Must we resign ourselves to a growing chasm between rich and poor? Bruce Ackerman and Anne Alstott propose an innovative alternative in this thought-provoking book: an eighty thousand dollar grant for every qualifying young adult. The authors analyze this plan from many perspectives and argue that such a citizen's stake would open the way to a society that is more democratic, productive, and free. "A serious, smart book, which also functions as a cogent critique of the inequality of opportunity that has become a given in modern America."-New Yorker "A Big New Idea so bold in its simplicity, so pure in its claims to justice, . . . that the only shock is that it is certain to get a hearing as the fight to fix Social Security heats up this year."-Matthew Miller, New York Times Magazine "The new century needs political and social innovation even more than it needs business innovation. The authors have done well what intellectuals are supposed, but are seldom bold enough, to do-innovate ideas about important social issues."-Jack Beatty, Atlantic Monthly "A big idea like this is significant because it can reframe the public debate. It can change the prevailing assumptions. Eventually, it can change the course of the nation."-Robert Reich, Former Secretary of Labor, Washington Post