Author Eric Wade

BY KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com

Eric Wade, a 1985 graduate from Los Alamos High School, is releasing a book with some revolutionary ideas.

America vs Americans, which Wade co-wrote with Phil Herel, introduces an idea to replace capitalism with another system: American Laborism.

According to the book’s synopsis, American Laborism presents “a workable, low-tax form of capitalism for those who want it – and a dignified, healthy, and fulfilled life for everyone else.”

The synopsis further states that “Under American Laborism, if you’re happy with the current capitalist system, great! Carry on—but you’ll get to do it with a smaller government, fewer regulations, better-educated employees, and lower taxes.”

America vs Americans will be released Feb. 6 and can be purchased wherever books are sold, including Samizdat Bookstore, 174 Central Ave.

The book was published by Forefront Books but is being distributed by Simon & Schuster.

Wade said the idea of American Laborism took seed in his head years ago.

“I had the book idea 30 years ago when I lived in New Mexico,” he said. “(It was) swirling around in my brain all these years. A couple of years ago, I was on a financial news show, and I said the phrase ‘America vs Americans’ and my wife told me, ‘That’s a great book title for your book!’”

Wade, who resides in California and works as a cryptocurrency analyst, said he studied economics in college. He joked that “like most people I figured that the ideas that I had were better than everyone else’s.”

But unlike some ideas that just come and go, Wade said this idea wouldn’t go away and it turned out to be more than just a young person thinking they knew more than other people.

When he met Herel at a dinner, the idea evolved into how to improve capitalism.

Wade said the hope is that their book will inspire change.

“The dream would be we actually improve America with something that is better than what we are doing,” he said.

Many young people see America as failing, Wade added, and he hopes the book can spark a conversation on how to improve it.

“It doesn’t have to stay this way,” he said. “Maybe we can have a conversation on what we can do and could do to improve America.”

In the book, Wade said the argument is made that if America is to improve, it needs to start with education, which he described as “the most immediate benefit to everyone.”

Education needs to be made unlimited and available to everyone, Wade said.

Furthermore, Wade said, people need to earn more for their time. If education increases, then there should be an increase in the value of labor. He emphasized that education and labor should be the core of society, not how much money a person has.

A hefty topic to tackle, but Wade said having a writing partner was beneficial because “you quickly find out if you are saying what you think you are saying.”

He added having a co-author gives an opportunity to ask questions that help clarify the arguments the book is trying to make.

Author Phil Herel

Wade said his and Herel’s meeting was serendipitous.  He explained that his wife knew Herel’s mother and Herel’s wife. When the two men met at a dinner, they started talking. Herel was interested in cryptocurrency and the two ended up taking a road trip to a cryptocurrency conference. During the drive, Herel and Wade discussed the idea for their book.

While the idea for the book had been generating for 30 years, Wade said they worked for a year on writing the book.

“The biggest challenge was not to pack it full of dismal statistics and to stay positive,” he said. “What we really wanted to pull off was to come up with something we thought would work and not get it hammered down by possibility or impossibility. We have a system that if rolled out tomorrow, things would be better, but it is a big dream, a big ask. We want to put out what we think we needs to happen…”

With one book coming out, Wade said there are no set plans to begin work on a second. However, he did say that he and Herel keep a notebook of ideas but are holding off on doing anything until their book launches.

This is his first published book, but Wade said he and his wife have written screenplays – one of which was sold to Adam Sandler but it has not been made into a movie.

Before living in California, Wade lived in Los Alamos and said he still has family in town. He said his mother and stepfather retired from working at Los Alamos National Laboratory and his father resides in Jemez Springs.

“One of the things I am always proud of being from Los Alamos is it is considered one of the most educated cities in the world,” Wade said. “That is a fantastic base … to work from.”

To learn more about America vs Americans, visit https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/America-vs-Americans/Eric-Wade/9781637632369