A compelling alternative view of the relationship between our
politics and our economy.
Throughout America,
structural problems are getting worse. Economic inequality is near
Gilded Age heights, the healthcare system is a mess, and the climate
crisis continues to grow. Yet most ambitious policy proposals that
might fix these calamities are dismissed as wastefully expensive by
default. From the kitchen table to Congress, debates are punctuated
with a familiar refrain: “How are you going to pay for that?”
This question is
designed to shut down policy pushes up front, minimizing any
interference with the free market. It comes from neoliberalism, an
economic ideology that has overtaken both parties. Proponents insist
that markets are naturally-occurring and apolitical—and that too
much manipulation of the economy will make our society fall apart.
Ryan Cooper argues that our society already is falling apart, and the
logically preposterous views of neoliberalism are to blame. Most
progressives understand this instinctively, but many lack the
background knowledge to make effective economic counterarguments.
How Are You Going
To Pay For That? is filled with engaging discussions and detailed
strategies that policymakers and citizens alike can use to assail
even the most entrenched lines of neoliberal logic, and start to undo
these long-held misconceptions. Equal parts economic theory, history,
and political polemic, this is an essential roadmap for winning the
key battles to come.