Strapped: Why America's 20- and 30-Somethings Can't Get Ahead

by Tamara Draut

Drowning in student loans? Can’t afford to get married, buy a home, have children? Up to your ears in credit card debt? At last, a book for the under-35 generation that explains why it’s not their fault, and what can be done about it. Strapped offers a groundbreaking look at the new obstacle course facing young adults. Getting ahead, argues commentator and policy maven Tamara Draut, is getting harder. A college degree is the new high school diploma–and costs a fortune to obtain. Good jobs are scarcer thanks to stagnant wages and disappearing benefits. And, the cost of everything–starter homes, health coverage, child care–keeps going up. Witty and wise, Strapped brims with ideas for fashioning a new kind of America in which every young person can go to college, buy a home, and start a family. The future starts here.

Genres: Nonfiction, Economics, Sociology, Politics, Finance, Social Issues, Money

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Tamara Draut has written extensively about major economic issues facing Americans. She is the Director of the Economic Opportunity Program at Demos, a public policy center based in New York City. She is the author of numerous reports, and has conducted groundbreaking research on household debt in America. Tamara's work on debt has been covered extensively by dozens of newspapers, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal and USA Today. Tamara is a frequent television commentator and has appeared on the Today Show, ABC World News Tonight, CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight and Fox News. Strapped is her first book.

Tamara holds an M.P.A. from Columbia University and a B.S.J. from Ohio University.

From her website

Reviews

[Books Ring Mah Bell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let me save you the read by summing up 5 key points and by throwing in my ever-so-valuable two cents...

Author states:

1. The cost of education and student loans are outrageous. (TRUE!)

2. The cost of housing is outrageous. (Depends on where you want to live, I guess, and if you are willing to settle for less than a McMansion. Where I live, you can get a damn nice home for $150,000.)

3. Good jobs with decent pay, benefits and pensions, that DO NOT require college no longer exist. (Agreed.)

4. Having babies is expensive! Day care is outrageous! (word.)

5. Credit cards suck. (uh huh)


While I have to agree that it is a bit harder for youth these days to get started up, I really found some of her examples a bit silly. I may have not been so critical, but on the inside jacket there's a line about why 20 and 30 somethings are struggling and (get this) it's not their fault!!

Poo, say I, especially when she mentions SEVERAL times in the book young people having a hard time with credit card balances because they fly home for visits. (can't afford it, DON'T GO!)The one the really got me was the complaint about having to fly/travel to be in/go to weddings for friends that are out of state. She mentions flying to friends weddings at least three different times! She wrote something like, "don't go, and you can count on losing a friend."

Now, I'm practical, perhaps to a fault, but here's how I see it... I have time in advance to plan for the wedding expense, right? So, if I can't sock away the money for a plane ticket, and a nice gift, I wouldn't go into debt over it. That's some common sense to knock your freaking socks off, right there, yes? And frankly, if my "friend" does not appreciate the fact that my financial situation would not allow me to attend her wedding on the other side of the country, and she would not accept my card, thoughts of love and maybe a nice gift I send via UPS (or USPS, whichever is cheaper) then she's probably no more than a bitch-ass bridezilla crybaby princess and who the hell needs friends like that??? And why even send the gift, because that snotty little brat will probably be divorced in 2 years anyway! Keep the toaster for yourself!!!!!

Maybe it's hard to think of that when you are only 22, who knows?

What I'm getting at is this; YOU fly all over the country on your Visa card, YOU take out loans to study abroad, YOU make car payments (instead of driving a beater for a few years while you save up to pay cash for a car) then IT IS YOUR FAULT!!!!

Another example she gave of someone struggling financially: A person that had thousands of dollars on a credit card for furniture because she didn't want the new house/apt. to look like a dorm room. Well, again, I hear ya, but, IT's your FAULT. Deal with your milk carton shelves for a year while you save up and can buy things, maybe one room at a time. (patience is a beeotch, yes?)

Now, let us talk about what really does not help us get ahead.

College.

Sure, getting the education may save you from becoming a greeter at Wal-Mart. The good paying jobs at the local factories have vanished.

It took me 6 LONG FREAKING YEARS to get a damn associates degree. Know why? Because I worked full time and chipped away (at a damn turtles pace) at classes as I was able to pay for them. It was frustrating as hell at the time. For a LONG LONG time, I was envious of my friends that went to "real" college. Now, not so much. Unlike them, I have no debt to repay. My husband had parents that were able to foot the bill for his education (WHAT A GIFT!) and he took cheaper courses at a community college before moving on. These things gave us a huge financial head start when we married.
A BIG PROBLEM IN THIS COUNTRY IS THE COST OF EDUCATION IS SKYROCKETING AND PEOPLE ARE FORCED TO GO INTO DEBT FOR A DEGREE THAT MAY NOT EVEN GET YOU A GOOD PAYING JOB UPON GRADUATION! YES, I'M YELLING!
Don't start me on the racket that is the college textbook!
Want to stimulate the economy? want to help the future of the country? Make it affordable for kids to get to college. Forgive some student loan debt. Seriously, if someone wants an advanced degree, help them out. Their knowledge can bring advances to the country!
*falls off soapbox*
I wanted nothing more than to study medicine. I realized that was NOT affordable, so I put that dream in the trash can. Then I thought about education. Little less school, a little less debt. But when I did that math, that sucked too. Rush Limbaugh, I hear you screaming at me. If I REALLY wanted it, I could have done it! This is AMERICA for the love of GAWD! But, you see, I grew up in a poor home. I was not willing to have debt and feel that discomfort for the rest of my life. (or 20 years until the debt was paid back)


Next...

Housing. Yep. It can get pricey. If you don't have extra $$$ in the bank, the house knows it and finds ways to torture you. The water heater goes out. The roof leaks. Kids, rent yourself a cheap apartment until you can buy. And don't get a crazy ass mortgage, please.

I guess what I got out of this book was a bit of understanding on why some of my friends are struggling to get by. How it is indeed much different to get started, certainly more challenging in ways that our parents did not have to deal with.

I count my blessings every day that we have no debt (other than a mortgage). It's nice. Really nice. But you know what? It can all be gone in an instant if you add catastrophe: think illness or accident! Sure, we have insurance, but HOW good is it really?

That's another subject the author discusses: lack of insurance can throw a family into financial ruin. And companies are cutting back on what they offer to their employees. (Obama will save us all, right?)

Hell, that's another book for another time.

Okay kids. That's all. Go save some money.

[Valarie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This should be more like "Strapped: Why many Americans Who Weren't Born Rich Can't Get Ahead."

It was OK, but it bugged me greatly that it concentrates on the "under-35 generation." I read it far on the other side of 35 and I have friends in their 40s who are still in this situation--if you went to graduate school, for instance, this book remains relevant to your situation. Likewise if you've never gotten help from your parents, had low-paying jobs (inevitable with journalism) and thus had to use a credit card more than you probably should have.

[Virdilak]

This whole college tuition thing is really fucking infuriating.

[Geof · Rating 2 out of 5]

My checking out this book is an excellent example of confirmation bias, "the tendency to search for, interpret, prefer, and recall information in a way that confirms one's beliefs or hypotheses while giving disproportionately less attention to information that contradicts it." I would be unlikely to check out a book called "Loaded: Why America's 20- and 30-Somethings Have More Money Than They Know What to Do With!" (It'd be nice, though, wouldn't it?)

The book, unfortunately, is plodding and artless. It reads like a compendium of contemporary research and newspaper clippings. Draut's argument that young people are struggling financially won't be especially surprising to young people. College is expensive, housing is expensive, child care is expensive. Salaries vary, but the minimum wage is pathetic, and, for many, debt is filling the gap.

I wish Draut's flat, basic writing style could tackle some of the bigger questions her book raises: When was it better? How and why? Draut writes a provocative sentence, "We are the first generation of Americans to start our lives with five-figure debt and the first generation to start our careers in the unforgivably Darwinian new economy."

If we're being historically minded, indentured servitude is worth noting, as is the transatlantic slave trade. Also noteworthy: the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, child labor in the early 20th century, and the Dust Bowl. Draut mentions Levittown, but doesn't mention New York City's tenements, or Depression-era Hoovervilles. If you're going to argue that Generation X and the Millennials are uniquely challenged, I would like to see that argument in historical context.

Perhaps a more accurate thesis would be to say that Generation Strapped won't have the same opportunities as their parents, and will see a decline in their standard of living. Certainly, Old Economy Steve's advice and expectations are not relevant in 2015. But this is a book of advocacy and policy proposals, not history.

Draut notes how business shifted from a "30 years and a watch" model to a "Middle management GTFO for shareholders-sake" model, and I think that is a noteworthy and possibly calamitous shift. Housing policy is interesting to me as well. Frequently, expensive houses are the point and affordability is shunned. ("The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Parents are Going Broke" is a better book on a very similar subject). This is a public policy choice and there are costs (difficult for young people) and benefits (great if you bought a $200+K house in 1959 for $20K!).

Maybe the book I want to read is a project for a contemporary Studs Terkel!

P.S. My parents were among the Lucky Few ( http://www.prb.org/Publications/Artic... ). Their experiences were very different than mine. The difference between job-hunting in Youngstown, OH in 1950 and in 2015!

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tamara Draut's argument is that 30-somethings, Gen Xers, have the financial deck stacked against them. Education, the key to the middle class, will drive them into crippling debt. Starting a family will saddle them with medical costs, daycare costs, etc. Buying a house puts them at the mercy of a predatory financial industry (see also student loans). And a serious injury or a cancer diagnosis will very likely drive them into bankruptcy. Basically, unless they're trust fund babies, they're screwed.

I'm mostly in agreement with Draut on all of this. The problem with the book is a lot of other people have written similar books. If you've read much of anything by Paul Krugman, et al, none of Draut's contentions will seem particularly shocking. Draut's methodology is to outline the problems facing young adults and support these with a series of anecdotes about the financial hardships her subjects face as a result of trying to achieve the American dream. While the stories are compelling, the book is weak on statistics or other objective evidence.

Draut limits her examination to middle and working class in their 30s, people finished with college and maybe grad school and ready to embark on adult lives. She does not deal with the dilemmas of the poor, nor does she look at the way these same problems are faced by many people in middle age. She justifies not examining the poor as that would have made her book unwieldy. Also, rightly, she argues that those in poverty face a completely different set of problems.

This book came out prior to the economic crisis that began in 2008. The financial crisis, the housing crisis, the recession, the pernicious concentration of wealth, and the growing lack of opportunity for most Americans have certainly affected 30-somethings, but people in the next age cohorts have been even harder hit. Unemployment has hit men in their 50s as hard as 20-something liberal arts grads. Careers have foundered a decade out from retirement. Retirement savings have evaporated. The suicide rate amongst baby boom-era men has gone up.

Draut can't be faulted for not seeing what was coming a few years out from her book's publication date. However, the roots of the dilemma of the middle class 50-somethings were developing well before 2008. If Draut had looked outside of the box to which she limited her study, she might have had something remarkable.

[Elise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parts of this book were interesting, but it was essentially just a conglomeration of statistics showing what most members of Gen X already know - the cost of things has outpaced inflation since our parents were our age, and our salaries and the minimum wage have not increased correspondingly.

In addition, many of the personal stories she uses in the book that are intended to tug at the reader's heart strings did just the opposite for me. It's hard for me to feel badly for a couple making $160k/year who is in massive credit card debt b/c of all the travel they "must" do b/c their friends are getting married and they "have" to keep in touch with family. Being in roughly as much student loan debt myself as they earn annually, and having had to turn down many an invitation to friends weddings and family events due to an inability to afford to travel, it's hard for me to cry tears for these self indulgent, whiney rich people. Their explanation as to how they set their priorities was that "family and friends came before finances" but wouldn't true friends and loving family understand if a couple with two kids and a mortgage couldn't afford to travel across the county (or even sometimes, out of the country) to see them? For my part, I would not find it worth keeping friends or keeping in touch with family who would be upset with me for not having enough money in my bank account to suit their wishes.

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book to read as I launched into my post-college life because it helped me place my own experiences and observations in the context of what is happening to other people my age in this country. From the debt-for-diploma system, to the terribly high prices of housing and child-care, to the prevalence of credit-card debt this book hits the main obstacles that face our generation. Yes, we are still more privileged than most of the world, but that doesn’t mean that these problems shouldn’t be addressed. I found it valuable to consider what obstacles to watch out for in the future.
Draut’s book suffers from a slight repetitiveness, a few questionable statistic interpretations, and an underdeveloped solution, but despite its flaws, I found myself discussing the book in numerous conversations.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am SO GLAD I read this book. Honestly, I expected it to be a big "the world owes me a living" song-and-dance routine, but it wasn't. Really. It was alternately enlightening, reassuring, terrifying, depressing, and provocative. With all the statistics, it does get a bit dry, and I thought the constant re-capping of her primary points was a little over the top. Nevertheless, I wish everyone in America would read this book: obviously the young adults it's aimed at, and especially those who have (or plan to have) children, but also (and maybe most of all) the older generations who need to wake up and realize what their profiteering is doing to the lives of their children and grandchildren. I'd also be interested to hear what the author has to say now that the economy is in crisis (besides "I told you so").

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is somewhat true. Having a Bachelor's degree today clearly means being in debt after receiving your education. Financial aid assistance is not always available and alot of students take out loans. It also mentions in the book college graduates earn less than college graduates 30 years ago. The type of jobs also changed, I have seen many posting on Craigslist requiring a college graduate to start off $13.00 an hour. This book is an eye opener, and if I was in high school and found this book, I would have went a different route with school.
Anyway, it talks more about WHY people in their 20 and 30 somethings are broke due to having a child, debt they have accumulated over the years, choices they had made, etc... Its a good read...It has made me think twice in making choices in life...financially...

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps it does a better job of identifying the problems than solving them, but it has some good insights nonetheless.

The main issues, of which I can largely agree, are:

- College has never been more important but attending college is becoming increasingly out of reach as tuition rises much faster than income or government aid.

- For young people, costs of living have skyrocketed while wages and benefits have declined.

- The rising cost of college tuition and cost of living, coupled with lower wages, have made starting out with large amounts of debt the norm, making it all that much harder to get ahead.

- Because of higher cost-of-living, two-incomes are necessary for most families, and therefore, childcare is a huge cost for those trying to make it into the middle-class.

- Young people have become less involved politically, which is why they have been ignored by politicians.

The most noteworthy thing is that this book was written in 2005. The Great Recession and world's slowest "recovery" had yet to happen. Unemployment was about 5%, family incomes were higher, the government deficit was a fraction of what it is now. State colleges cost much less than they do now because states had more money to fund them. I guess it shouldn't be so surprising how much

She does lean a bit liberal, although, perhaps her bark is worse than her bite. At several points she lays the blame at the feet of "conservatives" and "Republicans," though most of the things she advocates are much more balanced than her rhetoric leads on. I think some of the suggestions do involve increase in government spending, but they are quite small in comparison to the dramatic increases in government spending that have taken place since. It’s kind of ironic; congress and the president are much more left-leaning and progressive than they were when the book was written, government has enlarged in every way except in the ways she advocates! Pell Grants are still far else than the cost of attending college. There is still no guarantee of paid maternity leave or affordable child care for working families. There has been some tightening of regulations on the credit card industry, though of all the things she suggests, it’s probably the least influential.

In her Draut’s defense as well, as much crap as she gets for daring to say that it's not all young people's faults that it is harder and harder for them to get into the middle class, this isn't Occupy Wall Street in a book. Pretty much all the people she looks at are employed full-time; they aren’t spending their afternoon’s in their mom’s basement playing Halo. They aren't spoiled college students with iPads who poop on police cars. Some didn’t even go to college because they couldn’t afford to (despite having the grades when they graduated high school). Things for my generation (I'm 24) just aren't what they were like for the baby boomers. It’s not normal anymore for their to be lots of high-paying union jobs that you can just go into after you graduate high school. If you do have a full-time job, you’re less likely to get benefits (well, Obamacare has taken care of that, though it also reduces the number of fulltime jobs for that same reason...). It's not crazy to think that when the economy changes, hard work and pulling yourself up by your bootstraps isn't enough to save the middle class. Couple that with the new normal where 20-somethings can't even get jobs at retail stores, and I daresay that it’s not all our fault (though for those who think I’m a lazy complainer without a job, I myself am fully employed, though it took 9 months, 200+ applications, 10 interviews, and ultimately getting in because of family connections).

One thing I also appreciated is that, even when she advocated liberal ideas (e.g. government funded child-care), she looked at it from an economic, market-oriented perspective. It wasn't about "fairness" and hurting the rich because we aren't like them. Government subsidized child-care, for example, isn't advocated because "we're owed it, darn it!" It's advocated because the system is an example of a market failure. There is only so much money a working family can spend before the cost sufficiently exceeds the gains by both working, but that amount is not sufficient to attract people who provide good care. Couples either stop give up an income or, since that is not so easy to do anymore like it was in past generations, they ptu their kids in substandard care that still breaks the bank (which then reverberates throughout the whole economy). Unlike what I daresay we see in many liberal causes (e.g. modern environmentalism, taxing the rich), there actually is a cost benefit analysis made. Spending an additional $30 billion per year on grants to low and medium-income college students isn't about vague ideas of fairness; it will help then start out with a leg up and less debt, meaning there may be something of a middle class a generation from now. She points out how the G.I. bill cost an inflation-adjusted $91 billion dollars, but that it was huge in building the middle class in the first place, something worth far more than $91 billion. As much as many liberals liked to pee on the Bush Tax cuts (which many then voted to extend when Barack Obama was president), she only suggested reversing one of them (about 20% of the total), and this was for a specific program, not just to vaguely help the middle class. Though this book isn’t particularly technical, at least there is more than vague philosophy behind it all.

I don’t agree with everything she says, and some aspects may be a little dated (a ton has changed in 8 years), but this book is insightful, and when properly understood, it at least does make you think. At least for young people who find themselves having a much harder time getting ahead than their parents did, the book is worth checking out.

[Jonathan Douthit · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you enjoy whiny millennials complaining that the government and system should fix all financial problems, than this book is for you.

Personal accountability has no place in the author's world and everything from credit card interest rates and high costs for useless degrees is the systems fault.

Maybe if you paid your bills on time, kept an emergency fund, and lived within your means, you wouldn't be expecting the government to fix everything for you.

(I also found the book a bit dated since it was written in 2004. However, good personal financial principles have remained the same and the author seems to be unaware of them)

[Beau Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a telling book on the financial situation of my generation - one that is paid increasingly less for jobs that cost increasingly more to get. We are more in debt and further behind than our predecessors, and are getting less help to succeed.

Draut takes us on a journey from the cost of higher education through finding a job, buying a house, and having a baby - all things most people in their 20s and 30s are unable to afford. I disagree with her bitter review of community colleges as a second-rate alternative to a four-year school (rather than as a smart economical decision).

Tamara's book certainly defines the problem in detail, but (as she must know) there is no quick-fix. Her last chapter is isn't overtly political, but goes a bit outside the scope of the book, going into the landscape of unbalanced funding for political campaigns. I recommend this to any college bound student (or parent thereof). This is one instance where knowing the territory ahead is half the battle.

A favorite quote (p. 107):

"...In 2002, the average college senior had six credit cards and an average balance of just over $3,200. Many college students are in deeper trouble. One in five students has credit card debt of $3,000 to $7,000."

[morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of "Strapped" was good: explanation of why the new generation (20 -30 years old) is having a harder time starting out and making money than previous generations. I know this is true from experience, and having to endure "you're just not working hard enough" really doesn't cut it.

Draut begins with shocking data to back up the phenomenon. That's what really gets you entranced in the story. However, as she begins to explain each aspect of why this is occuring, the book gets way bogged down in statistics - it can't give you an overhead view of the point. And, I slowly realized halfway through the book that she was making the SAME points over and over, with new anecdotal evidence and stats from different institutions that implied the same thing. This is why it took me SO LONG to finish this book...I had to borrow it from the library 3 times [that's 9 weeks!:] because the repetition got to be very irritating.

I was glad when this book ended. Trust me, Tamara Draut, WE. GET. IT. But that's still not going to make the older generation of "work hard to get ahead" understand ANYTHING you've just said. There's a reason they're old-school.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually, I think the book is quite an accurate summary of what average middle class and (aspiring middle class) 18 to 35 year olds are facing: expensive schooling and student loan debt, dismal job market, tough housing market, credit card debt, expensive childcare, etc. But beyond being roughly accurate, it wasn't really insightful beyond that. The first-hand accounts needed to be there to put a face on the problems, but they weren't terribly well done. I wish young adults would organize and try to do something about this stuff instead of suffering individually while our parents go to Tea Parties. Many of points should be updated for developments post-2008.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book if you really want to depress yourself about how far behind our generation is economically (if by "ours" I mean Gen X/Y). How deregulation in the credit industry, inflation, and exploding college, healthcare, and housing costs have us operating at a huge financial disadvantage from our parents' generation (and why our parents will just about always think that we're just too lazy to make up the difference).

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is better researched and more thorough than Generation Debt, which was published around the same time and is about the same topic. It gives you a look at how government policy has put GenX and the Millennials between a rock and a hard place when it comes to acheiving financial stability. Anyone who thinks we need to reduce the size of government and it's role in the economy should read this book.

[Yanee · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's taking longer for us to get one good foot out into the adult world without staggering student loan and credit card debt on our backs. And it's not bc we're all perpetual teenagers. It takes more time to pay more money to get less education to pay waaaay more to establish yourself with the fundamentals of adulthood. The ABC's of understanding the economic perspectives of gen X-ers and younger is here, along with active stategies and solutions. A real eye-opener & a great read!

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting book. Also really depressing. Although it's only 2 years old, it may be dated considering the current economic climate we're in. But it's message of we have a long way to go and that we can have good public policy that truly supports average people without becoming socialist is good to hear.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Young people need to be aware of the impact of economic policy on their financial state and thus must utilize the power of the vote to push our agenda forward.

Basically, pay attention and participate in the democratic process.

[BM · Rating 4 out of 5]

After I heard Ms. Draut on NPR I knew I had to read this book because it's the first time I've seen the economic mobility of my generation framed in a structuralist manner-- how policies have impacted our lives and what it means to raise a family or own a house when you are not a baby boomer.

[Tatiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story of my life. Maybe I should mail it to all of the Senate and Congress.

[Cherie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t like giving this book a one star rating but the author used very poor examples for why the younger generations are in debt. Almost all of her examples listed travel to visit family, travel for friends’ weddings, year-long study abroad programs, and weddings as the reason for heavy credit card debt. And seemed to believe that these were necessities. I wonder what those people would have done without credit cards. Likely they would not even have those expenses. While I understand many of the challenges young people face, saying “it’s not fair” or “it was my dream” doesn’t cut it, especially when incurring heavy debt for nonessentials. One needs to just say, “I can’t afford it.”

Additionally, the author was extremely critical of community colleges, which is very disrespectful to those who attend those institutions and showed a lack of understanding of the true value and potential of those schools. Her examples of students who didn’t understand that community colleges offer general requirements that all 4-year colleges require (simple research would have revealed this fact) or that they suffered because they didn’t get the “dorm life experience” was nonsensical. Community colleges are a great value and the ticket to admission to good universities. Another option she failed to mention is the dual enrollment program at many high schools across the nation that allow students to complete as many as two years of college while still in high school. The interviewees seemed intelligent enough to navigate the student loan system but not the educational system.

Although the statistics are dated, I purchased this book so that I would have a better understanding of the financial struggles of young adults. I know that tuition, health insurance, child care, and real estate are expensive - I get it. Unfortunately, the author used very poor examples that smacked of entitlement. My takeaway was that the author believes everyone is entitled to an Ivy League education, a dream wedding, and a house in a suburb that has “good” schools and where each child will have his or her own bedroom. I was very disappointed with this book and hope to find one that approaches this subject more realistically and with better examples.

[Aurora · Rating 1 out of 5]

why did I finish this book?

This book started strong. Though I didn’t agree with everything in the first chunk of the book, it was interesting and made me think and consider things from a different point of view…then came the revelation of the book: the republics are the reason why all of this is happening!!! And anyone who votes for republicans are stupid!!!!
How sad. This book came recommended to me, and now I don’t know if I’ll read anything else that is recommended from the person who recommended it.
Please don’t waste your money on this like I did, unless you just really want to read this garbage.

[Kristin · Rating 1 out of 5]

couldn't get through it - either it's dated or a regurgitation of things we've heard 1,000 times, or both.

[Gwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of the book is familiar territory after reading Yglesias et al, but the final chapter is where Draut shines. 3 areas of focus: education, housing, and childcare. How the government has failed young people. It's fantastic to know that I'm not alone in wondering how people can afford houses and/or children. "Education is the cornerstone of social mobility. Work should be rewarded. Everyone should have a stake in our society. Family life comes first." "What good is an economy that generates $11 trillion where one third of us go without health insurance?" "Universal childcare and paid sick days parental leave are dismissed as 'socialism' in the U.S., but are considered good corporate, labor, and family policy in most developed countries across the world." "If we want to live in a society where health care is a right, not a privilege, where college is affordable, and where parents get a helping hand, then we'll need to push our government toward setting new priorities, rather than starving it of resources and dismantling it."

[Brandie · Rating 3 out of 5]

the beginning of the book was very informative. It was kind of wild to read some of the facts and stats she lists ... it made me think, well duh! Now I get why I feel like dh are struggling so much and we aren't even the worst of the worst!
And then came the second part - in which she suggests some ideas to change things. And although some of her ideas seem actually okay, a lot of them just make me cringe. She expects the government to do a lot, which may be fine to expect that, but a lot of the important things the government is in charge of these days, well, they aren't doing so hot in my opinion, and so I'd be hesitant to say, well, although you are failing public schools from k-12th grade, let's let you take over preschool and infant care! Let's see how you can fail those two areas too!
I suppose her point now is that they aren't that great to begin with, so really the government can't do much worse - I don't think they could do better though.
Anyway, overall an interesting read for sure.

[Philip · Rating 2 out of 5]

I note that there is a later edition that is several pages longer; perhaps I could give a later edition three or more stars depending on what was changed. This book is about an important and growing problem. Perhaps with several years of hindsight (I read the 2006 edition) the author now realizes the scope of the problem, and how it is part and parcel of a larger problem - how income redistribution through financial deregulation, corporate welfare and favorable tax treatment, among other things, has resulted in a society where the top 1% have more money than the bottom 90%. My reasons for two stars, besides the author not seeming to recognize the enormity of the problem, were 1) many more examples than necessary to prove a point and 2) timid and incomplete recommendations for policy changes.

[Krishna Kumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

If "The World is Flat" provides hope for a better tomorrow, "Strapped" presents a bleak outlook for millions of young American adults who are unable to take advantage of the new economic order. Draut shows how a combination of increasing economic inequality, higher tuitions, low-paying basic jobs, and reduced government support for education has created a situation where young Americans in the 20 to 30 age range find themselves with high debts, low savings and a level of education that fetches no dividends in the globalized world. Very well-written with good examples, it also examines and discredits commonly-held assumptions such as the nature of credit card debts among young adults. Adding to the crisis is the unfortunate lack of participation by this class in the political process, because they have been led to believe that government has no role to play in this situation.

[Vilo · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look at why 20- and 30- somethings are having a hard time getting established. Higher college tuitions, less grants, more lay offs, more expectation that both parents will work but few helps managing child care/work/family mix. And this book was published BEFORE the recession. In the author's opinion/findings she feels a lot of credit card debt had to do with job volatility--using the card to make it across a period of unemployment due to lay offs. The big message for me was don't compare my generation's financial situation at 30 to the current generation. Apples and oranges, but most young people blame themselves instead of realizing society has changed. I admire even more those who are doing a good job managing.

[Callie Ludwig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had solid points supported by research as to why people in my generation can't seem to get ahead and/or achieve the American middle-class dream. It was a bit dated, as it was written before the the housing bubble burst and stricter credit card regulation was enacted, but it gave a decent synopsis of the history leading up to the latest economic crisis. I was left wondering what more I could do to improve my financial situation other than following current events and voting, which I already do. I guess I'll have to look elsewhere for the specifics, but "Strapped" was definitely worth reading, to put into perspective why it has become so much harder to enter adulthood in the past thirty years.