A Nation Of Moochers

Author : Charles J. Sykes
Publisher : St. Martin's Press
Page : 305 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2012-01-17
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781429951074

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A Nation of Moochers by Charles J. Sykes Pdf

We have experienced a shift in American character: we've become a nation of moochers. Increasingly dependent on the efforts of others over our own, Americans are free to freeload. From the corporate bailouts on Wall Street to the alarming increases in personal default and dependency, from questionable tax exemptions to enormous pension, healthcare, and other entitlement costs, the new moocher culture cuts across lines of class, race, and private and public sectors. And the millions that plan and behave sensibly, only to bail out the profligate? They're angry. Charles Sykes' argument is not against compassion or legitimate charity, but targets the new moocher culture, in which self-reliance and personal responsibility have given way to mass grasping after handouts. A Nation of Moochers is a persuasively argued and entertaining rallying cry for Americans who are tired of playing by the rules and paying for those who don't.

Author : Charles J. Sykes
Publisher : Macmillan
Page : 308 pages
File Size : 53,6 Mb
Release : 1992
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 0312098820

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A Nation of Victims by Charles J. Sykes Pdf

Charles Sykes's ProfScam sparked a furious debate over the mission and the failure of our universities. Now he turns his attention to an even more controversial subject. A Nation of Victims is the first book on the startling decay of the American backbone and the disease that is causing it. The spread of victimism has been widely noted in the media; indeed, its symptoms have produced best-selling books, fueled television ratings, spawned hundreds of support groups, and enriched tens of thousands of lawyers across the country. The plaint of the victim - Its not my fault - has become the loudest and most influential voice in America, an instrument of personal and lasting political change. In this incisive, pugnacious, frequently hilarious book, Charles Sykes reveals a society that is tribalizing, where individuals and groups define themselves not by shared culture, but by their status as victims. Victims of parents, of families, of men, of women, of the workplace, of sex, of stress, of drugs, of food, of college reading lists, of personal physical characteristics - these and a host of other groups are engaged in an ever-escalating fight for attention, sympathy, money, and legal or governmental protection. What's going on and how did we get to this point? Sykes traces the inexorable rise of the therapeutic culture and the decline of American self-reliance. With example after example, he shows how victimism has co-opted the genuine victories of the civil-rights movement for less worthy goals. And he offers hope: the prospect of a culture of renewed character, where society lends compassion to those who truly need it. Like Shelby Steele, Charles Murray, and Dinesh D'Souza, Charles Sykes defines the ground of what will be a significant national debate.

Author : Charles J. Sykes
Publisher : Regnery Publishing
Page : 332 pages
File Size : 55,5 Mb
Release : 1988-10-01
Category : Education
ISBN : 0895265591

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Profscam by Charles J. Sykes Pdf

ProfScam reveals the direct and ultimate reason for the collapse of higher education in the Unites States— the selfish, wayward, and corrupt American university professor.

Author : Charles J. Sykes
Publisher : St. Martin's Press
Page : 192 pages
File Size : 52,7 Mb
Release : 2007-08-21
Category : Family & Relationships
ISBN : 9781466831278

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50 Rules Kids Won't Learn in School by Charles J. Sykes Pdf

Charles J. Sykes offers fifty life lessons not included in the self-esteem-laden, reality-light curriculum of most schools. Here are truths about what kids will encounter in the world post-schooling, and ideas for how parents can reclaim lost ground---not with pep talks and touchy-feely negotiations, but with honesty and respect. Sykes's rules are frank, funny, and tough minded, including: #1 Life is not fair. Get used to it. #7 If you think your teacher is tough, wait until you get a boss. He doesn't have tenure, so he tends to be a bit edgier. When you screw up, he's not going to ask you how you FEEL about it. #15 Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping. They called it "opportunity." #42 Change the oil. #43 Don't let the success of others depress you. #48 Tell yourself the story of your life. Have a point. Each rule is explored with wise, pithy examples that parents, grandparents, and teachers can use to help children help themselves succeed---in school and out of it. A few rules kids won't learn in school: #9 Your school may have done away with winners and losers. Life hasn't. #14 Looking like a slut does not empower you. #29 Learn to deal with hypocrisy. #32 Television is not real life. #38 Look people in the eye when you meet them. #47 You are not perfect, and you don't have to be. #50 Enjoy this while you can.

Author : Nicholas Eberstadt
Publisher : Templeton Foundation Press
Page : 145 pages
File Size : 43,9 Mb
Release : 2012-10-10
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781599474366

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A Nation of Takers by Nicholas Eberstadt Pdf

In A Nation of Takers: America’s Entitlement Epidemic, one of our country’s foremost demographers, Nicholas Eberstadt, details the exponential growth in entitlement spending over the past fifty years. As he notes, in 1960, entitlement payments accounted for well under a third of the federal government’s total outlays. Today, entitlement spending accounts for a full two-thirds of the federal budget. Drawing on an impressive array of data and employing a range of easy-to-read, four-color charts, Eberstadt shows the unchecked spiral of spending on a range of entitlements, everything from Medicare to disability payments. But Eberstadt does not just chart the astonishing growth of entitlement spending, he also details the enormous economic and cultural costs of this epidemic. He powerfully argues that while this spending certainly drains our federal coffers, it also has a very real, long-lasting, negative impact on the character of our citizens. Also included in the book is a response from one of our leading political theorists, William Galston. In his incisive response, he questions Eberstadt’s conclusions about the corrosive effect of entitlements on character and offers his own analysis of the impact of American entitlement growth.

Author : Charles J. Sykes
Publisher : Macmillan
Page : 356 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 1995
Category : Education
ISBN : 0312148232

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Dumbing Down Our Kids by Charles J. Sykes Pdf

Sykes concludes with a checklist for parents, students, and teachers who want to evaluate their schools, and a series of recommendations to restore quality learning to America.

Author : Charles J. Sykes
Publisher : St. Martin's Press
Page : 288 pages
File Size : 44,6 Mb
Release : 2016-08-09
Category : Education
ISBN : 9781250091765

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Fail U. by Charles J. Sykes Pdf

The cost of a college degree has increased by 1,125% since 1978—four times the rate of inflation. Total student debt has surpassed $1.3 trillion. Nearly two thirds of all college students must borrow to study, and the average student graduates with more than $30,000 in debt. Many college graduates under twenty-five years old are unemployed or underemployed. And professors—remember them?—rarely teach undergraduates at many major universities, instead handing off their lecture halls to cheaper teaching assistants. So, is it worth it? That’s the question Charles J. Sykes attempts to answer in Fail U., exploring the staggering costs of a college education, the sharp decline in tenured faculty and teaching loads, the explosion of administrative jobs, the grandiose building plans, and the utter lack of preparedness for the real world that many now graduates face. Fail U. offers a different vision of higher education; one that is affordable, more productive, and better-suited to meet the needs of a diverse range of students—and one that will actually be useful in their future careers and lives.

Author : Bert Davis
Publisher : Microcosm Publishing
Page : 161 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 2014-11-29
Category : House & Home
ISBN : 9781621064718

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Dwelling Portably 2009-2015 by Bert Davis Pdf

The Dwelling Portably series returns with Holly and Bert's newest contribution to their fourth decade of DIY homesteading. The 2009-2015 collection assembles their correspondence and what they've picked up over the last six years, lovingly crafted on manual typewriters from a remote Oregon outpost. The tips and tricks presented here are practical and useful—pertaining to things like biking, permanent camping, alternative communities, DIY healthcare, disaster preparation, eating off the land, and MacGyver-like skills to prepare you for any and all situations. Whether you’re planning to step off the grid or just simplify your life a little, Dwelling Portably has something for just about everyone.

Author : Mark D. Brewer,Jeffrey M. Stonecash
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
Page : 224 pages
File Size : 44,6 Mb
Release : 2015
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780190239824

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Polarization and the Politics of Personal Responsibility by Mark D. Brewer,Jeffrey M. Stonecash Pdf

America is divided by two clashing views about individual responsibility. Liberals see many people as not completely responsible for the situation they are in, their opportunities limited by their class, race, and sex. Distribution of outcomes is therefore seen as unjust, and the government has to help offset the limits people face. In contrast, conservatives believe individuals can and must live their lives with a presumption of personal responsibility for what happens. Government assistance is not seen as valuable, but as creating dependency and ultimately crippling to those who receive it.

Author : Charles J. Sykes
Publisher : St. Martin's Press
Page : 288 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 2017-10-03
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781250147219

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How the Right Lost Its Mind by Charles J. Sykes Pdf

"Bracing and immediate." - The Washington Post Once at the center of the American conservative movement, bestselling author and radio host Charles Sykes is a fierce opponent of Donald Trump and the right-wing media that enabled his rise. In How the Right Lost Its Mind, Sykes presents an impassioned, regretful, and deeply thoughtful account of how the American conservative movement came to lose its values. How did a movement that was defined by its belief in limited government, individual liberty, free markets, traditional values, and civility find itself embracing bigotry, political intransigence, demagoguery, and outright falsehood? How the Right Lost its Mind addresses: *Why are so many voters so credulous and immune to factual information reported by responsible media? *Why did conservatives decide to overlook, even embrace, so many of Trump’s outrages, gaffes, conspiracy theories, falsehoods, and smears? *Can conservatives govern? Or are they content merely to rage? *How can the right recover its traditional values and persuade a new generation of their worth?

Author : Garett Jones
Publisher : Stanford University Press
Page : 222 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 2015-11-11
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9780804797054

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Hive Mind by Garett Jones Pdf

Over the last few decades, economists and psychologists have quietly documented the many ways in which a person's IQ matters. But, research suggests that a nation's IQ matters so much more. As Garett Jones argues in Hive Mind, modest differences in national IQ can explain most cross-country inequalities. Whereas IQ scores do a moderately good job of predicting individual wages, information processing power, and brain size, a country's average score is a much stronger bellwether of its overall prosperity. Drawing on an expansive array of research from psychology, economics, management, and political science, Jones argues that intelligence and cognitive skill are significantly more important on a national level than on an individual one because they have "positive spillovers." On average, people who do better on standardized tests are more patient, more cooperative, and have better memories. As a result, these qualities—and others necessary to take on the complexity of a modern economy—become more prevalent in a society as national test scores rise. What's more, when we are surrounded by slightly more patient, informed, and cooperative neighbors we take on these qualities a bit more ourselves. In other words, the worker bees in every nation create a "hive mind" with a power all its own. Once the hive is established, each individual has only a tiny impact on his or her own life. Jones makes the case that, through better nutrition and schooling, we can raise IQ, thereby fostering higher savings rates, more productive teams, and more effective bureaucracies. After demonstrating how test scores that matter little for individuals can mean a world of difference for nations, the book leaves readers with policy-oriented conclusions and hopeful speculation: Whether we lift up the bottom through changing the nature of work, institutional improvements, or freer immigration, it is possible that this period of massive global inequality will be a short season by the standards of human history if we raise our global IQ.

Author : United States. Congress
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 802 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 1957
Category : Law
ISBN : UCR:31210026416386

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Congressional Record by United States. Congress Pdf

Author : John Kelly
Publisher : Macmillan + ORM
Page : 436 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2012-08-21
Category : History
ISBN : 9780805095630

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The Graves Are Walking by John Kelly Pdf

A magisterial account of one of the worst disasters to strike humankind--the Great Irish Potato Famine--conveyed as lyrical narrative history from the acclaimed author of The Great Mortality Deeply researched, compelling in its details, and startling in its conclusions about the appalling decisions behind a tragedy of epic proportions, John Kelly's retelling of the awful story of Ireland's great hunger will resonate today as history that speaks to our own times. It started in 1845 and before it was over more than one million men, women, and children would die and another two million would flee the country. Measured in terms of mortality, the Great Irish Potato Famine was the worst disaster in the nineteenth century--it claimed twice as many lives as the American Civil War. A perfect storm of bacterial infection, political greed, and religious intolerance sparked this catastrophe. But even more extraordinary than its scope were its political underpinnings, and TheGraves Are Walking provides fresh material and analysis on the role that Britain's nation-building policies played in exacerbating the devastation by attempting to use the famine to reshape Irish society and character. Religious dogma, anti-relief sentiment, and racial and political ideology combined to result in an almost inconceivable disaster of human suffering. This is ultimately a story of triumph over perceived destiny: for fifty million Americans of Irish heritage, the saga of a broken people fleeing crushing starvation and remaking themselves in a new land is an inspiring story of revival. Based on extensive research and written with novelistic flair, The Graves Are Walking draws a portrait that is both intimate and panoramic, that captures the drama of individual lives caught up in an unimaginable tragedy, while imparting a new understanding of the famine's causes and consequences.

Author : Elizabeth H. Bradley,Lauren A. Taylor
Publisher : PublicAffairs
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 2013-11-05
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781610392105

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The American Health Care Paradox by Elizabeth H. Bradley,Lauren A. Taylor Pdf

Foreword by Harvey V. Fineberg, President of the Institute of Medicine For decades, experts have puzzled over why the US spends more on health care but suffers poorer outcomes than other industrialized nations. Now Elizabeth H. Bradley and Lauren A. Taylor marshal extensive research, including a comparative study of health care data from thirty countries, and get to the root of this paradox: We've left out of our tally the most impactful expenditures countries make to improve the health of their populations-investments in social services. In The American Health Care Paradox, Bradley and Taylor illuminate how narrow definitions of "health care," archaic divisions in the distribution of health and social services, and our allergy to government programs combine to create needless suffering in individual lives, even as health care spending continues to soar. They show us how and why the US health care "system" developed as it did; examine the constraints on, and possibilities for, reform; and profile inspiring new initiatives from around the world. Offering a unique and clarifying perspective on the problems the Affordable Care Act won't solve, this book also points a new way forward.

Author : Gary Weiss
Publisher : St. Martin's Griffin
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 47,8 Mb
Release : 2013-02-05
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 1250022312

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Ayn Rand Nation by Gary Weiss Pdf

Thirty years after her death, Ayn Rand's ideas have never been more important. Unfettered capitalism, unregulated business, bare-bones government providing no social services, glorification of selfishness, disdain for Judeo-Christian morality—these are the tenets of Rand's harsh philosophy. Now with a new afterword on Rand, Paul Ryan, and the 2012 presidential election, Ayn Rand Nation explores the people and institutions that remain under the spell of the Russian-born novelist. Gary Weiss provides new insights into Rand's inner circle in the last years of her life, with revelations of never-before-publicized predictions by Rand that still resonate today. Lastly, Weiss provides a strategy for a renewed national dialogue, an embrace of the nation's core values that is needed to deal with Rand's pervasive grip on society. From The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged to Rand's lesser-known and misunderstood nonfiction books, Gary Weiss examines the impact of Rand's thinking across our society.