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Easy times are over for Americans: Author – Metro US

Easy times are over for Americans: Author

Reset — How this Crisis Can Restore Our Values and Renew America

Author: Kurt Andersen
Publisher: Random House
Price: $17.50

Everyone seems to know the fable of the grasshopper and the ant. The tale goes that the grasshopper enjoys the spoils and good times of the summer while the ants work hard to build up their stockpile. The winter comes along and the grass hopper is in a poor situation to survive.

According to author, Kurt Andersen, American’s have been behaving like the grasshopper, recklessness that ultimately lead to the global financial collapse. Using historical examples, Andersen describes how the discovery of gold in Northern California in 1848 was a point in time where any average American could make a fast fortune … and ultimately achieve the American Dream.

The 1848 gold rush seemingly shaped a new type of American, one “repeatedly wont to abandon prudence and the tedium of saving and building in favour of the fantastic idea that anybody, given enough pluck and luck or liberty, can make a fortune overnight” said Andersen.

Andersen paints a very hopeful picture of the economic landscape … one where America can truly mature, reset and become a different but better country.

The age of the Homer Simpson caricature of the “quintessential American — Childish, irresponsible, wilfully oblivious, fat and happy” is at an end. A fast and interesting read.