America, Welcome to the Poorhouse

出版者:FT Press

作者:Jane White

页数:256

出版时间:2009-09-24

价格:USD 22.99

装帧:Hardcover

isbn号码:9780137020171

具体描述

"Crack open this book and enter a bromide-free zone. Jane White knows why American families feel as if they are on a treadmill running out of control, and she explains the reasons with clarity, insight, and rare honesty. She also offers several practical suggestions for how we as individuals, families, and a nation can get out of the mess. Policymakers would be wise to listen." Evan Cooper, Deputy Editor, InvestmentNews "This eye-opening book sounds the alarm about many Americans' dim financial futures if consumers, businesses, and politicians don't change their ways. Jane White lays blame and names names. Until change happens, White offers prescriptions for your biggest money concerns--retirement, housing, college costs, and credit cards--featuring tried-and-true advice." Gregory Karp, Syndicated Newspaper Columnist and Author of The 1-2-3 Money Plan and Living Rich by Spending Smart "Americans need this vigorous wake-up call if they are to make it through the first half of the 21st century. They are burying themselves in debt--for education, for homes, and for toys--leaving too little for savings and investment. Jane White shows them where they are going wrong and how they can put themselves right." Thomas G. Donlan, Editorial Page Editor, Barron's National Business and Financial Weekly "Jane White has written a barnburner of a book. Though the title may cause alarm, America, Welcome to the Poorhouse is ultimately reassuring. We can protect our own financial futures if we get wise--and get together to demand real change." Jacob S. Hacker, Author of The Great Risk Shift: The New Economic Insecurity and the Decline of the American Dream Too many American families are racing toward financial catastrophe--saddled with exploding credit card and college debt, out-of-control housing costs, and underfunded 401(k) accounts. America, Welcome to the Poorhouse reveals the political and economic forces that got us into this predicament, strategies to get Congress to enact needed reform, and practical tips you won't find anywhere else on how to make the most of your money until reform happens. White offers indispensable practical advice for regaining control of your own financial future--specific strategies for reducing your debt, safeguarding your retirement, and helping your children get the education they'll need to compete in today's world. Shrimp on the barbie, Koala bears, and a secure retirement. Why most Australians will end up with at least half a million dollars in their version of a 401(k) plan--and what we can do to transform our 401(k) plans into actual pensions. How the mortgage industry lobbied to dismantle regulation and offer bait-and-switch adjustable rate mortgages. How to protect yourself--no matter what happens. Your personal plan for saving for retirement, finding "bargain" colleges, and getting out of credit card debt. How to build a citizens lobby that wins. Making taxpayers as powerful as the so-called financial services industry and getting rid of the members of Congress that do its bidding.

用户评价

这本书最令人震撼的地方，在于它成功地构建了一种弥漫全书的“气氛学”。你读完之后，那种感觉不会立刻消散，它会像一种不易察觉的底层气味，附着在你的日常感知上。它让你开始重新审视那些在光鲜亮丽的社会表象下被忽略的角落。作者似乎有一种魔力，能够把那些常人避之不及的角落，描绘得既残酷又具有一种奇异的、近乎神圣的庄严感。这并非在美化贫困，而是在揭示：即便是生活在物质极度匮乏中的人，他们的存在本身也构成了对既有社会结构的一种无声的挑战和审判。我感觉作者的态度是极其尊重的，他没有将笔下的人物脸谱化为“受害者”，而是展现了他们在困境中为了维护尊严所做的每一个微小而艰难的努力。这种对人性的深刻理解和尊重，使得全书的基调虽然沉重，却充满了人性中最核心的那种不屈的力量。

这本书的封面设计得非常有冲击力，那种带着斑驳光影和略显陈旧感的排版，立刻就抓住了我的眼球。我拿起它的时候，心里就预感这不是一本轻松愉快的读物，而更像是一扇通往某个特定时代或特定阶层心灵深处的窗户。装帧的质感很扎实，纸张的触感也偏向复古，这为阅读体验增添了一种仪式感。光是翻开扉页，那种油墨的气息和纸张纤维的纹理，就已经让人感觉进入了一个精心构建的叙事空间。这本书的整体美学倾向于一种冷静的、近乎纪实的美感，没有太多花哨的装饰，一切都服务于它试图传达的核心情绪。我特别留意了作者的署名方式，那种简洁而有力的排版，似乎在暗示内容的重量不容置疑。我甚至花了好几分钟研究了封底的宣传语，虽然文字不多，但措辞的精准度和力度，让我对即将展开的故事充满了复杂的好奇与期待，它成功地营造了一种压抑但又引人入胜的氛围，让人迫不及待地想知道，这个“贫民窟”究竟藏着怎样不为人知的故事和人性挣扎。这本书的外观本身就是一种无声的宣言。

读完这本书的第一个感受，是作者的笔力之遒劲，简直像一把锋利的刻刀，毫不留情地凿开了社会肌理上那些被精心粉饰过的裂痕。叙事的节奏把握得极其精妙，它不是那种平铺直叙的流水账，而是充满了张弛有度的呼吸感。有时候，它会像一场突如其来的暴雨，用密集的、排山倒海的细节将你淹没，让你喘不过气，感受到那种底层生活的压迫感；而另一些时候，它又会突然放缓，用极其克制和冷静的笔触描绘一个转瞬即逝的温情瞬间，那瞬间的微光反而衬托出周遭环境的巨大黑暗。更让我佩服的是作者对人物心理的捕捉，那些角色的内心独白，不是大段的哲学思辨，而是日常生活中那些细微的、自我辩驳的、充满矛盾的念头，真实得让人感到刺痛。你会发现，即使在最艰难的环境中，人性的复杂与韧性依然以各种扭曲却又真实的方式存在着。这种叙事上的高超技艺，使得阅读过程成了一种不断被拉扯和审视的过程，你无法带着旁观者的优越感轻松读完。

这本书的语言风格，可以说是极其“内敛的爆发力”的完美体现。它没有使用太多华丽的辞藻去堆砌情绪，反而大量运用了精准、甚至带有一丝冷峻的白描手法。比如对环境的描绘，它不会直接告诉你“这里很脏乱差”，而是会聚焦于某个特定物件——比如一块沾满油污的窗台，或者一双被磨得露出线头的旧鞋——通过对这些微小物件的细致入微的刻画，环境的艰辛便自然而然地渗透出来。这种“少即是多”的写作哲学，极大地增强了文字的穿透力。同时，作者在构建对话时，也充满了地道的烟火气，那些对话短促、跳跃，充满了潜台词和未尽之意，仿佛你能听到空气中弥漫着生活的疲惫和无奈。这种语言上的雕琢，让这本书的文本质量远超一般的社会纪实文学，它拥有了一种文学作品应有的持久回味性，每一次重读，似乎都能从同一段文字中挖掘出新的层次感。

坦白说，这本书的阅读体验是需要心理准备的，它不是那种可以轻松作为消遣的作品。它要求读者投入大量的同理心，去接受那些不舒服的真相。从结构上来看，作者的安排极为巧妙，他并没有采取线性的时间推进，而是通过碎片化的闪回和交叉叙事，不断地在不同角色的命运之间切换，这使得整个故事网格变得更加复杂和立体。你会发现，看似毫不相关的几条生命线，是如何被同一股社会暗流推向交汇点的。这种叙事结构，恰恰模拟了现实生活的复杂性——一切都不是孤立的，所有的苦难都相互关联，形成了一个难以挣脱的整体。看完最后一页，合上书本的那一刻，我花了很长时间才从那种被压抑的情绪中抽离出来。它留给读者的不是一个明确的答案或解决方案，而是一个深刻的、需要我们每个人去持续思考的问题：我们到底生活在一个怎样的社会里？这本书的价值，就在于它能强迫你直面这个问题，并且难以逃避。