MONEY AND POLITICS IN AMERICA
Spring 2014
Professor Richard K. Scher
204 Anderson Hall
352-273-2356
Office Hours: Tu/Th 11:30-1:00
and by appointment
CLASS SYLLABUS
“We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both.”
Justice Louis D. Brandeis
“In the Soviet Union, capitalism triumphed over communism. In this country, capitalism triumphed over democracy.”
Fran Lebowitz
Course Description – examines how and why Government policy since the mid-1970s has worked to benefit Big Money, Wall Street, and the rich and super-rich 1% at the expense of everyone else. Historical and contemporary parallels elsewhere in the world, especially in Europe, Japan, and Latin America, will be made.
Put more simply and directly, this is a course about class warfare, specifically the war which Big Money and its government cronies and shills wages against the Middle Class and poor people so that the rich get richer at the expense of the vast majority of Americans.
Classes – students are expected to attend class regularly, and come prepared to participate actively in our community of scholars. Students are expected to read the required materials in advance of class, and come prepared to use them as a vehicle for discussion. Attendance will NOT be taken, but students are responsible for everything that happens in class whether present or not. Likewise they are responsible for ALL of the information on the syllabus. In particular, students must pay careful attention to due dates for written assignments – in this class, NO LATE PAPERS will be accepted under any circumstances except for excused absences as listed by UF. Early submission of written work is always acceptable and welcome. Students should take advantage of the instructor's office hours to discuss issues with him.
Absences from Class -
· The instructor firmly believes that students have a right to make choices about how they spend their time, including coming to class. He is not a policeman, he does not take roll, he comes to class every day to provide, as best he can, observations and insights into Money and Politics, and to discuss with and among students why the topics of this course are valuable to them.
· Those who feel that this is a worthwhile use of their time are invited to attend regularly, and to become full participants and partners in the intellectual journey the class offers.
· But the instructor is well aware that students have competing demands on their time. They need to decide whether or not those competing demands are more valuable to them than coming to class, or if some seeming obligation outside of class obviates or takes precedence over the need to attend. The decision is the students’ alone, and entirely.
· Thus, it is not necessary to ask the instructor’s permission to miss class, because he cannot give it. It is not necessary to inform the instructor about an absence, because that is the student’s business, not his.
· Nor is it good student practice to ask, in the event of an absence, if he/she missed anything “important.” The instructor designs each class with the idea that the topic of the day is important; otherwise, why bother?
· And what students need always to remember is that their choice of how they will use their time has consequences. The instructor urges students to think them through before deciding to miss class.
Examinations – there is no midterm exam in this course. There is a cumulative and comprehensive take-home final examination of the essay variety, based on readings, class materials, films, etc. It will be handed out on the last day of class, Tuesday, April 22 and e-mailed to students via the list serve later in the day. It will be due the following Tuesday, April 29, at noon in the instructor’s office. (“Noon” is defined by the official U.S. Government time service, http://www.time.gov/timezone.cgi?Eastern/d/-5/java .) NO LATE PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED WITHOUT the prior approval of the instructor, subject to the stipulation below.
Make-up Policy – students with UF approved excused absences will be permitted to make up missed assignments or turn in assignments/examinations late as long as appropriate documentation is presented, without penalty. Assignments or examinations missed or turned in late that do not meet UF approved reasons, or which are not accompanied by publicly verifiable documentation, will receive a grade of ZERO. No exceptions.
Required Readings – there are two kinds of required readings in this course: three books and a large number of articles, most of which are online. The latter will be sent to students via the class list serve. It is essential that students read the required materials in a timely fashion, as some written assignments are based on them and they are crucial for class presentations and discussion. Specific due dates for readings will be announced in class, occasionally over the list serve as well.
· Required books are:
o Robert Reich, BEYOND OUTRAGE
o Hedrick Smith, WHO STOLE THE AMERICAN DREAM?
o Paul Krugman, END THIS DEPRESSION NOW!
· Recommended books:
o Barbara Ehrenreich, NICKEL AND DIMED IN AMERICA
o Timothy Noah, THE GREAT DIVIDE
o Joseph Stiglitz, THE PRICE OF INEQUALITY
o Mark Blythe, AUSTERITY: THE HISTORY OF A DANGEROUS IDEA
o Thomas O. McGarity, FREEDOM TO HARM
o Robert Kuttner, DEBTOR’S PRISON
o John Nichols and Robert McChesney, DOLLAROCRACY
o Robert Scheer, THE GREAT AMERICAN STICKUP
o Andrew Sorkin, TOO BIG TO FAIL
o Bethany Mclean and Joe Nocera, ALL THE DEVILS ARE HERE
o Gretchen Morgenson, RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT
o Michael Lewis, THE BIG SHORT
o Noriel Roubini and Stephen Mihm, CRISIS ECONOMICS
· Required articles:
· Sent via class list serve
· Students must read and archive these readings, as they will be needed for written assignments and the final examination.
· There will be numerous short readings associated with each of the course topics listed below.
Class List Serve – the UF Registrar provides a list serve for each class, and maintains it. The instructor has nothing to do with it, except to use it to provide readings and announcements. Students must consult it regularly, remembering that the Registrar uses the email address you provided at registration, not the one you might use regularly and privately. If you have a problem with the list serve, or realize you are not receiving items sent on it, consult the Registrar, not the instructor.
Films – films may be shown in class (always on Thursdays, double period day). These may include but are not necessarily limited to the following:
· Inside Job
· Frontline: Inside the Meltdown
· Frontline: The Warning
· Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
· Too Big to Fail
· Wall Street
· Capitalism Hits the Fan
Students are just as responsible for the content of the films as for the readings and class presentations/discussions.
Course Topics –
· Money and Politics in America – Where are we now?
o Reading - Reich
· The Ideology of Greed
o The Primacy of Private Property
o The Politics of “Free” Markets
· Rampant and Growing Inequality – The Fruits of the Last 35 years
o The Extent of Contemporary Inequality
o Poverty
o Jobs and Wages
o Social Mobility – what happened to it?
o Middle Class, Lower Class
o The 1%
o Wall Street
· The Politics of Economic Inequality – how did we get here from where we were?
o Trickle Down Doesn’t – the sophistry of Supply Side economics
o Austerity
o Tax Breaks, Subsidies, Corporate Welfare, and the Big Money Culture of Dependency
o Deficits
§ Sequestering
o Deregulation
o Too Big to Fail
o Taxes
o Dark Money
§ Reading – Smith
· The Demise of Keynes, the Triumph of Hayek
o The Fallacy of Market Economics
o Right Wing Politics, Voodoo Economics – Europe and America
o Lessons from History
· The Great Recession 2007-Present – How did it happen? What does it tell us about money and politics in America?
o Kuttner
o Roubini
· What About American Democracy? How are the politics of money in America endangering it?
o Hacker and Pierson
· Is There a Way Out? Or Are We Stuck, and Worse?
o Reading - Krugman
Projects –
Each member of the class must complete three projects, one Group project and two Individual ones:
· Group project – students will self-divide themselves into small groups (at least two people but preferably no more than five) and investigate an example of government policy benefitting Big Money and/or the rich, but no one else.
· Groups are free to choose any instance they wish (examples include, but are not limited to, government bailouts, deregulation, the power of “Too Big to Fail” ideology, the demise of Glass-Steagall, tax cuts for the rich, deficit-chasing and sequestering, etc.), and it may but does not necessarily have to include racial and gender dimensions. The point of the assignment is to how and why this matter happened, and with what consequences for the US, especially the creation, perpetuation, and augmentation of economic inequalities.
· Groups must prepare a report on their findings:
o The report can be written, or it can be a video, or something else;
§ PowerPoint reports are NOT acceptable;
o The report should be 5-7 pages in length (or the equivalent if it is not written) and be fully documented and referenced;
· Groups should consult with the instructor about their choice of topics and the format of their report.
· Due date: April 15, 2014, at the end of class; no late reports will be accepted without prior approval of the instructor.
Individual projects –
· Each student must complete TWO (2) short individual projects:
o One project is on a topic of the student’s choosing;
§ It must be compatible with the subject matter of this course, but it need not overlap with the subject matter;
§ Projects can be written up as a paper (3-5 printed, double-spaced pages), but other formats are possible;
· Regardless of the format, projects should be fully documented and referenced;
§ Students should consult with the instructor about the topic chosen and preferred format;
o Due Date: April 10, 2014, at the end of class; no late reports will be accepted without prior approval of the instructor.
· The other project must be a critical reaction paper to one of the recommended books in the class (see above);
o If a student wishes to read and comment on another book, he or she must consult with the instructor to receive permission;
o Due Date: April 1, 2014, at the end of class; no late reports will be accepted without prior approval of the instructor.
Criteria for Grade:
· Group Project – 30 pts.
· Individual Projects – 40 pts. (@ 20 pts.)
· Final Examination – 30 pts.
Grading Scale:
· 90-100: A
· 80-89: B
· 70-79: C
· 60-69: D
· <60: E
· +/- grades will be awarded at the margins (for example, 78/79 is a C+; 77 is a C; 80 and 81 receive a B-, 82 is a B).
NOTE: All written assignments MUST be given to the instructor as hard copies. He cannot download and print them. Anything sent as an attachment will NOT be accepted. Sorry about this, it’s a logistical and budget issue.
NOTE: Because of budget constraints, there is no hard-copy version of this syllabus. Nor is it posted on any website. There is only the e-version. Please download it or preserve it in some way so you will have ready access to it.
NOTE: help is available on campus for students having trouble coping, for whatever reason. Please see the instructor for suggestions and referrals – he will not pry into your affairs, but will try to guide students needing assistance to the right place.
NOTE: students with disabilities or other recognized/protected conditions should register with the appropriate office on campus, and arrange with the instructor for possible changes in scheduling.