The Fragile Middle Class

Americans in Debt

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Sociology
Cover of the book The Fragile Middle Class by Teresa A. Sullivan IV, Professor Elizabeth Warren, Professor Jay Lawrence Westbrook, Yale University Press
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Author: Teresa A. Sullivan IV, Professor Elizabeth Warren, Professor Jay Lawrence Westbrook ISBN: 9780300128147
Publisher: Yale University Press Publication: October 1, 2008
Imprint: Yale University Press Language: English
Author: Teresa A. Sullivan IV, Professor Elizabeth Warren, Professor Jay Lawrence Westbrook
ISBN: 9780300128147
Publisher: Yale University Press
Publication: October 1, 2008
Imprint: Yale University Press
Language: English
Since 1997, the number of American families filing for federal bankruptcy annually has exceeded one million. By most measures, those who file are members of the middle class-a group that has long provided stability and vitality for the American economic system. This raises the troubling question: why, during the most remarkable period of prosperity in our history, are unprecedented numbers of Americans encountering such serious financial trouble?

The authors of this important book analyze court records and demographic data on thousands of bankruptcy cases, as well as debtors’ own poignant accounts of the reasons for their bankruptcies. For many middle-class Americans, the findings show, financial stability is fragile-almost any setback can be disastrous. The erosion of job stability, divorce and family instability, the visible and invisible costs of medical care, the burden of home ownership, and the staggering weight of consumer debt financed with plastic combine to threaten the financial security of growing numbers of middle-class families. The authors view the bankruptcy process in the light of changing cultural and economic factors and consider what this may signify for the future of a large, secure, and dynamic middle class.

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Since 1997, the number of American families filing for federal bankruptcy annually has exceeded one million. By most measures, those who file are members of the middle class-a group that has long provided stability and vitality for the American economic system. This raises the troubling question: why, during the most remarkable period of prosperity in our history, are unprecedented numbers of Americans encountering such serious financial trouble?

The authors of this important book analyze court records and demographic data on thousands of bankruptcy cases, as well as debtors’ own poignant accounts of the reasons for their bankruptcies. For many middle-class Americans, the findings show, financial stability is fragile-almost any setback can be disastrous. The erosion of job stability, divorce and family instability, the visible and invisible costs of medical care, the burden of home ownership, and the staggering weight of consumer debt financed with plastic combine to threaten the financial security of growing numbers of middle-class families. The authors view the bankruptcy process in the light of changing cultural and economic factors and consider what this may signify for the future of a large, secure, and dynamic middle class.

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