Pulitzer Prize-winning Journalist Hedrick Smith to present “The Dream at Risk”

From the Orcas Crossroads Lecture Series

Orcas Crossroads Lecture Series will host Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Hedrick Smith, who will present “The Dream at Risk” Saturday, September 22, at  5 p.m. at the Episcopal Parish Hall.

Pulitzer Prize winner Hedrick Smith has written a timely sequel to his classic best seller, The Power Game: How Washington Works. His new work, titled Who Stole the American Dream? steps back from the partisan fever of the 2012 campaign to explain how we got to where we are today – how America moved from an era of middle class prosperity and power, effective bipartisanship and grass roots activism to today’s polarized gridlock, unequal democracy and an even more unequal economy that has unraveled the American Dream for millions of middle class families.

With up-to-the moment reporting and historical research, Smith has dug out the often hidden narrative of the seismic changes that have transformed the landscape of power in Washington since the late 1970s and economic changes that have disrupted the “virtuous circle of growth” that so effectively powered the U.S. economy for decades. Random House calls Smith’s book:”an extraordinary achievement” and Harvard Business School professor Jay Lorsch hails it as “illuminating…essential reading” – especially in this political year. The book was published September 11, 2012.

“Over the past three decades,” writes the author, “we have become Two Americas.”

We have arrived at a new Gilded Age, where “gross inequality of income and wealth” have become endemic. Such inequality is not simply the result of “impersonal and irresistible market forces,” but of quite deliberate corporate strategies and the public policies that enabled them.

Smith traces the history of these strategies and policies, which transformed America from a roughly fair society to its current status as a plutocracy. He leaves few stones unturned. CEO culture has moved since the 1970s from a concern for the general well-being of society, including employees, to the single-minded pursuit of personal enrichment and short-term increases in stock prices.

Please come with your questions and thoughts for the Q & A, and join us for the reception and book signing at Darvill’s Bookstore following the presentation. Tickets are $10 and available at Darvill’s Bookstore or at the door. Some complimentary tickets are available in advance at the Senior Center. Seating is limited and we expect a full house, so we strongly suggest getting tickets in advance.

Our next lecture features Dr. Daniel Kammen of UC Berkeley, who will present “Energizing the Low-Carbon Future” on Sunday, Oct. 7, 2:00 pm at Orcas Center.

Orcas Crossroads Lecture Series is supported by our Crossroads Associates Circle, the Daniel and Margaret Carper Foundation, and Individual Contributors. Find more information at the Orcas Crossroads website: www.orcascrossroads.org