Synopsis
Putting America's House In Order: The Nation as a Family is a call to action for the leaders of this generation to endow their heirs with the kinds of values, prospects, and prosperity that has sustained the American family, personally and nationally, for two hundred years. The authors' proposals are specific. They range from ways to reach a zero deficit budget to substituting a tax code that favors savings, investment, and growth. They also delineate the elements of leadership—local, state, and national—that are necessary to meet America's greatest challenge since the winning of the Cold War.
There is a feeling among the electorate that something is terribly wrong with America and its leadership. This perception defines one of those rare moments when sustained change is possible at the local, state, and national levels. But change demands bold action. Taking their cue from the courageous Strengthening of America Commission, chaired by Senators Sam Nunn and Pete Domenici, the authors lay down a comprehensive blueprint including: a 7-year write-down to a zero deficit budget; strict caps on the growth of non-Social Security entitlements; and the substitution of a tax code that favors savings, investment, and growth. The authors also call for a process of deregulation that develops innovative market approaches through careful and inclusive dialogue.
Abshire and Brower call for the experiments underway in our states and localities, to summon the creativity of the American business revolution. They put forth a cogent analysis of the leadership problem in our public life and the need for character, strategic direction, and vision. And ultimately, it is the idea of the American family, personally and nationally, to which the authors turn for the ideas that animate these changes and to define those who will be the enduring beneficiaries. In short, they urge a reemphasis on the ^Iunum^R in our national motto, ^Ie pluribus unum.^R
About the Author
DAVID ABSHIRE is President and founder of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., and in his long public career has served variously as Assistant Secretary of State, Chairman of the U.S. Board of International Broadcasting, and U.S. Ambassador to NATO. Abshire is the author of several books including The Atlantic Alliance Transformed (1992) and Preventing World War III (1989). Dr. Abshire resides in Alexandria, Virginia.
BROCK BROWER is a writer and journalist and has contributed to The New York Times Magazine, New York Magazine, Esquire, Civilization, Life, and Harper's. His books include Other Loyalties: A Politics of Personality (1968), as well as two novels, and on television, he has written for 20/20 and 3-2-1 Contact. Mr. Brower, a graduate of Dartmouth College and Oxford University, is currently a resident of Hanover, New Hampshire.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
