03707nam 2200649Ia 450 991077786050332120230422045246.01-281-73004-197866117300480-300-12814-210.12987/9780300128147(CKB)1000000000471972(StDuBDS)AH23049476(SSID)ssj0000157773(PQKBManifestationID)11153026(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000157773(PQKBWorkID)10139546(PQKB)10445562(MiAaPQ)EBC3419929(DE-B1597)484940(OCoLC)1024042206(DE-B1597)9780300128147(Au-PeEL)EBL3419929(CaPaEBR)ebr10169955(OCoLC)923588650(EXLCZ)99100000000047197219990723d2000 uy 0engur|||||||||||txtccrThe fragile middle class[electronic resource] Americans in debt /Teresa A. Sullivan, Elizabeth Warren, Jay Lawrence WestbrookNew Haven, CT Yale University Pressc20001 online resource (400 p.)Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph0-300-07960-5 Includes bibliographical references (p. [297]-365) and index.Front matter --Contents --Illustrations --Tables --Preface --Chapter 1. Americans in Financial Crisis --Chapter 2. Middle-Class and Broke The Demography of Bankruptcy --Chapter 3. Unemployed or Underemployed --Chapter 4. Credit Cards --Chapter 5. Sickness and Injury --Chapter 6. Divorce --Chapter 7. Housing --Chapter 8. The Middle Class in Debt --Appendix 1. Data Used in This Study --Appendix 2. Other Published Studies --Notes --IndexSince 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.BankruptcyUnited StatesConsumer creditUnited StatesFinance, PersonalUnited StatesBankruptcyConsumer creditFinance, Personal332.7/5/0673Sullivan Teresa A.1949-278192Warren Elizabeth278193Westbrook Jay Lawrence278194MiAaPQMiAaPQMiAaPQBOOK9910777860503321The fragile middle class3716360UNINA