Christopher Buckley's "Boomsday"

Paper Summary:

The paper examines Christopher Buckley's novel "Boomsday" and identifies the relevant policy windows and the solution put forward by the heroine Cassandra Devine. The paper analyzes how Cassandra's idea first got attention and how various influential constituencies and events affected the progress of that agenda toward real implementation. The paper notes that Cassandra failed in her ultimate objective to avenge herself against her father.

From the Paper:

"A policy window is a moment in political time and history where there is a unique confluence of an idea and an opportunity to enact change. The idea must also be fueled by public demand that something must be done about a pressing concern. The establishment of the Social Security system during the Great Depression, under the guidance of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, when America was in a state of crisis and when Americans doubted the ability of capitalism to work might be seen as one example of a policy window. In Christopher Buckley's novel Boomsday, another policy window opens as a result of the failure of the Social Security system. This America of the future is embroiled in a war it cannot afford. It is facing the impending payout of entitlements to older Americans it cannot sustain in the long term, certainly not for the current generation still paying into the system so their elders can benefit."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Buckley, Christopher. Boomsday. Twelve, 2007.

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