The Missing Class
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
57 million people in the United States live just above the poverty line. Sociologist Kathleen Newman argues that the recent rollback of New Deal-style government aid has threatened the middle-class gains of the 1990s. The Missing Class looks at this largely overlooked group of people who are just out of the reach of public assistance, but struggling to get by.
The Missing Class is available for purchase at amazon.com
Weigh in: If you live just above the poverty line, have you found it harder to get by since the 1990s?
Guests:
Kathleen Newman
About The Leonard Lopate Show
Host Leonard Lopate lets you in on the best conversations with writers, actors, ex-presidents, dancers, scientists, comedians, historians, grammarians, curators, filmmakers, and do-it-yourself experts.
Hosted by Leonard Lopate
Sign up for the Book Club e-newsletter.
Features
- 2010 Tony Award Winners
- 25 Years of Lopate
- AIDS: Then & Now
- Backstory
- Guest Hosts
- Guest Picks
- How Did Politics in America Get So Weird?
- Please Explain
- Summer Stuff
- The Big Picture
- The Gurus of How-To
- The Leonard Lopate Show Book Club
- The Lodown
- The Word Maven: Patricia T. O'Conner
- Tributes
- Underappreciated
- Underreported
- Web Extras
Show Archive
Show Archive
Comments [5]
I am thrilled because Ms. Newman author of the Missing Class will be coming to Mid-Manhattan Library of the New York Public Library on Monday, December 12, 6:30-8:00.
An important topic and I am thrilled the book was discussed on the radio. I will listen to it via podcast this evening.
I'm not "perfect" and I absolutely refuse to carry cards. Perfection is not the issue. It's a question of common sense and knowing how to look out for your own best interests.
I emerged from this class due to a lot of hard work on my part and some affirmative action rulings in the 60's and early 70's. It was hard then and would be impossible now.
Union jobs helped boost wages for my mother and my father. My father worked three jobs to support us. Through a twist of fate, my dad was a janitor in the silk stocking section of Manhattan..hence my lucky schooling break and some solid good examples.
Funny thing, many of the privileged children ended up dropping out and drugging out in the 60's. We made it through.
Near poor? Either you are poor or you are not.
The "near poor" should be called called the working class, which is the vast majority of the people in this city.
If I were living just above the poverty line, could I afford to splurge and send a contribution to WNYC?
Leave a Comment
Register for your own account so you can vote on comments, save your favorites, and more. Learn more.
Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Names are displayed with all comments. We reserve the right to edit any comments posted on this site. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting. By leaving a comment, you agree to New York Public Radio's Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use.