[2] Those at the very top of the economic ladder have developed and used political muscle to dramatically cut their taxes, deregulate the financial industry, and keep corporate governance lax and labor unions hamstrung.

"[4] The authors quote a number of luminaries on the dangers of concentrated wealth and its incompatibility with good government—Theodore Roosevelt (p. 80), Louis Brandeis (p. 81–82), Alexis de Tocqueville (p. 77), the 1st-century Greek historian Plutarch (p. 75) ("An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics"), and even the father of the free market, Adam Smith (who warned of "great inequality" where "civil government" is "instituted for the defence of the rich against the poor") (p. 82).

Inequality in France and Switzerland has actually fallen; in Germany it has remained the same; and in Ericsson's Sweden and Sony's Japan it has moved up only slightly.

[16] America's self-image as the land of the American Dream and rags-to-riches success notwithstanding, the share of those brought up poor or middle class who succeeded in becoming rich (i.e. the social mobility), is now less than in almost all other developed countries.

It takes a different form than those countries—deferred compensation, "guaranteed hours on corporate jets, chauffeurs, personal assistants, apartments, even lucrative consulting contracts".

[31][32] Though this process came as part of what the authors describe as a "transformation of American government", it has been overlooked by the public, the media, and recent political science studies.

They focus on the more entertaining, fast-moving and easy-to-follow "electoral spectacle" of politicians and their campaigns for office, instead of "what the government actually does"—the more complex, and "frankly boring", organization-driven making of laws and policy.

[33] But that the latter is what is really important is reflected in how much more money is spent on lobbying (officially $3 billion a year, unofficially much more[34]) than election campaigns",[35] and the growth in corporate public affairs offices in the nation's capital (100 in 1968, 2500 in 1982).

In 2001, internal memos told the Bush administration that "the public prefers spending on things like health care and education over cutting taxes", but the GOP went on with a major cut—one-third of which went to the richest 1% of Americans.

[40] In the early 1990s, the minority party in the Senate (often the Republicans) made use of the filibuster to create "something approaching a de facto 'rule of sixty'", whereby 60 votes, rather than a majority, were needed to pass laws.

Moderates, such as Senator John Breaux (who famously insisted that his vote could not be bought—but "it can be rented") and Max Baucus, supported pro-business initiatives such as the Bush tax cut of 2001.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is a "strong liberal voice" on any issue except finance,[43] where he works hard for Wall Street interests that are a major part of the New York state economy; California Democrats Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) vote with Republicans when it come to preventing stock option regulations that would impact Silicon Valley workers’ compensation.

[49] The way forward will require "continuing, organized capacity to mobilize middle-class voters and monitor government and politics on their behalf.

"[50] The book has won praise or compliments from Fareed Zakaria, Robert Solow,[51] Bob Herbert (New York Times), Justin Fox (Harvard Business Review), Ed Kilgore, (Washington Monthly), Kevin Drum, (Mother Jones blog), James Fallows, (National Correspondent, The Atlantic Monthly), Elizabeth Warren (Harvard Law School), David Holahan (The Christian Science Monitor), E.J.