War on the Middle Class

War on the Middle Class: How the Government, Big Business, and Special Interest Groups are Waging War on the American Dream and How to Fight Back, by Lou Dobbs (2006)

As the title suggests, Dobbs takes aim at a number of politicians and institutions in this short volume. The author provides a straightforward account of the process that has led to the exportation of jobs and entire industries from the United States to cheaper labor markets. Dobbs also spotlights immigration policy and health care as major issues that are sorely in need of reform.

Readers looking for an account that picks sides among political parties are likely to be disappointed. In Dobbs' view, both major parties are equally responsible for ethical lapses, and for contributing to the squeeze on the American middle class. The author suggests that more voters follow his lead by changing their party registration to Independent.

But in places, Dobbs’ unwillingness to criticize one side of the ledger and favor another is confusing. One of the better examples of this is when the author lists the eight major conglomerates, which own nearly every major voice in American media. After detailing the mammoth holdings of companies such as Viacom, General Electric, Time Warner and NewsCorp, he assails the media as too liberal. His evidence for this charge is the often-repeated statistic that a large majority of news reporters identify themselves as Democrats. While this is an interesting statistic it’s hard to believe that this factors into news reportage to near the extent as the widespread corporate control over American media.

In spite of these flaws, one is hard pressed not to credit Dobbs with writing a salient account of several key issues that constitute a threat to the middle class. The author writes with conviction and clarity on several important matters before the country. While his book is short on solutions, it has the potential to educate readers on some of the major forces in American life.