"Today, caught up in the fever of election-year rhetoric, leading politicians from Bill Clinton and Bob Dole to Newt Gingrich, Dick Armey, Jack Kemp and others, offer Americans a range of ideas meant to address the economic concerns of the day. In The Great American Deception, Ravi Batra tackles their ideas one by one, arguing that they are often based on flimsy logic, and not only won't solve our economic problem, but might make it worse. From the failed notion of trickle down economics to the dangerous consequences of our shift from a manufacturing to a service economy, Batra unravels the mysteries and deception behind today's economic policies. He charts the drastic effects of NAFTA on wage decline and job loss. He shows how imposing higher taxes on the wealthy will stimulate - not stifle - the economy. And he reveals why the flat tax will not work. Ultimately, what Batra proposes is a comprehensive plan that stimulates the economy by restoring the tax and trade levels of the 1960s which saw the fastest growth in our living standard. He favors a rise in the income tax on wealthy individuals and corporations, and a drastic cut in social security tax to be financed partly through higher tariffs." "The Great American Deception is must reading at a time when election-year politics and campaign rhetoric are reaching fever pitch. Here, Ravi Batra pulls no punches in his stinging analysis of our current situation, warning that "if the status quo persists, then American real wages and family incomes will continue to fall, manufacturing will keep shedding workers, and we will remain in the clutches of the quiet depression that has plagued the world since 1990.""--BOOK JACKET.