Empire of Debt: The Rise of an Epic Financial Crisis (Agora Series)

Amazon.com Review Many Americans have resisted the notion that their country is an imperial power. The idea seems to contradict the values of the Republic and its Founding Fathers. But in Empire of Debt , prominent financial analysts Bill Bonner and Addison Wiggin argue passionately that not only is the United States an empire, but it is also one whose end is coming soon. Bonner and Wiggin are the brains behind www.dailyreckoning.com, an iconoclastic and irreverent market advisory service that has long raised concerns about American indebtedness and warned of a looming dollar crisis. In Empire of Debt , a sequel to their earlier doom-and-gloom book Financial Reckoning Day , they elaborate on their argument that the U.S. economy is about to implode. Bonner and Wiggin enumerate a long list of chronic ailments that imperil the American financial system--a massive trade deficit, soaring personal and government debt, a housing bubble, runaway military expenditures. These problems ''hardly disturb the sleep of the imperial race,'' the authors write. ''[But] all empires must pass away.'' Bonner and Wiggin argue that American imperial delusions are similar to the fantasies that fueled the dot-com market mania. They recommend readers buy gold as insurance in the event of a financial crisis. Empire of Debt flounders when discussing how America indebted itself; the authors blame the Federal Reserve Board's low interest rates but gloss over the fact that rates were slashed because the U.S. teetered on the brink of deflation in 2002 and 2003 (a topic they give more attention to in Financial Reckoning Day ). As hardcore free-marketeers, Bonner and Wiggin also seem to long for the pre-welfare days of the 1920s but forget how that period's policies led to the Great Depression. That said, Empire of Debt contains many revelations that will open eyes. --Alex Roslin Review “The doom mongering is leavened with some waspishly witty writing” (_Daily Telegraph_, 6th December 2005) In Empire Of Debt, Writers Bill Bonner And Addison Wiggin - The Team That Brought You The International Bestseller Financial Reckoning Day - Reunite To Provide You With The First In-depth Look At How The American Character Has Shifted To Accommodate Its New Imperial Role; How We Have Abandoned The Private Virtues Of Personal Liberty, Economic Freedom, And Fiscal Restraint; And How The Guv'mint Has Gained Control Of Public Life And The Economy. The Result Has Been, Among Other Horrors, Unfettered Deficit Spending, Gluttonous Consumption, And Fearless Military Adventurism. All The While, The Nation Slouches Ever More Precipitously Towards Bankruptcy. Empire Of Debt Is A Look At The State Of The Empire. To The Delight Of Many, Bonner And Wiggin Do Not Spare The Political Icons Of Either National Political Party. Casting A Wide-angle Lens Through History And Into The Next Century, The Authors Suggest A Great Empire Is To The World Of Geopolitics What A Great Bubble Is To The World Of Economics - It Is Attractive At First But Will Eventually End In Catastrophe.--book Jacket. Slouching Toward Empire -- Part I: Imperia Absurdum -- Dead Men Talking -- Empires Of Dirt -- How Empires Work -- As We Go Marching -- Part Ii: Woodrow Crosses The Rubicon -- The Road To Hell -- The Revolution Of 1913 And The Great Depression -- Macnamara's War -- Nixon's The One -- Part Iii: Evening In America -- Reagan's Legacy -- America's Glorious Empire Of Debt -- Modern Imperial Finance -- Something Wicked This Way Comes -- Part Iv: The Essential Investor -- Welcome To Squanderville -- Still Turning Japanese -- The Wall Street Fandango -- Subversive Investing. William Bonner And Addison Wiggin. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 341-349) And Index. In Empire of Debt, maverick financial writers Bill Bonner and Addison Wiggin provide you with the first in-depth look at how the American character has shifted to accommodate its new imperial role; how we have abandoned the private virtues of personal liberty, economic freedom, and fiscal restraint; and how the government has gained control of public life and the economy. In no-nonsense prose, Empire of Debt confronts critical concerns about the position of the United States as the world's leading economy and great military might. For many years, the United States has been the country from which others sought advice, money, and a high return on investment