The Fragile Middle Class: Americans in Debt
Author: Teresa A. Sullivan, Elizabeth Warren, Jay Lawrence Westbrook
List Price: $45.00
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ISBN: 0300079605
Publisher: Yale Univ Pr (April, 2000)
Sales Rank: 109,163
Average Customer Rating: 4.55 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 5 out of 5
Excellent analysis of Why People File for Bankruptcy
This book is a follow-up to the authors' classic study of the bankruptcy issue As We Forgive Our Debtors. In this book, the authors look at the reasons debtors file for bankruptcy. Among the many interesting findings, the authors note the increased numbers of homeowners filing for bankruptcy. Not only are they filing because of other huge debts, but often they are resorting to bankruptcy BECAUSE of homeownership. Some resort to Chapter 13 in order to get caught up on mortgage payments, while others try desperately to hang on when it might have been more advisable to surrender the house. In short, homeownership is not seen so much as an asset as a liability.The authors devote much of their book to the increased amount of credit card debt consumers in general and bankrupt debtors in particular carry and why this has happened. This is especially timely, as Congress seems well on the way of passing so-called bankruptcy "reform" that would benefit credit card companies to the detriment of debtors by forcing more of the latter into Chapter 13 or denying them bankruptcy access altogether.
This is a very readable, very well-researched book by three of the top experts on bankruptcy law in the United States.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Wake-up Call for Women and the Middle Class
This is an important book for women to read. It explores how our seemingly-secure middle class lifestyles may be shattered by a job loss or a serious accident or illness. The authors explain how credit card debt makes families particularly at risk. The most disturbing chapter to me was the description of what happens to women following divorce. The authors show that a divorced woman has a 300% greater chance of filing for bankruptcy than her married sister. Can it be, as the authors say, that a woman's economic success is still largely dependent on marrying--and staying married?This book made me think about social class mobility in a different way. The authors study middle class people on their way down. They show how people with good educations and in decent jobs can have their lives turned upside down by a layoff, a job transfer, an illness, an accident, or a divorce. According to the authors, more than a million families each year are going to the bankruptcy courts for protection.
The book is well-written, lively and sometimes witty. A good, but disturbing, read.
Rating: 4 out of 5
DROWNING IN DEBT
IN 2OO3, OVER 1.6 MILLION AMERICANS FILED FOR BANKRUPTCY. OVER 33% OF THE AMERICANS THAN OWN A HOME ARE ONE PAYCHECK AWAY FROM FORECLOSURE. Is it that hard to believe that America is fastly becoming a nation of debtors. Even more interesting, the government actually promotes it by slack regulations, unnaturally low interest rates, and a willingness to keep Americans spending. This book does a fantastic job in helping anyone understand just how bad it is, and just how blind we as Americans are to the situation. 4 STARS! - Mason Johnson, President, www.tomorrowsgold.com Similar Products
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