"[Edsall] has written a cool analysis of trends in voting patterns, union power and the fortunes of the two major parties. . . . This first-class book [is] the best single explanation of Reagan's success that I have encountered." -Robert Lekachman, Washington Post

In the past decade, power controlling the nation's taxing and spending policies has become increasingly concentrated in the hands of the affluent-and exercised for the benefit of the affluent. Traditional liberal beliefs in tax equity and income redistribution have been replaced by theories justifying tax reductions in income concentrated among the very rich. In this book, Thomas Edsall, a Capitol Hill reporter for the Washington Post, examines the new power centers in the Democratic and Republican parties, the corporate lobbying community, and organized labor, and explores the changes in United States politics that have led to the shift in economic policy under Reagan administration.