Common Sense, Joel Greenblatt
Common Sense, Joel Greenblatt
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Common Sense
The Investor's Guide to Equality, Opportunity, and Growth

Author: Joel Greenblatt

Narrator: Barry Abrams

Unabridged: 3 hr 51 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Ascent Audio

Published: 09/22/2020


Synopsis

The United States is supposed to offer economic opportunity to everyone. So why are so many people left out in the cold? Globalization and technological change have ravaged the workforce. Hostile immigration policies actually keep Americans from getting jobs. Our education system is deeply unequal, denying opportunity to millions right from the start. Still, we can't seem to break from the status quo.

In Common Sense, Joel Greenblatt offers an investor's perspective on building an economy that truly works for everyone. With dry and self-deprecating wit, he makes a lively and provocative case for disruptive new approaches—some drawn from personal experience, some from the outside looking in. How do we ensure that all children have an opportunity for a good education? Does getting a college degree have to be a requirement for getting a good job? If we subsidize banks, how do we ensure that the risks and rewards are distributed fairly? Greenblatt shows why expanding an already existing program might help more people than raising the minimum wage, how dramatically increasing immigration would be like giving every American a bonus, and the reason Australia might be the best place to learn about saving for retirement. Not everyone will agree with what Greenblatt has to say—but all of us can benefit from the conversations he aims to start.

About Joel Greenblatt

Joel Greenblatt is the founder and a managing partner of Gotham Capital, a private investment partnership that has achieved 40% annualized returns since its inception in 1985. He is a professor on the adjunct faculty of Columbia Business School, the former chairman of the board of a Fortune 500 company, the cofounder of ValueInvestorsClub.com, and the author of several books, including You Can Be a Stock Market Genius, The Big Secret for the Small Investor, and Common Sense. Greenblatt holds a BS and an MBA from the Wharton School.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Joseph on May 04, 2020

I received a review copy of “Common Sense” in exchange for a fair review. Joel Greenblatt is an engaging writer. I enjoyed his “The Little Book That Beats The Market.” He explains financial concepts in an engaging way that doesn’t require knowledge of sophisticated math concepts and so I was intrigu......more

Goodreads review by Dave on March 02, 2022

Extremely US-centric and the book focuses on some logical solutions for social problems facing the US from education to retirement savings. While it is well written, it is limited in scope to US issues and therefore, I didn't clean much from the actual information presented in the book. The only oth......more

Goodreads review by Terry on October 18, 2020

A very short book by Greenblatt, but not about investing. He opined on a number of social issues, using the analysis framework of an investor. Issues such as education, immigration, bank regulation and retirement saving. Unlike most such books, which only point out the problem, Greenblatt offers his......more

Goodreads review by Ill_Literate on January 09, 2025

I thought the cases Greenblatt argues for in this book are perfectly sensible and well written, and I don't really have any objections. However I'm giving this a low rating because I don't really see the purpose of reading this book? I kept waiting for some through line that would connect all of the......more

Goodreads review by Mzakaria on October 21, 2024

Joel explores various topics: Education/Charter Schools Certification for Jobs instead of 4 year education Retirement Banks being too big to fail Social Security Immigration He gives his opinion on what the best solution can be for these. The chapter about banking is an excellent explanation on the shaking......more