All Together Now: Common Sense for a Fair Economy

So said American patriot Tom Paine. He, like the other Founders, saw this country as a unique opportunity to build a society that valued the wellbeing of all of its people over the interests of the few.
In the past 230 years, we’ve lost sight of Paine’s vision. Our government has adopted a YOYO (you’re-on-your-own) response in the face of even the most pressing national problems—diminished job security, the rising number of Americans without health coverage, stagnant incomes, decaying public schools, and more. “Here’s a tax cut and a private account,” they tell us, “now go fend for yourself.”

It hasn’t worked. The YOYO strategy has proven to be incapable of addressing the economic challenges that confront us and has instead led to a massive upward shift in wealth and opportunity favoring the few and deteriorating living standards and increasing insecurity for the rest of us.

All Together Now details an alternative WITT (we’re-in-this-together) strategy for solving our most daunting problems. Detailing practical, collaborative responses to globalization, health care, employment, and other areas that could improve the lives of millions of Americans without increasing national spending, All Together Now shows that the challenges we face can be solved. Together, we can wield the tools of government to build a more just and equitable society.

Jared Bernstein joined the Economic Policy Institute in 1992, where he directs EPI’s research on living standards. He is a widely published author in both the popular press and academic journals and is the coauthor of seven editions of the book The State of Working America. Mr. Bernstein is a frequent media commentator on a broad range of economic issues. He holds a Ph.D. in social welfare from Columbia University.