Time to start thinking : America and the spectre of decline / Edward Luce.

Includes bibliographical references.

The graduations -- The lonely middle : why America's middle class continues to hollow out -- Leave no robot behind : why America's education system is still falling behind -- The Golden Goose : why America's lead in innovation can no longer be taken for granted -- Gulliver's travails : why bureaucracy is harming America's competitiveness -- Against itself : why America is becoming less governable -- Maybe we can't : why money continues to rule Washington -- An exceptional challenge : why the coming struggle to halt America's decline faces long odds

"Luce diagnoses factors behind the country's waning global leadership such as the shrinking middle class; an ineffective and flawed educational system; the stagnation of innovation in business and technology; a bloated and inefficient bureaucracy; the virulent polarization of national politics; and the damage caused by the influence of money in politics, along with endless campaigning. In the end, he assesses the prospects for change and offers a bleak outloo"--OLIS.