Back to Work

Why We Need Smart Government for a Strong Economy

De: Bill Clinton

Narrado por: Bill Clinton

President Bill Clinton gives us his views on the challenges facing the United States today and why government matters—presenting his ideas on restoring economic growth, job creation, financial responsibility, resolving the mortgage crisis, and pursuing a strategy to get us "back in the future business.” He explains how we got into the current economic crisis, and offers specific recommendations on how we can put people back to work, increase bank lending and corporate investment, double our exports, restore our manufacturing base, and create new businesses. He supports President Obama’s emphasis on green technology, saying that changing the way we produce and consume energy is the strategy most likely to spark a fast-growing economy while enhancing our national security.

Clinton also stresses that we need a strong private sector and a smart government working together to restore prosperity and progress, demonstrating that whenever we’ve given in to the temptation to blame government for all our problems, we’ve lost our ability to produce sustained economic growth and shared prosperity.

Clinton writes, “There is simply no evidence that we can succeed in the twenty-first century with an antigovernment strategy,” based on “a philosophy grounded in ‘you’re on your own’ rather than ‘we’re all in this together.’ ” He believes that conflict between government and the private sector has proved to be good politics but has produced bad policies, giving us a weak economy with not enough jobs, growing income inequality and poverty, and a decline in our competitive position. In the real world, cooperation works much better than conflict, and “Americans need victories in real life.”

Includes a bonus PDF of the charts referenced in the recording

Great and it all makes sense

We loved this book and it all made sense as to what Bill Clinton says. Good reasoning and well laid out.

worth a careful reas

Where does Back to Work rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Upper quarter

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

no

Any additional comments?

It would have been very helpful to have access to the chart files mentioned in the introduction.

Very Interesting and Thought Provoking

What made the experience of listening to Back to Work the most enjoyable?

His mastery of technical information was impressive; as were his arguments for methods of getting this economy back on track. He takes a reasonable bipartisan approach to finding solutions that work, acknowledging faults and successes of both Republican and Democratic ideals and ideas. Not a huge Bill Clinton fan, but he did a thorough, succinct job and read the book very well also.

Who was your favorite character and why?

N/A

What does Bill Clinton bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Reading his own words made it even more compelling.

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

Clean energy initiatives and programs

Any additional comments?

We need this approach in DC; both sides have become too polarized.

Our smartest politician

I think even people who hate Bill Clinton would admit he is at least one of the smartest politicians in our lifetime (60 years in my case). In this book President Clinton gives a number of ideas (and I mean close to 50) for improving the economy and the nation as a whole. And these are commen sense ideas that would get bipartisan support if some would not regard "bipartisan" as being a synonym for "disloyal".
Having this book read by the author was critically important to me. But if his voice bugs you then you should try the printed version.
You have to be interested in things like "the economy" to enjoy this book but, if you do, I don't see how you can pass this by.

An Independent's Opinion

In this book Bill Clinton has done a fine job of convincing me that we really do need to do something about our Congress's inability to get anything done. I watch both MSNBC and FOX to get both of the party lines, then I watch John Stewart and Jay Leno to laugh about both parties. But it's really not a laughing matter, that which is happening to our country. Every day that goes by is another day of lost opportunity. I guess we are going to have to wait till 2012 to change the make-up of the House of Representatives back to a Democratic majority so that things can be done to move this nation forward. I'd have felt differently, perhaps, if the Presidents Bill had been brought up on the floor of the House for debate the day after it was submitted. The Republican's refusal to even consider it or to make one themselves that addresses our economy had made me wonder if I should vote Democratic in the upcoming election. This book has cemented that view. What a shame for them. They could have had me firmly on their side if they had simply put forth a bill of their own that addressed these issues, those addressed here in this book. And there are so many suggestions that President Clinton puts forward. Using only a few of them could have put us all back to work and on solid footing years ago. I'm almost as sad for the fate of the Republican majority in the house as I am for the unemployed... naaaaaaaa