The Riches of This Land

The Untold, True Story of America's Middle Class

By: Jim Tankersley

Narrated by: Jim Tankersley, Angelo Di Loreto

Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

A vivid character-driven narrative, fused with important new economic and political reporting and research, that busts the myths about middle class decline and points the way to its revival.

For over a decade, Jim Tankersley has been on a journey to understand what the hell happened to the world's greatest middle-class success story - the post-World-War-II boom that faded into decades of stagnation and frustration for American workers. In The Riches of This Land, Tankersley fuses the story of forgotten Americans - struggling women and men who he met on his journey into the travails of the middle class - with important new economic and political research, providing fresh understanding on how to create more widespread prosperity. He begins by unraveling the real mystery of the American economy since the 1970s - not where did the jobs go, but why haven't new and better ones been created to replace them?

His analysis begins with the revelation that women and minorities played a far more crucial role in building the post-war middle class than today's politicians typically acknowledge, and policies that have done nothing to address the structural shifts of the American economy have enabled a privileged few to capture nearly all the benefits of America's growing prosperity. Meanwhile, the "angry white men of Ohio" have been sold by Trump and his ilk a theory of the economy that is dangerously backward, one that pits them against immigrants, minorities, and women who should be their allies.

At the culmination of his journey, Tankersley lays out specific policy prescriptions and social undertakings that can begin moving the needle in the effort to make new and better jobs appear. By fostering an economy that opens new pathways for all workers to reach their full potential - men and women, immigrant or native-born, regardless of race - America can once again restore the upward flow of talent that can power growth and prosperity.

©2020 Jim Tankersley (P)2020 PublicAffairs

Critic reviews

"An essential book from an essential reporter taking on the most pressing political question of our age. The Riches of This Land is a brilliant, searing, and human-centered examination of the American middle class, what it could be, and what it must be." —Annie Lowrey, staff writer for the Atlantic and author of Give People Money

"Surprising and enlightening and timely. The Riches of This Land turns our understanding of why America once had an economy that delivered prosperity on its head. Only when black men, women of all races, and immigrants broke through blockades of oppression did their gains flow out to everyone. And, now, as Americans seek to find their way out from another devastating economic crisis, Tankersley exposes the true heroes of American prosperity - and why they are the source of our future renewal." —Ibram X. Kendi, National Book Award-winning and number one New York Times best-selling author

"The Riches of This Land is the inspiring story of the American economy's unsung heroes, and a manual for building a better future together as one nation." —Arthur Brooks, professor of the practice of public leadership, Harvard Kennedy School, and author of Love Your Enemies

What is “middle-class”?

I’ve often wondered this, and Mr. Tankersley provides an answer, although not one I expected.

Filled with examples that real, middle-class people can relate to, this book provides some honest introspection into America’s core issues (economics, racism, classism), and how they’re related.

The story is told from a refreshingly human, non-partisan (though not apolitical) point of view, weaving facts with history in a way that brings economics back to reality.

This is an explanation of (and maybe antidote for) the wag-the-dog politics we are fed these days. I will certainly listen to this again as there are so many good points and ideas to absorb.

A great perspective unexplored

Jim Tankersley really hit this book out of the park. He gave America some hard pills to swallow. But it is filled w the remedies that America needs to rise again.

Provides A Viable Path to Regrowing the Middle Class

This book leverages the author’s knowledge, experience and old school journalist’s insights to present the true story of and formula for broad economic success in America. It delivers the obvious lesson that more unfettered opportunity that is genuinely available to all Americans is the only way to summon a rising economic tide. The book provides a both daunting and hopeful truth that the solution to widespread economic failings for non-elites in the US resides with The People and not simply in the well-meaning policies peddled by politicians of any stripe.

Interesting and Important

This is incredibly important information that America needs to know. It could help save us.

Game plan for Personal and Overall economy

When you are tired of hearing people diagnose the problems, when you are ready for a report of what actually worked backed by research -- start here.

Insightful view

Tankersley offers a thoughtful view of what ails the recovery of the middle class and the factions that monied interests need to have enduring conflict.

Excellent

One of the best books I’ve read on the topic. It has broadened my understanding.

Not bad, a little repetitive, bad reader

Overall, an interesting approach to the question of what happened to America’s middle class. It’s was interesting to me to hear a journalist call upon research from economists so much in making the argument instead of only letting the stories of individuals do all of the talking. However, while the argument was compelling, and one that I agree with, it does highlight how easily one can pick and choose their chosen set of stats to make whatever point that they wish. That said however, I appreciated the author’s hedge in the last chapter in which he mentions that the issues at hand are complicated and it’s not his job to present a bunch of solutions. Instead, he focuses more on laying out an argument and then letting the reader make up their own mind.

Overall, it was well put together, if not overly compelling.

However, who picked this reader? It’s like having Kiefer Sutherland read you a lullaby. This guys voice has too much drama on it for the subject, and continually pulled me out of the stories, because I was waiting for someone to jump out of the shadows any second.

Disappointed. Not at all what I was expecting.

I purchased this title to better understand what is holding back the current generation from living as good as or better life than their baby boomer parents (who are mostly retired). Has this been caused by lower income on an inflation adjusted basis, an attitude of "I work to live" or living beyond their means with granite, stainless steel, latte, a five day trip to Las Vegas for a bachelor party or needing to drive a Lexus rather than a Prius?

Instead, this is a book about trashing Trump, his ignorant followers, and white men with college degrees.

It shouldn't have been a surprise because the author grew up as a left coast liberal, attended the most liberal university (journalism) and has only worked at 7 of the most liberal publications in the U.S. In the book he points to his mentor hero, Bill Woo wo as the first Chinese editor of a major newspaper (born to an American mother and raised in the U.S.) left journalism to teach when the going got tough with the advent of internet. His hero/mentor was also married three times. The author claims his hero was an early casualty of the corporate destruction of journalism in the U.S. The reality is consumers voted with their wallets and chose an alternative, more convenient, more timely outlet to get their news. They also eliminated the guilt of filling landfills with paper. Newspapers and telephone books were the top contributors to landfills. His hero Bill didn't like the internet and so as captain of his ship (St. Louis Post-Dispatch), he jumped ship and left all his employees whose well being he was entrusted to, hanging in the wind. To this day, the only growth in newspapers is their digital platforms which hero Bill refused to embrace. Circulation of the major 'dailies' declined 14% for the 52-week period ending March 2023.

Jim Tankersley's hero Bill provides an excellent example of Philip Kotler's book titled Marketing Myopia -- failing to define the business you are in. Bill wasn't in the newspaper business... he was in the news business. It changed, but he didn't. Lets face it, The Washington Post wouldn't exist without the handout from Amazon founder Bezos. Mr. Bezos uses the paper to keep politicians in-check less they find their name called out in the WaPo. But I digress...

Mr. Tankersley is a full on product of left coast liberalism. The book makes no attempt to quantify or understand why some of todays generation are living the same as or better than their parents. What he does do is provide a generous amount of bashing of elite white men with college degrees presented in a book chock full of full on liberal lingo (hollowing out, empower, reparations, health disadvantage, disparity, inequalities and a litany of liberal give away programs that would make Bernie blush.

I stuck with it and read it to the end. I am always interested in a range of view points. Mr. Tankersley's thesis is unclear in this book. The book essentially says white men who went to college are bad -- they have gamed the economy to their advantage and they should be taxed heavily while quotas at universities for blacks, et. al are significantly increased (like what we just witnessed at Harvard). For good measure he sprinkles Trump bashing (and supporter bashing) in for good measure throughout the book. He then presents a laundry list of Bernie happy talk utopia without any sprinkling of pragmatism.