Hostile Takeover: How Big Money and Corruption Conquered Our Government

I have always enjoyed Sirota's writings on the corrupting influence that corporate money has had on our political system. His latest book, Hostile Takeover: How Big Money and Corruption Conquered Our Government--And How We Take It Back,is an in-depth look at how this culture of corruption has twisted the way that government works today. From his site:

Do you ever wonder if there's a connection between the increasingly frequent corruption scandals in the news and the steady decline in the quality of life for millions of Americans? Do you ever wonder what corporations get for the millions of dollars they pour into the American political system? Do you ever think the government has been hijacked by forces hostile to average Americans? Do you ever want to fight back?

If your answer to any of these questions is "yes," then Hostile Takeover is your guide.

Millions of Americans lack health care, millions more struggle to afford it. Politicians claim they care, and then pass legislation that does nothing more than send more cash to the HMO industry. Wages have been stagnant for thirty years, and the minimum wage isn't enough to live on, even as corporate profits skyrocket. Politicians say they want to fix the problem, and then pass bills written by lobbyists that help drive wages even lower and punish those crushed by debt. Jobs are being shipped overseas, pensions are being cut, politicians feign outrage, and then support policies written by their Big Money donors that ships more jobs overseas and help executives eliminate workers' retirement benefits.

People who are worried about their families feel helpless when confronted with this reality; patriotic individuals who love their country are worried about what these trends mean for the future of America. And our government, more concerned about maintaining its corporate sponsorship than protecting its citizens, does nothing about it. In fact, politicians deliberately work to make these problems worse.

In Hostile Takeover, David Sirota seeks to open the eyes of ordinary Americans and show us exactly how corporate interests have conquered our democracy, aided and abetted by their lackeys in our allegedly representative government. At a time when more and more of America's major political leaders are being indicted or investigated for corruption, Sirota takes readers on a journey that shows how all of this nefarious behavior happens right under our noses, how it is all symptomatic of a diseased political system, and how the high-profile scandals are merely one product of a political system and a political debate wholly owned by Big Money interests.

Sirota considers ten of the most pressing pocketbook issues for ordinary citizens' taxes, wages, jobs, debt, pensions, health care, prescription drugs, energy, worker protections and legal rights. In each case, he shows how workable solutions are buried under the lies of lobbyists, the influence of campaign cash, and the ubiquitous spin machine financed by Big Business.

With fiery passion, pinpoint wit, and lucid analysis, Sirota reveals the true enemies of reform and the increasingly sophisticated tactics being used to wage an economic war on ordinary citizens. Hostile Takeover is, in short, an easy-to-read guidebook not for the elitists, the insiders or the bought off politicians, but for the rest of us who are tired of government selling us out - and who want answers about how we can take our country back.