First published 2008
Phillips examines how America's financial sector has captured the economy and threatens the nation's global position. The author connects the housing and mortgage crisis to deeper structural problems including rising debt, reckless financial practices, and energy constraints. He draws parallels between America's current predicament and the historical decline of previous economic powers like the Dutch and British empires. Phillips argues that global overreach, political dysfunction, excessive borrowing, and depleted energy systems signal America's weakening superpower status. The book focuses on what Phillips calls "bad money" in three forms: an economy controlled by arrogant financial services, dangerous miscalculations in multitrillion-dollar instruments like asset-backed securities and hedge funds, and a weakened dollar vulnerable to foreign currencies. Phillips contends this corrupted finance has betrayed ordinary Americans and steered capitalism toward worldwide crisis. The analysis builds on his previous warnings about debt, financial recklessness, and oil costs that have proven accurate.
Genres: business, political-science, economics, non-fiction, 21st-century, finance
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigative-journalism
Setting: America, Dutch Empire, British Empire
Period: 21st Century
256 pages · Hardcover · Viking Penguin