"The Predicament" 2nd Edition On the way

The 2nd edition of my book, "The Predicament: How did it happen? How bad is it? The case for radical change now!" will be released in March. Look for it at www.the-predicament.com.
Here's a sample, excerpts taken from the Preface:

Every author begins writing after answering two questions: Why am I writing this book? Why should you read it? There are several answers to the first question. After 25 years of chronicling, analyzing, commenting and forecasting economic, financial and political events with remarkable accuracy, I felt I had achieved a sound understanding of ‘how the world works’ within the confines of these disciplines. Notably, in the late 1990s I warned my audiences and newsletter subscribers of an impending financial meltdown and economic crisis coming in the 2000s. Presently, I see the U.S. and, more broadly, the world heading toward further economic/financial instability, crisis and conflict. As a writer and student of history mindful of its lessons, I feel compelled to broadcast a warning and propose alternative courses of action to ameliorate those dangers. . . . 
 The Predicament explains how we got into a fix far worse than McAvoy reveals, and foreshadows my second book, nearing completion, suggesting how we can do better. The Egyptian Solution – And Other Lessons of History To Get Us Out Of This Mess,(www.the-egyptian-solution.com) draws on useful lessons of history starting with ancient Egypt’s Old Kingdom nearly five thousand years ago, and dips into subsequent history whenever it offers us profitable lessons about how the world works, where things are headed and how to avoid getting there. The Predicament reveals where “the bodies are buried” and draws unexpected conclusions from agreed-upon facts to provide liberals with compelling rebuttals to extremist conservative memes and strong evidence to support liberal convictions. You will learn how American democracy has been hijacked by Big Money to the detriment of the middle class and the poor and how the resulting inequality of income and wealth create financial and economic crises. You will understand why radical changes in policies and political processes are needed now to avoid further economic, financial and political calamity; to restore the solvency, prosperity and contentment of the middle class; and to relieve the plight of the poor. The logic is compelling once you start digging.Beyond sounding a warning, unquestionably the most important contribution of The Predicament is the proposal for a new democratic political process bypassing Big Money and TV advertising to restore government to the service of We the People This new political process, presented in Chapter 10, is designed to bring together reform-minded liberals in electronically networked multiplex theaters to hammer out a comprehensive platform meeting the needs of the American electorate and to elevate and elect new leaders to represent them in the corridors of power. Without such a political process, or something like it, all other efforts to achieve much-needed reforms will likely come to naught, given the stranglehold the rich and powerful elite now exercises in a system in which money buys votes within the limits of what the public will swallow. . . .
Both volumes are addressed and dedicated to the Millennial Generation, since the older generations show little inclination to acknowledge the full extent of The Predicament, let alone extricate us from it. That said, I hope conscience-driven readers from the senior generations will be inspired to pitch in.. . .
George Santayana once sagely observed, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” In writing The Predicament and later The Egyptian Solution, my intention is to assist younger generations to remember the past, and thus commute the sentence. David L. SmithJanuary 21, 2013