Book reviews | Adam Plaiss

The Tough Luck Constitution and the Assault on Health Care Reform
By Andrew Koppelman

If you’re like me and are wondering, “what exactly did the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) amount to?”, this is the book for you. Andrew Koppelman, the John Paul Stevens Professor of Law at Northwestern University, translates the esoteric world of legal argumentation into understandable metaphors, explanations and historical accounts that makes the constitutional challenge to the ACA understandable to a non-lawyer.

Koppelman argues that the United States Constitution must always be read in the context of the United States’ Articles of Confederation. The Articles, for better or for worse, did not enable American governments to address the problems that the American ruling class thought faced the nation. As a result, the American ruling class drafted the Constitution, which created a federal system of government designed to solve problems. However, Koppelman finds that opponents of the ACA forward interpretations of the Constitution that make America’s healthcare situation into a problem that cannot be solved. More frighteningly, Koppelman contends, opponents of the ACA find in the Constitution grounds for claiming that America’s healthcare issues are problems that ought not to be solved. This, Koppelman finds, is a “tough luck” Constitution which, he insists, is a complete misunderstanding of the Constitution’s purpose.

Regardless of your political leanings on the ACA question, I recommend this book. It’s short, concise, and easy to read. For people who support the Obama administration’s efforts to reform healthcare, this book will provide you with a grounded constitutional case for the ACA; for those who disagree with the administration’s strategy, you’d better read this book so that you’ll be informed of the most clear-sighted argument against your position.

The Hard Way on Purpose: Essays and Dispatches from the Rust Belt
By David Giffels

I enjoyed Giffels‘ memoirs and tales of growing up in Akron, Ohio, a city (he is constantly reminding readers) known as the rubber capital of the world.

To people a generation older than Giffels, the world of Akron was falling apart in the 1980s. To Giffels, who came of age in the 80s, the urban crisis was situation normal. He–and I imagine other young people who grew up in Great Lakes towns in the 80s and 90s–dealt with the surreal decomposition of the built environment and its attendant social oddities with a sense of humor. This resonated with me. I didn’t grow up in Akron or a town with a nationally known industry attached to its identity, but I did grow up in a post-industrial Great Lakes town. I’ve seen people respond to the “Rust Belt” as Giffels has–with humor. A sense of humor can keep your heart tender towards your home town and keep your mind open to the new society of weirdness that forms in the wake of manufacturing’s departure.

The Hard Way on Purpose is an excellent read for anyone who is wondering if the Great Lakes region has unique insights to offer the national culture. Giffels’ unequivocal answer, he would say with a wry smile, is: yes.