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Book Jacket DON'T BUY IT
The Trouble with Talking Nonsense about the Economy
ANAT SHENKER-OSORIO
SUMMARY  |  EXCERPT
This concise, entertaining book shows us how wrong-headed metaphors and deceptive language have muddled our economic thinking, and how better word choice alone can win the debate

Today the term "dismal science" seems almost too kind: too many of today's economic arguments deserve the mantle of mysticism. In the name of appeasing our fickle economy, politicians have slashed services, laid off public workers, and threatened the future of the social safety net. And yet all of these "sacrifices" only make matters worse.

In Don't Buy It, political communications expert Anat Shenker-Osorio shows how wrong-headed ways of conceptualizing the economy have led to bad decisions and worse policies. When we call the economy "unhealthy" or "recovering," we give it the status of a living being. Americans must submit to any indignity required to "keep the economy happy." Tread lightly, we can't risk irritating the economy!

Don't Buy It cuts through misinformation and skewers the economic nonsense we hear every day. In the end, it convincingly demonstrates that radically altering our politics and policies for the better is a matter of changing the conversation—literally.

Anat Shenker-Osorio is a strategic communications consultant based in Oakland, CA. She crafts messaging for issues from immigration to contraception and completed research on how people make sense of and come to judgments about the economy. Anat has worked with the ACLU, Ms Foundation, America's Voice, Ford Foundation and dozens of others, presenting findings to members of Congress, and as a keynote speaker at Netroots Nation. This is her first book.

National radio publicity
Political opinion media
Reviews and features
Digital marketing campaign
Author lectures
HARDCOVER
ISBN 978-1610391771
Pub date: 09/25/12
Price: $24.99/27.50 Canada
5 1/2 x 8 1/4
256 pages
10 B/W illustrations
Economics, Politics
Selling Territory: W
Rights: First serial, British Commonwealth, Electronic rights: PublicAffairs
Translation, Performance, Audio rights: Brockman, Inc.

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