The Expendables

A provocative, far-reaching account of how the middle class got stuck with the bill for globalisation, and how the blowback - from Brexit to Trump to populist Europe - will change the developed world. Real wages have not risen much for decades. Union membership has collapsed. Full-time employment is beginning to look like a quaint idea from the distant past. Falling tariffs, low interest rates, global deregulation, and tax policies that benefit the rich have all had the same effect- the erosion of the middle class. Bestselling author Jeff Rubin argues that all this was foreseeable back when major Western countries started to believe their own propaganda about free trade, and especially when they allowed China to exploit weaknesses in the trading system they devised. The result, growing global inequality, is a problem of our own making. And solving it won't be easy if we draw on the same ideas about capital and labour, right and left, that led us to this cliff. Articulating a vision that, remarkably, dovetails with the ideas of both Naomi Klein and Donald Trump, The Expendables is an exhilaratingly fresh perspective that is at once humane and irascible, fearless and rigorous, and most importantly, timely. GDP is growing, the stock market is up, and unemployment is down, but the surprise of this book is that even the good news is good for only 1 per cent of us. Praise for Why Your World Is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller- 'The book is a great read, and one that should be required for anyone with a long-term interest in ... energy, transportation, manufacturing or agriculture.' -The Globe and Mail 'Jeff Rubin is not your typical eggheaded senior economist ... And the controversy that has dogged his work is about to hit the boiling point ... So get set. If Jeff Rubin says something is coming, you better listen. Love him or hate him.' -Canadian Business 'Should be mandatory reading for all corporate executives.' -National Post Praise for The Carbon Bubble- 'An astute critique of big oil.' -Quill & Quire 'The Carbon Bubble is Jeff Rubin at his finest. Thought-provoking. Meticulously researched. Intelligent without pretension. I highly, highly recommend it!' -Michael Hlinka, business commentator, CBC Radio ' A feat of economics writer's jiu-jitsu.' -Shawn McCarthy, The Globe and Mail 'Rubin's argument is sleek and fluent ... Rubin is an engaging writer.' -Andrew Allentuck, Financial Post