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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 Tam...more
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
January 9th 2007
by Anchor
(first published 2006)
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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...more
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...more
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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...more
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...more
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 shoul...more
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...more
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...more
Source: browsing at the library.
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...more
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...more
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 sec...more
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 sec...more
A mixed read. Interesting writing about the problems that 20-30 somethings face with lack of health insurance, heavy student loan debt, and low beginning wages. However, I take issue with many of her examples of people who struggle financially, seemingly because they take expensive trips, have expensive weddings, or otherwise, make wrong fiscal choices. There are so many who struggle through no fault of their own, and would have made a stronger point in the book.
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/y...more
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/y...more
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 (...more
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...more
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,...more
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 tr...more
1 like · like · see review
Nov 07, 2007
Virdilak
is currently reading it
This whole college tuition thing is really fucking infuriating.
The most interesting thing I got out of this book was seeing numbers that showed it really was a lot easier to make a lot more money (i.e. enough to support an entire family comfortably off of one income) when our parents were kids. So it was nice to receive affirmation that we really do have it a lot tougher. There were a few other interesting details here and there, but overall the wooden writing (which the author kept trying to liven up with lame puns that only made things worse) made it impo...more
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!
People in their 20s and 30s should read this. It's politically enlightening, at least. Without some action to prevent it, aging Baby Boomers will continue to take what they can at the expense of younger generations. They don't realize how hard it is to afford the American dream now -- they bought homes when real estate was much cheaper relative to wages. Younger people don't realize it used to be easier and the reasons it's changed can be changed again, to some extent, but it won't happen unless...more
For years I've been wondering why so many smart, educated, responsible, working people in my peer group have difficulty making ends meet. This book does a good job of answering that question. The sad part is there are many intertwined answers, and none of them are easily fixed. But it certainly shows you where we need to look in order to begin to repair our society. Recommended if you're wondering why no one can get ahead in life.
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.
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).
1 like · like · see review
It is a good, thought provoking book on the social issues in America. The author backs up her arguments with a lot of statistics. There is no doubt that we have been given a crappy deal. Even if you don't agree with everything in the book, it will at least start the conversation to bring the standards of college educated, good family people up to acceptable levels that the baby boomers got to enjoy. I believe this book is a must read for anyone 35 and under.
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.
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.
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...more
Mar 28, 2008
Laura
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
everyone I haven't already forced to talk about it with me.
Recommended to Laura by:
Nanette Dorbeck
This book depressed the hell out of me. I couldn't stop talking about it when I was reading it, though. The statistics in every sentence got old quickly, and the lack of analysis until the final chapter was frustrating. Yes, being a 20/30-something sucks. But what can I do about it? There aren't any answers in this book. The book tended to repeat its points far too often, and I think it would have been better as a magazine article than a book. YET: this book actually motivated (frightened?) me t...more
3.5 stars
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It's always interesting to read a book like this that's somewhat dated in even 5 just years. Since this book was written we've had a major recession and collapse of the housing bubble, not to mention a president who got elected thanks to young folks. Those are all extremely pertinent to this book, so reading this was sort of like a look into the past. Strapped remains a very relevant book, however, and I'd recommend it if you're interested in why it's so hard to get ahead as a...more
---------
It's always interesting to read a book like this that's somewhat dated in even 5 just years. Since this book was written we've had a major recession and collapse of the housing bubble, not to mention a president who got elected thanks to young folks. Those are all extremely pertinent to this book, so reading this was sort of like a look into the past. Strapped remains a very relevant book, however, and I'd recommend it if you're interested in why it's so hard to get ahead as a...more
This was more like 2.5 stars for me--someone who has plenty of personal experience with most of the obstacles Draut describes--but wasn't badly done and could be 3 stars for some well-off baby boomer who's somehow wondering what the hell our problem is. I mostly skimmed, though. I paid most attention to the last couple of chapters which had some suggestions for how to, you know, change every single hegemonic/political/social/educational institution we've got.
Jun 01, 2008
Seth
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone interested in understanding the fiscal reality of the thirty something
Recommended to Seth by:
A chronicle of higher education review
It is too easy to feel like you are treading water these days and not understand why. Strapped successfully pulls back the layers of the onion in a way that explores the struggle of getting that degree, buying the house, raising a family and how each of these seemingly basic desires has become twice as difficult to achieve for Generation X than it was for the Boomers.
Written in an accessible style, Draut is able to paint a picture that has made me, at the very least, want to begin to pay clos...more
Written in an accessible style, Draut is able to paint a picture that has made me, at the very least, want to begin to pay clos...more
Some of the material was a little outdated and biased, but overall a good jumping off point to start thinking about the political and social causes of our generation's debt problem.
An eye-opening look comparing education and cost-of-living in the 1950s-60s to costs and career salaries today.
I think everyone should read this book. It was frightening to see things from the author's perspective.
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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...more
More about Tamara Draut...
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