Austerity is defined as drastically cutting spending to balance budgets and end deficits. Stiglitz argues against this policy; instead, he advocates for a balance of increased spending and increased taxes to end inequality in America.

Derivatives are defined in a footnote as “a financial instrument the return to which is derived on the basis of something else, e.g., the performance of a stock or the price of oil or the value of a bond” (313). Stiglitz argues that the Great Recession was caused in part banks’ inappropriate and in some cases fraudulent practices, like investing in derivatives.

Stiglitz defines externalities as situations “where one party’s actions can have large negative or positive effects on others for which [she or] he does not pay or reap the benefit” (34). This term is used to help explain how the 1 percent become wealthy and how they take the wealth of the 99 percent.