LEADER 03741nam 2200661Ia 450 001 9910451805903321 005 20210602205300.0 010 $a1-281-73004-1 010 $a9786611730048 010 $a0-300-12814-2 024 7 $a10.12987/9780300128147 035 $a(CKB)1000000000471972 035 $a(StDuBDS)AH23049476 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000157773 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11153026 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000157773 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10139546 035 $a(PQKB)10445562 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC3419929 035 $a(DE-B1597)484940 035 $a(OCoLC)1024042206 035 $a(DE-B1597)9780300128147 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL3419929 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10169955 035 $a(OCoLC)923588650 035 $a(EXLCZ)991000000000471972 100 $a19990723d2000 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aur||||||||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 14$aThe fragile middle class$b[electronic resource] $eAmericans in debt /$fTeresa A. Sullivan, Elizabeth Warren, Jay Lawrence Westbrook 210 $aNew Haven, CT $cYale University Press$dc2000 215 $a1 online resource (400 p.) 300 $aBibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph 311 0 $a0-300-07960-5 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. [297]-365) and index. 327 $tFront matter --$tContents --$tIllustrations --$tTables --$tPreface --$tChapter 1. Americans in Financial Crisis --$tChapter 2. Middle-Class and Broke The Demography of Bankruptcy --$tChapter 3. Unemployed or Underemployed --$tChapter 4. Credit Cards --$tChapter 5. Sickness and Injury --$tChapter 6. Divorce --$tChapter 7. Housing --$tChapter 8. The Middle Class in Debt --$tAppendix 1. Data Used in This Study --$tAppendix 2. Other Published Studies --$tNotes --$tIndex 330 $aSince 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. 606 $aBankruptcy$zUnited States 606 $aConsumer credit$zUnited States 606 $aFinance, Personal$zUnited States 608 $aElectronic books. 615 0$aBankruptcy 615 0$aConsumer credit 615 0$aFinance, Personal 676 $a332.7/5/0673 700 $aSullivan$b Teresa A.$f1949-$0278192 701 $aWarren$b Elizabeth$0278193 701 $aWestbrook$b Jay Lawrence$0278194 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910451805903321 996 $aThe fragile middle class$92476343 997 $aUNINA