From Library Journal

Schwarz (political science, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson) presents a lucid and engaging argument that the current "healthy" economy falls seriously short in providing opportunity for all citizens to achieve a decent life?the author's "moral bottom line." The book extends his previous analysis of working poverty with Thomas J. Volgy in The Forgotten Americans (LJ 9/15/92) and draws on the historic benefits of government spending he demonstrated in America's Hidden Success (Norton, 1988. rev. ed.). A significant contribution is the historical background that puts government economic involvement into the context of the political philosophy of the nation's founders. The author notes that the traditional American ethic of hard work, honesty, and persistence is sustainable only in the presence of opportunity that allows the virtuous to attain a rising, if modest, standard of living. He also persuasively criticizes current government calculations of unemployment and poverty. Highly recommended for all libraries.?Paula Dempsey, Loyola Univ., Chicago

Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The New York Times Book Review, Louis Uchitelle

The author, John E. Schwarz, a political scientist at the University of Arizona, sets forth what he considers a just and imperative goal. Economics in his scheme becomes a tool for achieving the goal, and a means of gauging how far short we fall. Schwarz attempts, in effect, to meld economics and moral standards....

From Kirkus Reviews

An academic's arresting appraisal of what he deems a serious lack of employment opportunity in a booming domestic economy. Drawing mainly on statistical data, Schwarz (coauthor of The Forgotten Americans, 1992, etc.) makes a persuasive case for the proposition that there's a serious shortage in the US of adequate jobs--defined as full-time, year-round positions that provide base- line compensation or better (at least $7.60 per hour in 1994 dollars). All told, he concludes, the gross deficit of jobs that pay an adequate (i.e., living) wage aggregates 15.7 million. In the author's book, this shortfall puts paid to any comforting notion that America is a land of opportunity in which the industrious can get ahead and provide their families with basic necessities (which include medical care and recreation). He goes on to note that breadwinners who can't make ends meet are neither unskilled nor uneducated; indeed, two-thirds are high-school graduates and one- third have at least some college. Arguing that an affluent society owes its working poor a helping hand, Schwarz (Political Science/Univ. of Arizona) proposes a series of government actions to offset the economy's persistent inability to generate enough good jobs and make the needy employed minimally self-sufficient. Among other initiatives, he recommends: indexing the minimum wage so it could not fall below 47 percent of the average pay of nonsupervisory personnel; expanding earned-income tax credits on a sliding scale; subsidizing private enterprises that allocate profits to creating new jobs at above-average rates; enhancing employment opportunity in the public sector; providing health-care coverage to the working poor; and establishing apprenticeship programs. The author also offers suggestions as to how these efforts might be underwritten. A timely reminder that the blessings of America's good times remain unequally distributed. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Book Description

How America ended up with a deficit of sixteen million adequate jobs, hurting nearly a quarter of American families. The "American dream" and the immigrant's vision of America as "the land of opportunity" both depend on the idea that everyone in this country who works hard can support a family and get ahead. Yet, as John Schwarz makes clear, even thirty years ago opportunity in America was drying up--to the point that, today, nearly a quarter of American families that depend on employment to sustain themselves can't find adequate work, despite tremendous economic growth. Illusions of Opportunity reveals how this happened--and how the signs have been consistently misread, manipulated, or ignored by leaders across the political spectrum. Schwarz's provocative and original new research demonstrates that, rather than global competition or suffocating governmental interference, the real culprits are too many people competing for too few good jobs, high productivity outpacing low wage increases, and pay raises disproportionately benefiting the highest earners. The belief that all citizens should be able to sustain themselves and their families and communities decently is one that Americans regardless of political affiliation still share. Schwarz shows how the loss of opportunity has led to social decay, and how--with a better understanding of the problems we face--we might make the American dream a reality again.

About the Author

John E. Schwarz is the author of America's Hidden Success and The Forgotten Americans, both published by Norton. He is professor of political science at the University of Arizona in Tucson.