1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910789727803321

Autore

Karger Howard Jacob <1948->

Titolo

Shortchanged [[electronic resource] ] : life and debt in the fringe economy / / Howard Karger

Pubbl/distr/stampa

San Francisco, Calif., : Berrett-Koehler

Berkeley, Calif., : Publishers Group West [distributor], c2005

ISBN

1-283-26872-8

9786613268723

1-60509-805-1

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (273 p.)

Collana

A BK currents book

Disciplina

332.3

Soggetti

Poor - United States

Working class - United States - Economic conditions

Informal sector (Economics) - United States

Financial services industry - United States

Debt - United States

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 218-236) and index.

Nota di contenuto

pt. I. Overview of the fringe economy -- 1. America's changing fringe economy -- 2. Why the fringe economy is growing -- 3. Debt and the functionally poor middle class -- pt. II. The fringe sectors -- 4. The credit card industry -- 5. Storefront loans : pawnshops, payday loans, and tax refund lenders -- 6. Alternative services : check-cashers, the rent-to-own industry, and telecommunications -- 7. Fringe housing -- 8. Real estate speculation and foreclosure -- 9. The fringe auto industry -- 10. The getting-out-of-debt industry -- pt. III. Looking forward -- 11. What can be done to control the fringe economy? -- Glossary.

Sommario/riassunto

Drive through just about any low-income neighborhood and you're sure to see streets lined with pawnshops, check cashers, rent-to-own stores, payday and tax refund lenders, auto title pawns, and buy-here-pay-here used car lots. We're awash in ""alternative financial services"" directed at the poor and those with credit problems. Howard Karger describes this world as an economic Wild West, where just about any



financial scheme that's not patently illegal is tolerated.Taking a hard look at this fringe economy, Karger shows that what seem to be small, independent storefront operations are actually