Publisher's Note

"Can we get some reality in here?" asks Judy Sheindlin, former supervising judge for Manhattan Family Court. For twenty-four years she has laid down the law as she understands it: If you want to eat, you have to work. If you have children, you'd better support them. If you break the law, you have to pay. If you tap the public purse, you'd better be accountable. Now she abandons all judicial restraint in a scathing critique of the system--filled with realistic hard-nosed alternatives to our bloated welfare bureaucracy and our soft-on-crime laws.

Addressing the issues that have Americans feeling angry, alarmed, and powerless--welfare abuse, street crime, teenage pregnancy, among others--Judge Judy Sheindlin demonstrates how the system permits and even promotes a lack of individual responsibility. She then offers real solutions on how to get this country back on track.

Industry reviews

"Pithy and opinionated, with many real-life case histories, this book is an eye-opener for the politically left and an 'All Right' cheer for the right."

Lind

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

For the past 10 years, Sheindlin has been the supervising judge for Manhattan Family Court, with a reputation for cutting through judicial and bureaucratic obfuscation. Joined by Los Angeles Times correspondent Getlin, she continues her outspokenness in this hard-hitting book, whose title is obviously chosen with malice aforethought. She considers our society to be in trouble because we have infantilized part of it "by shifting the emphasis from individual responsibility to government responsibility." After giving an overview of "our crumbling system," she discusses the cost to taxpayers, then examines underlying reasons for "the lack of responsibility and honesty in American society." Her prescription, offered without any detailed plan of implementation: self-discipline, individual accountability and responsible conduct.

Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

-- USA Today

"Stuffed with terrifying tales of juvenile crime. Frightening but fascinating."