Book Review: The Audacity of Help by John Wasik

The Audacity of Help: Obama's Economic Plan and the Remaking of America was written by John Wasik who is the author of 12 books, including The Cul-de-Sac Syndrome: Turning Around the Unsustainable American Dream and The Merchant of Power: Sam Insull, Thomas Edison, and the Creation of the Modern Metropolis. John writes a weekly Bloomberg News column, which earned him the 2009 Peter Lisagor Award for journalism. In addition, he is a regular speaker and lives in Chicago.

The author discusses President Obama’s economic plan and how his administration is trying to jump start our economy.  No matter what your political party affiliation is, this book is an interesting analysis of the current state of our country and what the government is trying to do.

The book is comprised of the following chapters:

Chapter 1: First Aid and Income Boosters
Chapter 2: Rebuilding Infrastructure, Creating Jobs
Chapter 3: Bottom-Up Economics: Small-Business Benefits
Chapter 4: Job Creators and the Green-Collar Bonus
Chapter 5: Get Smarter
Chapter 6: Borrowing Wisely
Chapter 7: Restoring Home Ownership: Keeping the Dream Alive
Chapter 8: Health-Care Reform
Chapter 9: Unfinished Business: Long-Range Goals in Entitlement Reform
Chapter 10: The Road Ahead

The author begins the book with a brief history of the Bush era politics and then leads into how Obama plans to get our country to get us out of this mess.  We live in challenging times so the author has set the stage early as to what this country’s new President is hoping to do.

In each chapter, the author explains the current situation whether it may be healthcare, education, taxes, or energy. Next, he explains what Obama promised in his campaign for each issue. Lastly, he shares what Congress actually passed. It is an interesting way to compare each issue and see how government works.

Many of Obama’s initiatives didn’t move forward the way he promised. Rather, Congress altered what he promised, which is very common in politics. Also, in each chapter, the author discusses who benefits most and what still needs to be done. He does a good job of providing his thoughts on our country’s top issues.

Below is an excerpt from the book to show you an Obama promise vs. what Congress passed for the topic of “Tax Cuts”:

What Was Promised: Obama proposed a permanent tax cut of $500 for workers and $1,000 for families.

What Congress Passed: Limited credit that will pay a maximum of $400 to singles and $800 for those filing jointly.

Personally, I am not a very political person, however, the book does a great job of informing you of the major issues in our country and how our President and Congress are trying to get us out of this recession. If you want to get up to speed on our country and get better informed about our current President, then The Audacity of Help: Obama's Economic Plan and the Remaking of America may be worth a read.

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