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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?


Comments

  • [1] mike r. from nyc September 18, 2007 - 08:26AM

    If I were living just above the poverty line, could I afford to splurge and send a contribution to WNYC?


  • [2] Herbert Fair from Queens September 18, 2007 - 12:20PM

    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.


  • [3] SM September 18, 2007 - 12:29PM

    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.


  • [4] Jeffrey Slott from East Elmhurst September 18, 2007 - 12:35PM

    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.


  • [5] Cynthia Chaldekas from Brooklyn New York September 18, 2007 - 01:48PM

    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.


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