Consumer Economic Issues in America

Consumer Economic Issues in America empowers consumers with the knowledge to recognize and pursue their moral and legal rights. The book takes a pro-consumer and normative view as it reveals the vested economic interests of businesses, governments, and consumers today. The authors emphasize higher-order thinking using basic economic concepts to analyze consumer issues. Readers gain a strong understanding of the American economic system and the concepts of consumer sovereignty and consumer interest. They become equipped with the evaluative criteria for judging products and services, tools for living, the ability to analyze consumer issues, and an understanding of factors that affect buying decisions. The text examines capitalism and how resources are allocated in the U.S. marketplace. Discussions focus on economic concepts critical to consumer success, consumers in a global economic marketplace, and the details of the government regulating economic and consumer interests. Readers examine the breadth of current consumer interest concerns using a framework for analyzing and resolving issues and developing rational decision-making skills.

E. THOMAS GARMAN is Distinguished Scholar and Director of Educational Services at the InCharge® Institute of America, Inc. (InCharge.org), in Orlando, Florida, the nation’s most experienced non-profit credit counseling organization. Garman is Professor Emeritus at Virginia Tech, where he concluded a 37-year teaching career and served as executive director of the university’s National Institute for Personal Finance Employee Education. Virginia Tech recognized him an excellent teacher, and research studies conducted by his graduate students have won seven national awards.

He received his bachelor's and master's degrees in business administration from the University of Denver and his doctorate in economic education from Texas Tech University. Garman’s employment includes work for a United States Senator in Washington, sales management in Colorado, and economic development project management in West Africa. He taught in 8 states and 3 countries, including 15 workshops for 10 universities, and several "Consumer Issues in Washington" classes in the nation's capital.