This book is about the mismanagement of Western economies in pursuit of political power, which resulting devastation will have to be borne by future generations. The book establishes that the postponement is no longer doable and lays out the hard choices ahead causing much misery and agony. As workers react to the mismanagement causing a loss of employment in middle-class paying jobs, and primarily white and middle-aged workers, they are dying in record numbers from what Drs. Case & Deaton describes as "Deaths of Despair." And it will worsen as only this month, August 2023, Fitch Ratings down rated the US public debt from AAA to AA+, based on projected difficulties ahead with its control despite a recent congressional agreement on the debt ceiling. The Western governments' reaction is to turn to nativism and protectionism. These are all superficial fixes and will do nothing to correct the problem. The root cause of the problem is fiat currencies, and until and unless addressed, the problem cannot be addressed. Corrective action would involve backing currencies with Country's assets, eliminating/reducing debt unless for investment and infrastructure purposes, prohibiting the targeting/planning of inflation, and establishing a relationship between the highest and lowest paid in an economy. The book proposes novel approaches to these issues, including income support for those impacted by these corrective measures, for developed countries have arrived at the end of the road.
