Tag: politics

Let the People Pick the President

~ rachelbenzine ~ Leave a comment

Plot:

Let the People Pick the President has a subtitle that sums up its content well: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College. In this insightful book, Jesse Wegman explores the system that we use for electing the highest leader of the country. Although mayors, governors, senators, and other representatives are chosen by popular vote, the president is elected using a complicated system of electors based on, but not proportionally representative of, a given state’s population. Through an examination of the creation of this system at the time of the country’s founding, to a discussion of the current implications of the way the system works, Let the People Make the President presents a convincing case for moving to a popular vote election for president of the United States.

What I loved most:

Let’s be real here… does anyone actually understand the electoral college? Before reading this book, I was confident that I could explain the general way the electoral college works to a first grader… but also confident that I couldn’t explain satisfactorily to a high school student why two out of the last six presidents did not win the popular vote. The concept of a popular vote made sense to me, since it works for literally every other position we elect in this country, but I didn’t understand the electoral college enough to be able to make a solid argument for abolishing it. Wegman makes this seemingly-complex topic accessible to a wide audience. Even if you are pro-electoral college, this would be an interesting read for the exploration of the Constitution’s creation alone. It’s definitely worth your time!

Read this book if you like:

Politics, thinking through long-standing ways of doing things, democracy, learning from history

Book details:

Internment

~ rachelbenzine ~ Leave a comment

Review:

In this YA dystopia set in America, we have decided to round up all of the Muslim Americans and put them in internment camps. The collective American attitude is that Muslims are a threat to our national security, and that we need to take this dramatic action in order to keep our country safe. Layla Amin in seventeen years old when she and her parents are put into a camp. She becomes the unlikely leader of a revolution within the camp, fighting for her freedom and what she knows to be right.

Internment is a call to action. It forces us to acknowledge the prejudices in our current society, and looks at what might happen if we continue down the path that we’re on. It’s urgent and it will motivate you to create change. I devoured this book, and highly recommend adding it to the top of your TBR list.

Favorite Passage:

“What’s that thing people always say about history? Unless we know our history, we’re doomed to repeat it? Never forget? Isn’t that the lesson? But we always forget. Forgetting is in the American grain.”

What I Loved Most:

Before I read Internment, I read Uprooted by Albert Marrin, which is a nonfiction book about the Japanese Internment Camps in WWII (check out my review of it here). It’s not that long ago that we forced all of the Japanese Americans into camps… and it doesn’t seem that far fetched that we would do it again. I love dystopias in general, but I have never read one that seems as plausible as Internment does.

Read this book if you like:

Dystopias, teenagers who create change

Book Details:

Give People Money: How Universal Basic Income Could Change the Future–For the Rich, the Poor, and Everyone in Between

~ rachelbenzine ~ Leave a comment

Review:

This book is about a radical concept made simple. Give People Money discusses a Universal Basic Income (UBI), or a guaranteed amount of money provided by the government to each citizen. UBI is not a new concept, but it is one that is becoming more popular. In response to the impending job loss from automation, it’s being heralded as a way to keep America’s economy strong while supporting its citizens. Lowrey has taken on a comprehensive examination of UBI, including looking at implementation of UBI trials in Kenya, Germany, and Finland as well as examining what it would mean to implement UBI in the United States.

UBI has historically been supported by people from a variety of political parties, including Republican Richard Nixon, Libertarian Charles Murray, and Marxist Socialist Erik Olin Wright. Andrew Yang, a Democratic candidate for the 2020 presidency, is currently running on a platform based on UBI. And a recent study demonstrated that approximately 48% of Americans are in favor of implementing UBI. Give People Money explains the concept of UBI in a way that is accessible to the lay person while remaining grounded in research.

Favorite Passage:

A UBI, I thought, was not so much about welfare as inclusion. Universal cash programs were a way of providing the poor with an opportunity to participate in the economy. Universal cash programs were a way of ensuring that all members of the society had a foundation to build on. 
— Chapter 9

What I Loved Most:

I’m not a proponent of implementing UBI in America. While it sounds great to have everyone receive $1,000 a month, with no obligations or requirements, I simply don’t think it is a feasible program to fund. Give People Money does suggest several options for funding UBI, such as increased income, corporate, and consumption taxes, as well as funds from shared national resources. In addition, a UBI would allow many of our current social welfare programs (TANF/Food Stamps, Medicaid, Housing Assistance, etc.) to be stopped completely. The money currently used for these programs could be redirected to fund UBI. However, Lowrey admits that UBI would likely increase the deficit; in fact, she advocates for starting the program and letting the funding fall into place eventually. Seeing as there is no feasible way that I can find to fund this program, I simply don’t think the UBI would work.

With all of that being said, I think it is SO important to be informed on political issues. And if I don’t agree with something, I want to have solid reasoning as to why I don’t agree with it. I like reading books that challenge me to consider how I’ve come to the conclusions I have. I ended Give People Money with the same opinion about UBI as I had at the beginning of reading it, but with more knowledge as to the proposed benefits and negatives of the policy. Especially since I think UBI is likely to continue gaining supporters, I am glad that I understand more about the policy.

Read this book if you like:

Politics, economics, considering what social programs are best for our country

Book Details: