Pity the Billionaire: The Unexpected Resurgence of the American Right Audiobook (Unabridged)

From the best-selling author of What's the Matter with Kansas?, a wonderfully insightful and sardonic look at how the worst economy since the 1930s has brought about the revival of conservatism.

Economic catastrophe usually brings social protest and demands for change - or at least it's supposed to. But when Thomas Frank set out in 2009 to look for expressions of American discontent, all he could find were loud demands that the economic system be made even harsher on the recession's victims and that society's traditional winners receive even grander prizes. The American right, which had seemed moribund after the election of 2008, was strangely reinvigorated by the arrival of hard times. The Tea Party movement demanded not that we question the failed system but that we reaffirm our commitment to it. Republicans in Congress embarked on a bold strategy of total opposition to the liberal state. And TV phenom Glenn Beck demonstrated the commercial potential of heroic paranoia and the purest libertarian economics.

In Pity the Billionaire, Frank, the great chronicler of American paradox, examines the peculiar mechanism by which dire economic circumstances have delivered wildly unexpected political results. Using firsthand reporting, a deep knowledge of the American right, and a wicked sense of humor, he gives us the first full diagnosis of the cultural malady that has transformed collapse into profit, reconceived the Founding Fathers as heroes from an Ayn Rand novel, and enlisted the powerless in a fan club for the prosperous. What it portends is ominous for both our economic health and our democracy.

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"This is a 4.5 stars out of 5 review. The book does an excellent job of drawing parallels between the Great Depression and the 2008 Financial Crisis. It shows where the answers to each respective crisis diverged. A great short history of the rights response. Frank reveals the deep and stifling hypocrisy of the Tea Party and their populist leaders. It's maddening to read about the banksters before and after the crisis. Is even more maddening to hear the rights response. A call for all the policies that got us to this juncture. The claims of being your the little guy while simultaneously pushing policies that help the bankers and CEOs they "hate." I appreciate that Frank writes a book which isn't just a list of the absurd things done fringe Tea Partier said. As he wrote (paraphrasing) the left didn't engage the rights faulty ideas but just maligned them which helped feed their persecution complex. I liked the final chapter which offered up the problems of the lefts tone deaf response. Also does a superb job of pointing to the Democrat's abandonment of labor and the middle class and the poor for the benefit of their wealthy benefactors. My quibbles are his defense of the corporation from the barbs of the right. The big businesses are a large reason for the stripping labor of their bargaining rights and the suicidal pursuit of Neo liberal economic policies. I also think Frank gives Obama the benefit of the doubt. Says he went with the Wall Street-centric bailout and policies was an answer the socialist claims. I don't give him that same benefit. I think he's just another Reagan Democrat masquerading as a progressive continuing the advancement of privatization of America. I recommend this book with the deep insight into the mind of the populist right and solid debunking of the myths permeating their ranks. It is a witty welcome introduction of the leaders and kingmakers of the Tea Party. His sarcastic, acerbic barbs liven the already interesting subject."

— Quincy (4 out of 5 stars)