The authors of Economic Apartheid in America Chuck Collins and Felice Yeskel execute the main points of the nation’s economy, and the habits that lead our society to financial deficiency. “In this book, Collins and Yeskel have made great strides in demystifying the economy, and exposing the truth about how capitalism generates inequality while leaving most people feeling insecure and uncertain of their future.” They often derive the cause of this disparity between the CEO and worker pay gap to inheritance as opposed to hard work as the rise in corporate power in turn leads to the declining power of workers. Their segment “Born on third base, claimed they hit triples” gives examples of Forbes 400 members that attributed their wealth to a positive mentality that eventually led to what they are today. Wayne Huizenga got his start by buying a garbage truck and starting a waste hauling company. He took over the nineteen-store Blockbuster video-rental chain and built it into an industry leader. On the other hand, David Rockefeller Sr. is the grandson of Standard Oil founder John D. Rockefeller. Collins’s and Yeskel’s key attention to detail propels the book, making it a fascinating read for all ages.
The inclusion of rhetorical devices such as allusion, understatement, analogy, and zeugma, are effectively used to turn a rather dull issue into an interesting subject. In a passage on page 97, the authors depict 4 people, stating “Joined military to get a job, got killed in Iraq”, “Joined National Guard for college money, got killed in Iraq”, “Drove a truck for Halliburton because he couldn’t find a job here at home, got killed in Iraq”, and “Got a Big Tax Cut” with “Sacrificing for America” placed in the bottom of these depictions. The end of the page, in small font, reads “Never before in U.S. history has our government passed tax cuts for the wealthy during a time of war. The inequality of sacrifice is unprecedented.” This entire sequence of events includes all four of the listed rhetorical devices, allusion as shown in the wealthy CEO, perhaps of GM or BP, understatement as “the inequality of sacrifice is unprecedented” when man cannot put a price on another life, analogy in explaining three different situations which leads to deaths, and zeugma linking the scenario of a marine, army enlistee, and combat driver with the likes of corporate CEOs. The careful meticulous keys to detail have a profound effect on the reader, with minimal blocks of text. This is only one instance of many other visual depictions, as opposed to text, that conveys rhetorical devices. They use historical examples to illustrate possible solvency of the current dilemma. The authors’ main purpose in writing the book was for there to be something the average Americans can easily comprehend, dealing with the current economic issues. The use of rhetorical devices creates this effect, which leads to them achieving the desired purpose.
Because the authors make great arguments on the root of our country’s economic disparity, and impact this will have in the future, they have greatly changed my view on the topic. However, after purchasing the book, I went on to read some evaluations from the retailer. One reviewer says “Just another book promoting communism. The same old arguments communists have been making for years, recast with the latest terminology in an attempt to disguise their true philosophy. Other than new terminology however, the book presents nothing new in terms of ideas and simply tries to foment racial and social war through the same old communist techniques.” That statement did endure in my mind throughout the reading, but I eventually gathered enough information from the book and came up with my own opinion of the situation as opposed to be wary of the review. The simple fact of the matter is that our country is suffering through a depression, and things have to change if we were to get out of the recession. Anyone can tell you that giving big tax cuts to corporate CEOs is not going to bode well amongst Americans, but there only reasoning is that the middle and lower classes would need it more. The authors delve into the issue, and go in depth, with examples and flaws of the nation’s economy. The work has propelled my interest, not only in my selected topic, but also in the economics of the United States. I truly believe that America should not be leaning to a socialist economy, but support those striving for success in a capitalist society.
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