Going All-In: Part-Time Author Fixing Economy His Way

Are you tired of today’s economic and political climate? Ever been curious as to what it would be like to have your party in complete control of the government, to have your ideal Presidential candidate in office? 

On all accounts, David Carraturo is. Unlike most of us, however, Carraturo is not satisfied with waiting around for something to change. He’s shaping the world as he sees fit, and seeing what happens next. 

A Tuckahoe native and longtime resident, Carraturo recently self-published his first novel, titled Cameron Nation: Going All-In to Save His Country. In it, Carraturo creates an economic and political landscape solely of his own making, one built on childhood memories, professional experience, political opinion and a little bit of personal fantasy.

The book tells the story of how Chris Cameron, a young kid of Irish-Italian origin from the small community of Tuckahoe, grows up to become a successful hedge fund salesman and eventually enter into the elite world of professional politics. The work touches on everything from Tea Party beliefs, economic theory and the U.S. energy situation, to family values and even the life of a participant in the World Series of Poker. It is the product of over 25 years of professional experience on Wall Street, an overall frustration with American politics and quite simply a man unafraid to voice his opinions.

“I’ve had ideas for certain stories and short stories for years now, with a grand vision of writing a book, but nothing that ever got passed five to 10 pages,” Carraturo said. “This project was basically based on political frustration, which came to head during the last election cycle. While I didn’t believe McCain was the best candidate, I also knew that [President] Obama was the absolute wrong one. That is detailed extensively in my book.”

According to Carraturo, the inspiration behind Cameron Nation came after the part-time author took a heightened interest in politics and “how Washington works” following the events of September 11. A few years later, still frustrated with his political party – the Republican Party – and encouraged by a coworker to write his ideas down, Carraturo started extensively studying and researching anything that would give him a better understanding of the economic and political past and current conditions in the United States. Finally, in October of 2009, Carraturo began solving America’s problems the only way he knew how to – on paper.

“I just started forming this character in my head as the perfect challenger to Obama,” Carraturo said. “It’s been an eye-opening experience, not only seeing the different economic theories being discussed, but the dichotomy between what a republican mind set is and a democratic mindset and how they are just so adamantly opposed.”

Where Carraturo falls upon that spectrum is no secret, however, something readers of Cameron Nation will take no time in figuring out. Carraturo says his book is heavily influenced by the politics of Ronald Reagan, and even includes something he says has never occurred in history before: the “Republican Trifecta” – a super majority Senate, a strongly controlled House and a Tea Party President.

Carraturo points to periods of complete Democratic control as some of the worse economic times in U.S. history, although he is quick to add that “things always seem to work best when there is a mix, a checks and balance system in place.” Still, Carraturo is not shy about expressing what he thinks would benefit the country the most, and hopes his book makes a strong case for that.

“This theory had never been proven out the other way, with a Republican super-majority,” Carraturo said. “So, being the starch conservative that I am, I decided that it was actually going to be good for the country. I don’t trust the government. I trust the power of the people to do their own thing. That was another basis of my book, ‘Trust yourselves.’ Get government out of the way and let’s see how the economy does.”

Cameron Nation is not a work solely rooted in economics and politics, however, or at least it does not approach these topics without a larger meaning or foundation behind it. The book, which Carraturo says always “revers back to Tuckahoe for something,” is also centered on the core beliefs and family values fostered by the type of community Carraturo grew up in. Adding to the local flavor of the work is the fact that Carraturo’s protagonist, Chris Cameron, was largely inspired by renowned Rye resident David Einhorn, President of the hedge fund Greenlight Capital and minority share holder of the New York Mets.

How all of this fits together in Cameron Nation, and whether Carraturo’s premonitions about where the U.S. government and economy is headed – or should be headed – readers will just have to wait and see for themselves. As far as Carraturo is concerned, he feels he has done his part.

“It’s more therapy for me,” he said. “I wrote it, and I’m very proud of it. Can a kid from Tuckahoe become a successful hedge fund manager and then get his break in politics and become President? I don’t know, but this is my quasi-super hero.”

For reviews and more information on author David Carraturo or Cameron Nation: Going All-In to Save His Country, visit Carraturo's website or Amazon.com.