In his new book Income and Wealth, lifelong educator David Parker shares the perspective and principles on which he has built a successful career as an entrepreneur and investor. The lessons that Parker shares with readers in this thought-provoking, transformational work encapsulate the author’s 40-year study of economic history and principles. This new book arrives just when millions of Americans -- indeed, people worldwide -- are desperately searching for the wisdom and insight that can help them rise above the financial problems facing every sector of business and society.

When he began his teaching career, Parker broke with conventional wisdom. He chose a different path from the majority of his colleagues in the educational field.  Rather than place his faith and his future in the teachers’ union or the government, Parker’s intellectual curiosity drove him to explore why government intervention in any aspect of our lives – from education to healthcare – is doomed to failure, and how individual action, regardless of annual income, can lead to the accumulation of wealth. While some might label his political views, especially his disdain for government intervention, “conservative,” Parker calls himself a “classical liberal” – adamant that citizens should not be forced to support programs inconsistent with free market economics. The result of Parker’s scholarly inquiry into the proper role of government in our lives -- Income and Wealth -- is the result of 30 years of study and 30,000 hours of annotated reading of the world’s foremost experts on the subject of political economy including Aristotle, Adam Smith, F.A. Hayek and Ayn Rand.

Known for his “unconventional wisdom,” Parker shares common ground with many individuals currently identified as “Progressives,” in his belief that virtually everyone – even those earning minimum-wage income – have the opportunity to create wealth.  “Most people in this country don’t realize they are living way beyond their means,” Parker says. The prescription he advocates for wealth creation may not be easy – but it is certainly effective. He urges all young people, regardless their earning power, to invest half their annual income. “Even those not especially creative or brilliant,” he says, “will generate significant income from their investments within ten years.” 

As the author shares in Income and Wealth, individual responsibility and initiative are essential keys to achieving financial success – and, in fact, is the only sustainable path to this goal. As readers will discover, Parker not only presents a compelling case for the benefits of free market economics, and he also shares principles and insights that can be used as the building blocks for a step-by-step plan for financial prosperity.

As “a classical liberal,” Parker believes our government should be based on a foundation of social, political and economic freedom.  “Freedom in these three areas is fundamentally interconnected,” Parker says. “The degree to which you restrict one – for example, constraining economic freedom through a policy such as rent control – inevitably results in an equal constraint on the other two areas.” Further, he says it is important to remember that this nation was built on simple, fundamental principles. The U.S. Constitution, for example, is written on a single page. Our government’s tendency to overcomplicate issues and interfere in the free market has been a disaster – as we have seen.”

In addition, he notes, America’s business community has no lack of ingenuity when it comes to circumventing government policy and law – regardless of the political party pushing for such regulation. This fact, Parker believes, underscores the preeminence of free market forces, as business naturally seeks to be free of government constraint.