David Cay Johnston has written a great book called "Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You with the Bill)" . I was a little afraid that the book would drag me back into a libertarian state of pessimism about government, but the book was more than I expected. The author does a wonderful job of pointing out corruption without making America and our government the problem. We have been the victim of corrupt leadership, absentee media sources, and a largely ignorant public. That combination has lead to nearly 9 trillion dollars of national debt and little to show for it. However, if we let ourselves become pessimistic, we will have lost all hope.

Nearly thirty years ago, our nation fell for the intentional decision to move toward a policy that ships our tax dollars to large corporate interests. It may look like downsizing, but in reality it is more costly than we ever could have imagined. I fell for it too. It sounded like a good idea. Ronald Reagan made us believe we would downsize our government, but the reality is that he made us addicted to debt and we began spending more than ever by outsourcing many of our nations responsibilities to overpriced government contracts. We mistakenly thought that brining “business men” into the equation would trim spending and make our government more efficient. We were all wrong. Instead, our ties to corporate interests have created a huge amount of debt. Businesses are designed to make money, and they have done just that at the expense of American taxpayers. The trend has continued ever since. The funny thing is that George W. Bush got elected on the basis of tax cuts and responsible spending, however, David Cay Johnston shows us that Bush made his fortune on tax increases and a slick arrangement with state and local government to send the proceeds directly into his pocket via his investment in the Texas Rangers baseball team. There are many more examples including subisidies to Wal-Mart, oil companies, casinos, and sports teams.

One of the bright spots in this well written book is a clear explanation of Health Care in America including the history of Health Management Organizations (HMOs) and drug company influences. I wish every American voter would read this book. It is well researched and very readable. It will probably piss you off, but it shouldn't leave you jaded about the possiblity of solving our problems.