Bailout Nation: Now in Stores
By Barry Ritholtz - May 15th, 2009, 12:34PM
Bailout Nation has a publication date of May 26th.
A few of you emailed me that you received (via UPS) the print edition of the book from Amazon.com.
And, I got an email from a friend who told me said they went into a Barnes & Noble, and asked for a copy. It wasn’t displayed, but the B&N clerk looked it up on the computer. They just had a shipment arrive, and so he went into the back, and she bought one. So cool.
I promise not to obsessively check this out:
Amazon.com Sales Rank: #469 in Books
But if you could all go out and buy the book, I will eternally grateful . . .
>
If anyone wants a signed copy, I will ask about inside signature plate to be inserted.
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May 15th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
I should be getting this for my b-day. If not, I will buy it (after June 17th).
May 15th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Keep your mighty pen handy, Mr Ritholtz, sir. I can see Bailout Nation becoming a trilogy, at least.
May 15th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
It’s just a matter of time now before you’ll be caught red-handed at a bookseller turning all the spine-outward copies of your book so that the cover art faces out instead….
May 15th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
I’ll be interested in the reviews, but this strikes me as an unsupportable assertion (from the product description): “this book skillfully explores how the United States evolved from a rugged independent nation to a soft Bailout Nation”
When was the US ever a “rugged independent nation?” [BR: Oh, how about 1700-1946?]
Public policy has always favored some over others, because that’s the nature of public policy. Anything you do advantages some over others. And anything you do not do advantages some over others.
In the late 18th century, just after the US became a nation, we faced a choice between a Hamiltonian, commerce based economy and a Jeffersonian, agrarian economy. We chose the former, disadvantaging the latter.
In the mid 19th century, we subsidized the construction of a national railroad system by giving public lands to private corporations.
In the late 19th century, we advantaged manufacturing corporations through protective tariffs while denying opportunity, civil liberties, and the right to form unions to manufacturing workers.
In the early 20th century, we advantaged Wall Street investment houses that made extremely profitable high risk loans (the original Subprime Loans!) to banana republics in Latin America and China by using our military to occupy these nations if they threatened not to pay.
So when were we rugged individualists?
~~~
BR: Your big thesis is that at some times in our history, some groups had political advantage?
THATS your 200+ word insight?
May 15th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
Well, BR, I just raided my drinkin’ money and bought a few copies. Seeing as how my mother just sent off an angry e-mail to our state pols (and copied my sisters and I on it), I think she’ll like her copy!
May 15th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
I’ll be getting my tree-killing copy from Amazon soon.
I really think a Bailout Nation For Dummies version needs to be created. That way more voters can help the Congress rise to the occasion. From http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/hh/2004/february/testimony.htm: “The Congress can help foster sustainable expansion by taking steps to reduce federal budget deficits and thus contribute to national saving and by continuing to pursue opportunities to open markets and promote trade.”
May 15th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
I wasn’t planning on buying BN for another week and a half, but I’d be interested in a signed bookplate for it…
May 15th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
I ordered a copy, just not yet for myself. I need to find a few other books to order along side it to cut the shipping costs to Bermuda and didn’t want it to be sent out on its own. Hoping it’s still possible to get the bookplate though.
May 15th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
@F411
Well, you’re correct about one thing…
YOU…FRANKLIN…Never were, or NEVER WILL BE a rugged individualist…
By your definition there4…You are an AMERICAN…
By BR’s definition you’re…um…
OPP how can I ‘splain it?
I’ll take it frame by frame it…
“O” is for other
“P” is for people
the last “P” well that’s not that simple…
It’s sort of like another way you call a “cat” a “kitty”
There’s 5 little letters that I’m missing here…
May 15th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
BR: you forgot. “Vol. I” on the cover.
May 15th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
“In the late 18th century, just after the US became a nation, we faced a choice between a Hamiltonian, commerce based economy and a Jeffersonian, agrarian economy. We chose the former, disadvantaging the latter.”
That is some of the best revising of history that I think I have ever seen.
Most people think the dichotomy was in Hamilton believing that a powerful central government would be best (see his proposed industrial development policy as Washington’s Treasury Secretary, which was not passed by Congress, by the way) while Jefferson thought that decentralized and dispersed governmental power would best guard against the abuses that inhere with omnipotent governments. We didn’t “choose” the former really until the Civil War, and then it was a “choice” that some didn’t make, but the Hamilton/Jefferson dispute that started during Washington’s terms as President planted the seed. Hamilton never made it to the White House, whereas Jefferson served two terms. Which of the “choices” did we then make at the early stages of the republic?
May 15th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Curm,
nice History snapshot (in Focus)
tho, save your Time, file frankin under FA
two words, seven letters each..
May 15th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
That debate reminds me of the scene in “Good Will Hunting”…
Which subsequently ended in…
“Do you like apples?”…
May 15th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
At 5pm last night UPS delivered your new book…it looks great.
Congratulations on a great achievement! Your publisher made it look great design-wise too. With analytical chatter on the subject seemingly at a creshendo, you may have timed this release better than could be reasonably expected.
May 15th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
Dave,
Actually, I was lamenting the design suggestions by the publisher, and I emailed a few people looking for suggestions.
John Sherffius, the artist who I asked to do the political cartoons that adorn each of the 5 section intros, sent back an email and said, “I got your cover right here.” As soon as I saw his Pigbull, I knew I had my cover. (We should get squeezy Pigbull stress toys made).
We collaborated on the rest of the design — big bold letters, black and red (from the old cover), and Wiley, to their credit, loved it.
May 15th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Hey BR, have you sold the movie rights yet? I hear Brad Pitt is available to shoot this Summer :-)
May 15th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
“Bailout Nation For Dummies” you got me LOL
May 15th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
@TC
I wonder why Hamilton never made it to the White House. Probably because his political views were unpopular, eh? Or perhaps because he was not a natural born American citizen as the Constitution requires? ;-)
Jefferson became a Hamiltonian when he was elected President. He was a strict constructionist as the leader of the Democratic-Republicans (if the Constitution doesn’t say you can, then you can’t), but became a loose constructionist as President, most notably with the Louisiana Purchase. Show me the passage in the Constitution that says the President can simply buy land from a foreign power and ask Congress for authorization after the deal is done.
It was the Federalists who built the US Navy after the US gained independence. It was Jefferson who used the Navy to support American commerce against the Barbary Pirates. It was Jefferson who established West Point, even though Jeffersonian political ideology railed against the dangers of a peacetime professional army. And the Embargo Act…that simply hurt agrarian and manufacturer alike!
May 15th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
@Barry
I provided 4 specific examples in support of my thesis, which is that there never was a time when Americans were “rugged individualists.” There was always some form of active or inactive government intervention in every epoch of American history.
Even our most cherished examples of “rugged individualism” don’t hold water. The settlers in covered wagons were traveling to territories newly opened by the United States Army. The inhabitants of those regions–British, French, Spanish, Mexican, Native American–were driven off or slaughtered by the same. They relied on transportation systems to get their goods to market that were built or acquired though government action. Examples include Pinckney’s Treaty granting the US access to the Mississippi River in 1796 and the Pacific Railway Act of 1862.
Where are your examples of “rugged individualism?”
May 15th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
UPS just delivered Bailout Nation.
I ordered a copy for my buddy Max, too. Last book I sent him was Black Swan. He is still confused by that one.
May 15th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
@BR
BR – What F411 is “trying” to say is…
“Thank you BR for being a rugged individualist yourself and allowing me to post my BS on your blog”…
May 15th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
Pinckney’s Treaty? You couldn’t come up with a more obscure example?
May 15th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
@BR:
Congratulations. Completing a timely book is a big accomplishment.
Now, when is your publicist going to get you on Colbert?
May 15th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
It seems to me that the higher Barry’s book goes in Amazon, the better. If it goes high enough, it will get free publicity for that fact alone. This will be a great book to give any person who reads nonfiction. Anyone with a birthday, graduation, etc. If it goes high enough on Amazon, more people will hear about him, his book, and his blog. I want people talking about this book, and inviting Barry on to their TV and radio shows to talk about it, which would of course be much more meaningful. This could lead to a much-needed dose of reality into the national discussion about the economy. So although I will look at the book this weekend in my local bookstore, I plan on buying it from Amazon. If anyone else has a better strategy (including you, BR. This is no time to be shy!), I’d like to hear it.
May 15th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
is there an audio book version….maybe you could get greenspan to do the reading….
May 15th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
I will be purchasing this book as soon as I finish the book I am currently reading. Any suggestions on other books to purchase as well?
P.S. what is the fascination with autographs all about? I think they are pointless, they are mostly scribbles anyways and you cannot really tell whose it is unless somebody tells you. So on the basis of being different, hmmm, how about a thumbprint?
May 15th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Ordered, look forward to reading it Barry
May 15th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
Also ordering a book will stick it to McGraw Hill.
May 15th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
I am another one with a June 17 birthday and that’s when I will be presented with my copy…looking forward to it….
May 15th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
Another long day, not a government employee.
In my business, government intrusion is about to increase (again) and it does make one weary after awhile. I read something interesting today about how poisonous large, taxpayer funded pensions have turned out to be. I do hope somebody is paying attention to this, as it makes sense to me.
Bought more short term bonds today, at better rates than I’ve gotten in 5 months..
Gonna take baby to see Angels and Demons…liked this book better than the DaVinci Code…will let you guys know what I think tomorrow.
Best of luck investing..
May 15th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
I should say cd’s, not bonds..
May 15th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
I was able to buy it today at the B&N store on LI.
Educate Who about Finance? Then how do you fool them?
May 15th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
BR: You should make it a requirement of the commenters here that they buy the book by, say, June, and show proof of purchase to keep blogging. If F411 needs the dough, I’ll front it for him ’cause he’s just so much fun. Along those lines:
“Jefferson became a Hamiltonian when he was elected President. He was a strict constructionist as the leader of the Democratic-Republicans (if the Constitution doesn’t say you can, then you can’t), but became a loose constructionist as President, most notably with the Louisiana Purchase. Show me the passage in the Constitution that says the President can simply buy land from a foreign power and ask Congress for authorization after the deal is done.”
First, F411, strict constructionism means that the constitution is a negative image document, i.e., if it is not expressly prohibited then it is allowed. You’ve got it bass-ackwards. If a freedom or act was not denied, then it was allowed. The constitution was contemplated just in that manner by both Hamilton and Jefferson. Which is also the manner with which law has forever been interpreted, particularly criminal law. Things have to be expressly prohibited or they are allowed.
As to whether Jefferson became a Hamiltonian upon ascension to the Presidency, I can say that your view is not the majority view. Jefferson understood that first, last and always the most important role of government is security, which explains his measures to provide for just that during the republic’s infancy, particularly with regard to the US Navy and its importance to supporting the enforcability of international contracts and shipping. There is nothing anomolous with undertaking those responsibilities or with Jefferson arranging for the Louisiana Purchase and also taking the strict constructionist view of the constitution as a limiting document.
May 15th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
@Curmudgeon
The ultimate “short position” for our prospects is the notion that people are spending (or worse, “borrowing”) their their future to pay for their kids tuition to get an education from enlightened minds like those of F4111…
May 15th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
@TC
No, I have it quite right:
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761570282_6/thomas_jefferson.html
May 15th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
Signed copy would be killer is that realistic?
May 15th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
@Franklin
I know you’re a couple hours BEHIND there good buddy but here’s some weekend reading 4u…
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30753356/
It falls under the category of…NOT SO FAST…
No other comments as they relate to TBP (from an economic or financial standpoint), but let me ask you something?
When are all you “doll eyed” worshipers going to finally come to the conclusion that it’s business as usual in Washington DC?…
I was born here…
I lived here for my formulative years…
Then I lived in LA-LA land for 12 years (when I didn’t know what the hell was going on)
Then I lived in Europe for 12 years (where I learned that social democracy was equal to taxation and economic dis-incentivization)
Now I’m back in DC…But i got the hell out of there and paid cash for a farm in WVA…
So now that you know that your HERO has “dummed himself down” to the PRAGMATIC conclusions of the previous Administration…
What have you left for your ideals of “hope” and “change”?
May 15th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Curm,
do you have a cite for this: ” strict constructionism means that the constitution is a negative image document, i.e., if it is not expressly prohibited then it is allowed.”
I hadn’t seen that def. b4..
Thanks, in adv..
franklin,
just a note of caution, 2x-check when using MSFT Encarta, as w/ Wikipedia, as a Source..
May 16th, 2009 at 12:41 am
Too bad it’s not the case.
May 16th, 2009 at 7:08 am
Wiley tells me that they are making special Bailout Nation book plates — I can hand sign them, and they then self-stick to the inside page . . .
May 16th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
My copy of your book should arrive on Monday and I am looking forward to it.
A signed plate would be great. Tell me how to get one.
May 16th, 2009 at 5:37 pm
Of course you WILL obsessively check it out.
Just don’t tell us too frequently!
Mazel tov.
May 17th, 2009 at 9:11 am
OK, BR you are now on my list of less than good people.
My book arrived on Friday from Amazon via UPS and I stayed up all last night reading it. Haven’t done anything that silly in years. Got about 20 more pages to read before I take a snooze. It is a good but depressing read. Brings a lot of things together for me, all too clearly. Can’t say it made me feel good but it did feed my paranoia and fed my o-shit feeling.
Good job. Looking forward to the trilogy.
PS: I didn’t get a signed copy. I guess I’m out of luck.
PSS: Colbert/Steward is a requirement. Post it here when (not if) you get it scheduled, that way I’ll be sure to watch.
May 17th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
I just ordered my copy, looking forward to it indeed.