Uncle Sam’s Plantation by Star Parker

In Star Parker’s book, Uncle Sam’s Plantation, the subtitle says it all: How Big Government Enslaves America’s Poor and What We Can Do About It. Parker outlines the major issues and resulting legislation that has come about over the last 150 years that has, in its own way, imprisoned the poor in our country. Whether the issue be welfare, abortion, education, or taxes, Parker argues that the so-called compassionate actions put forth by liberal government leaders has actually done nothing more than kept the poor living in poverty.  More than just a rant about liberals and big government, Parker takes the time to analyze each issue from it’s beginning to the current state of affairs in our nation, points out where things went wrong, and gives her opinion on what can be done to reverse these problems and get our nation back on the right track.

As a whole, I thought the book was great – eye-opening on the one hand, and quite startling on the other.  Admittedly, it did not hold my interest very well at first, but I can say that the cause of that was just as much my own lack of political understanding as it was the content of the book. I put the book down after the first 2 chapters, and a month later I picked it up again and started from scratch.  The second time I was able to keep reading, and after finishing, I can say that I enjoyed it, overall, and felt much better informed and better off for having read it.

Parker is the perfect person to write this book.  Coming from a previous life of carelessness, sexual promiscuity, multiple abortions, and living on welfare, she understands the mindset of the average person living in poverty, and how they become enslaved to the government through dependence on welfare and other government aid. And by struggling through the process of getting off of welfare and standing on her own two feet, she is in a unique position to help others to the same.

In today’s political marketplace, it can be difficult to discern what is truth and what is not.  I recommend Uncle Sam’s Plantation to anyone who, like me, doesn’t feel particularly well-informed about liberal versus conservative politics, or to anyone who would like an eye-opening explanation to many of the problems our nation is facing.  This book will help both kinds of readers, and the unique position Star Parker has as a welfare recover-er validates its message.  When you finish it, you’ll have a good idea of what is really happening in our nation, and can weed through a lot of the misinformation that many politicians throw at us.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”