"David Wessel's incredible tale of how Washington works-and why the rich keep getting richer-starts when a Silicon Valley entrepreneur concocts an idea that will save money on his taxes and spins it as a way to ostensibly help poor people. He organizes and pays for an effective lobbying effort that pushes his idea into law with little scrutiny or fine-tuning by congressional or Treasury tax experts-and few safeguards against abuse. With an unbeatable...

"Focuses on three key criteria for fostering broadly shared economic growth: enhancing economic security, building a highly skilled work force, and reforming the tax system. Proposals include reforming unemployment insurance, improving incentives for retirement saving, building quality into each level of education, and simplifying taxation and making it more progressive"--Provided by publisher.