National Suicide: How Washington Is Destroying the American Dream from A to Z

by Martin L. Gross

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Government Racket, A Call for Revolution and The Tax Racket comes a scathing indictment of the dysfunctional federal government and its reckless disregard for the future of our country.

The government of the United States is a juggernaut of mismanagement, malfeasance and incompetence. Despite the strong foundation laid down by the founding fathers, it is headed to extinction.

From the Alternative Minimum Tax to Zip Codes, New York Times bestselling author Martin L. Gross outlines the programs that have exploded financially, the laws that had completely unintended consequences, and the scams perpetrated by legislators intent upon remaining in office no matter what the cost to the nation—and its citizens.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Political Science, History

352 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2009

Reviews

[Dav · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very comprehensive and easy to read analysis of what's wrong with the Federal government (hint: a lot). I don't agree with everything the man writes, but I appreciate his viewpoints. I think he swings too far for my tastes into the anti-environment and racist territory a few times. like about illegal immigrants and oil drilling in Alaska. I initially found these arguments a bit offensive, but they had some persuasion to them and opened my eyes in an interesting way. I love it when that happens. I -love- having my opinions challenged by persuasive argument.

I still think the author of the book is wrong in many ways, but I also think that he's about 70% right, and a good 10-15% of where he is wrong is relatively unimportant details. I wouldn't want him to be my benevolent dictator but I would love to see him in a powerful position in Washington cleaning up that mess. This is the kind of book that makes me want to buy extra copies to give to friends.

The most wonderful thing about it is at the end he lays out specific things to do that would actually fix the federal mess, something I rarely see anyone ever doing, from the mighty politicians to the rabid extreme left and right wingers.

[Terri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very out of date, although many of the problems probably still exist. I was astounded that there were NO sources or footnotes.

[Philip of Macedon · Rating 3 out of 5]

National Suicide is a solid and informative analysis of government waste, and offers potential solutions that seem viable and reasonable. It is thorough in its high-level view of the multitude of programs and departments the federal government has built over the decades that have failed to provide what they were designed for, or have obfuscated any possible solutions or better approaches, or have made things worse and more costly, or have resulted in little more than bloated cost and bureaucracy and unaccountable operations.

Some of what’s here is shocking and depressing, some is redundant and obvious. In general, Gross’s overview is useful and underrepresented in most discussions of government waste. He gives numbers to show exactly how much is being wasted here and there and suggests what could be done differently. One criticism I can offer is that Gross’s stance on climate change is misaligned with current scientific evidence, and this may hurt his credibility when it comes to other topics, although very few of those have any relation to science.

[Buffy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an incredible eye-opener about the wasteful ways of our government. I want to send one to every senator, congressman and to Pres Obama himself. It's a disgrace what our govt has become and we the citizens are just living in an ignorant bliss and allowing it to continue!!! This book will get you FIRED UP and ready to march on the steps of the white house and DEMAND changes.

[Frank R · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though some of the A-Z chapters seem hardly the stuff of National Suicide (K for Katrina Fraud? N for Non-Profits?), the overall message of a government that is too big, out-of-touch, and incredibly wasteful is perfectly clear. Gross clearly identifies many of the problems, and even offers some ideas for reform (some of which have merit, others not as much).

[Kraig Kirkaldie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book lifts the lid from the cesspool that is our current dysfunctional governmental bureaucracy, and the stench is nearly overpowering. Some of the suggested solutions to the problem may not be the best, but this makes it clear that something needs to be done.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read about how wasteful the Federal government is. Unlike most books the author includes all the steps necessary to fix the problems. Sadly, due to politics they'll probably never be implemented.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A real eye opener, this book exposes some of the things that we would rather pretend we are not hearing. This was a good read, although because of the realism, this book did freak me out quite a bit.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The almost smugly cynical tone of the author drove me up a wall at times, but he makes a lot of good points in spite of that. If you want to know just how messed up our federal bureaucracy is, he'll be happy to launch into a speech on it.

[Lydel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strictly non-partisan. The corruption in Washington is SICKENING !!
Educate yourself. Read this.