Ryan, and Charles La Rosa for indispensable editing... have lost in information? —T S Eliot T wo decades ago, during ski season, I had the pleasure of spending a weekend in the Alpine chalet of Bill and Pat Buckley near Gstaad, Switzerland For those of you who don’t remember, the late William F Buckley Jr was the dean of American conservative politics, having founded the National Review and having hosted the conservative talk show Firing Line for three decades . catalyst for my own thinking than Woody. Read American Gridlock. Savor American Gridlock. Allow yourself to be pro- voked and prodded by American Gridlock. . ffirs.indd iiffirs.indd ii 03/12/11 8:12 AM03/12/11 8:12 AM Additional Praise for American Gridlock “Woody Brock’s writings are often the fi rst place I