Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Economic Issues (Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Economic Issues)

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 416 pages
• Published by: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin; 13 edition April 27, 2007
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0073527254
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0073527253
• Book Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Weighs: 1.2 pounds

Product Description
This Thirteenth Edition of TAKING SIDES: CLASHING VIEWS ON ECONOMIC ISSUES presents current controversial issues in a debate-style format designed to stimulate student interest and develop critical thinking skills. Each issue is thoughtfully framed with an issue summary, an issue introduction, and a postscript. An instructor’s manual with testing material is available for each volume. USING TAKING SIDES IN THE CLASSROOM is also an great instructor resource with practical suggestions on incorporating this effective approach in the classroom. Each TAKING SIDES reader features an annotated listing of selected World Wide Web sites and is supported by our student website, www.mhcls.com/online.

Reader Reviews
What you're looking at here is the 13th edition, the latest as of my writing, which was available for sale starting April 2007 (the copyright page says it is copyright 2008). They come out with a new edition about every five or six years. As you can probably tell by that, this is a book intended for use in a college setting, not for the general reader. It's basically a collection of essays about current economic issues, two on each topic, one "pro" and one "con." This is near-ideal supplementary reading for a freshman survey course. The book has three sections, Micro, Macro, and "The World Around Us" (essentially Macro stuff), so it could be used in either course. The issues are well-worn: rent control, independence of the Fed, pollution permits, etc. I should warn you that the articles reprinted here come from semi-academic sources (such as "The Washington Monthly," "American Prospect," "Dissent," and various testimonies to Sentate subcommittes), not popular, reader-friendly venues such as "The Economist" or "The Wall Street Journal." So frequently the writing will be found to be dense and difficult, requiring slow and attentive reading. A couple of the essays even include equations, or extended math talk. I would only suggest using this in a high school setting if you're talking about a crack group. Here are the issues addressed in this edition: MICROECONOMIC ISSSUES: 1. Are profits the only business of business? 2. Are CEOs paid what they are worth? 3. Is there discrimination in U.S. labor markets? 4. Is the new Medicare Part D Drug Benefit good health care policy? 5. Are health savings accounts the right medicine for the ills of the health care industry? 6. Is it time to reform medical malpractice litigation? MACROECONOMIC ISSUES 1. Is Wal-Mart good for the economy? 2. Should Social Security be changed to include personal retirement accounts? 3. Should the double taxation of corporate dividends be eliminated? 4. Are credit card companies exploiting American consumers? 5. Should minimum wage and living wage laws be eliminated? 6. Do unskilled immigrants hurt the American economy? 7. Are protectionist policies bad for America? 8. Should we sweat about sweatshops? 9. Are the costs of global warming too high to ignore? 10. Are spending cuts the right way to balance the federal government's budget? 11. Has NAFTA benefited the economies of Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.? 12. Is the No Child Left Behind Act working? 13. Will the creation of an ownership society make the American economy more efficient and more equitable?