{"product_id":"only-the-rich-can-play-david-wessel-9781541757196","title":"Only the Rich Can Play: How Washington Works in the New Gilded Age","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn a \u003ci\u003eWinners Take All\u003c\/i\u003e meets \u003ci\u003eThis Town\u003c\/i\u003e narrative, a \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author tells the story of the creation of a massive tax break, in which political and economic elites attend to the care and feeding of the super-rich, and inequality compounds.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDavid Wessel's incredible tale of how Washington works-and why the rich keep getting richer-starts when a Silicon Valley entrepreneur develops an idea intended as a way to help poor people that will save rich people money on their taxes. He organizes and pays for an effective lobbying effort that pushes his idea into law with little scrutiny or fine-tuning by congressional or Treasury tax experts-and few safeguards against abuse. With an unbeatable pair of high-profile sponsors, bumper-sticker simplicity and deft political marketing, the Opportunity Zone became an unnoticed part of the 2017 Trump tax bill.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe gold rush followed immediately thereafter.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDavid Wessel follows the money to see who profited from this plan that was supposed to spur development of blighted areas and help people out of poverty: the Las Vegas strip, the Portland (Oregon) Ritz-Carlton, the Mall of America, and self-storage facilities-lucrative areas where the one percent can park money profitably and avoid capital gains taxes. And the best part: unlike other provisions for eliminating capital gains taxes (inheritance, for example) you don't have to die to take advantage of this one.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWessel provides vivid portraits of the proselytizers, political influencers, motivational speakers, consultants, real estate dealmakers, and individual money-seekers looking to take advantage of this twenty-first century bonanza. He looks at places for which Opportunity Zones were supposedly designed (Baltimore, for example) and how little money they've drawn. And he finds a couple of places (Erie, PA) where zones are actually doing what they were supposed to, a lesson on how a better designed program might have helped more left-behind places. But what Wessel reveals is the gritty reality: The dark underbelly of a system tilted in favor of the few, with the many left out in the cold\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e David Wessel\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 154175719X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781541757196\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e PublicAffairs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/05\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 352\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.12lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.29h x 6.35w x 1.18d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/23\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/01\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/01\/2021 pg. 93","brand":"David Wessel","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44053591916799,"sku":"9781541757196","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_a646fd7d-f16f-48bf-8099-c736fd5d55b0.jpg?v=1685025164","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/only-the-rich-can-play-david-wessel-9781541757196","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}