In The Predicament, economist David L. Smith explains how the present economic, financial and political dysfunctions emerged after the relatively balanced and prosperous Eisenhower years. He reveals "where the bodies are buried," providing liberals with compelling rebuttals to extremist conservative memes, and makes the case for a radical change of direction to avoid further economic, financial and social deterioration; to restore the solvency, prosperity and contentment of the middle class; and to relieve the plight of the poor.
Identifying the root cause of the American Predicament as the hijacking of the democratic political process by a rich and powerful elite, Mr. Smith proposes a completely new democratic political process to bypass Big Money and television to return the government to the service of We The People. Think of it as "a blueprint for a revolution for the price of a latte." The Predicament (ISBN: 9780988872806) is presently available on Ebay (http://tinyurl.com/ogbc3uw) and in June will be available in e-book format ($4.95) at all major e-book retail outlets includingAmazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Gardners, The Copia, and Apple's iBookstore.
After a successful career in the investment arena in securities analysis, mergers and acquisitions, investment sales, culminating as president and CEO of a NASD-member firm, Dartmouth- and
Stanford-trained economist and futurist, David L. Smith dedicated 25
years to speaking and writing on economic, financial and political
topics.(www.davidlsmith.com)
He is the author of the "Cyclical Investing" and "David L. Smith's Cassandra Chronicles" newsletters and the "Cassandra Chronicles" blog.He is frequently quoted in the print and broadcast press, including Money and Financial Planning, The Financial Times of London’s “The Banker,” The Wall Street Journal Online, radio and television including CNBC and PBS
"With persuasive logic and vivid detail, David L. Smith's personal odyssey toward liberalism provides us with a powerful argument for re-dedicating ourselves to our nation's fundamental political values and the principles on which they are based. His balanced, thoughtful and compelling analysis of how we have been misled and poorly served by our leaders is a wake-up call for those who will heed it, and an ominous warning for those who won't." -- Douglas R. Skopp, Distinguished Teaching Professor of History emeritus, SUNY Plattsburgh, author of Shadows Walking.
"In The Predicament, a Navy veteran and expert on financial markets recounts two Odysseys: a career trajectory from what he calls a corporate "pawn" to an independent professional writer and speaker, and a political re-orientation, shaped by awakenings that began in Vietnam, from youthful Buckley conservative into a defender of civil liberties and critic of economic inequality and and counterproductive military adventures. Smith's independent viewpoint is a product of viewing and deciding. Each view -- from a hilltop in Vietnam, an office window overlooking San Francisco, a glass curtain wall in Greenwich, CT -- leads to important personal decisions through which the spectator gradually transforms into an agent, working without a net and shaping his own important judgments on energy prices, the economy and financial markets, and on the relationship between government, business and national well-being, including an extended critique of federal economic decisions beginning with President Reagan. But he goes beyond criticism, offering a bold proposal for an new political process bypassing Big Money and TV, that could restore democratic decisionmaking in an age verging on oligarchy. Because David Smith's narrative is rich in character and detail, readers are able to participate in the experience and understand his conclusions."-- Daniel P. Tompkins, Professor of Western Civilization, Temple University.
In The Predicament David Smith explains how the United States (and
indeed the rest of the "developed world") has bequeathed an economic,
financial and political quagmire to the Millennial Generation. The book
is addressed to these younger Americans so that they will better
understand how the Military-Industrial-Technical-Political Complex has
served the interests of the rich at the expense of the 99 percent, and
especially the younger generations, resulting in a plethora of
undesirable consequences for them.
To this end the author relates
his own progressive conversion from staunch William F. Buckley, Jr.
conservative to contrarian radical liberal beginning on a hilltop
outpost above Danang, Vietnam in March 1965 and culminating in the
invasion of Iraq in April 2003. By that time he had concluded, based on
his own experience and analysis, that President/General Eisenhower's
misgivings about the Military-Industrial Complex and the
Scientific-Technological Elite as well as Orwell's grim depiction of a
Big-Brother society had become fully realized.
The Predicament
offers a compelling vision of a new political process, bypassing Big
Money and television, as the means of reclaiming a government now held
captive by and serving the interests of the moneyed elite, and restoring
government to the service of the electorate.
Peter T. Knight, PhD, e-transformation strategist, formerly World Bank economist and Division Chief
After a successful career in the investment arena in securities analysis, mergers and acquisitions, investment sales, culminating as president and CEO of a NASD-member firm, Dartmouth- and
Stanford-trained economist and futurist, David L. Smith dedicated 25
years to speaking and writing on economic, financial and political
topics.(
