Essential criticism.
This small book is a plea for a long term corporate strategy against the actual short term vision of the business officers, who are hounded by financial analysts only interested by short-term capital gains.
The task force gives some excellent recommendations, although it admits that it will be difficult to change the actual mentality.The report also contains a very good analysis of the state of the US economy and of the real challenges: sluggish productivity, decline in real wages for four-fifths of American workers, poverty, unequal income distribution, deteriorating savings, poor education.
It reminds us of Pigou's fundamental analysis of the irrationality of the human behavior: 'human society tends to place too high a discount rate on everything, due to an irrational impatience, a foolish desire for pleasure now relative to the future.' (p. 97)
A small but important book and a must read for every economist.
