Sign-In
Cart
Dream Hoarders: How the American Upper Middle Class Is Leaving Everyone Else in the Dust, Why That Is a Problem, and What to Do About It
Hardcover
EconomicsGeneral SociologyPoverty & Social Work
Currently unavailable to order
Please enter your email and a message will be sent to you when this product becomes available on our website.
ISBN13: 9780815729129
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
Published: Jun 13 2017
Pages: 240
Weight: 1.10
Height: 0.70 Width: 6.20 Depth: 9.10
Language: English
America is becoming a class-based society.
It is now conventional wisdom to focus on the wealth of the top 1 percent--especially the top 0.01 percent--and how the ultra-rich are concentrating income and prosperity while incomes for most other Americans are stagnant. But the most important, consequential, and widening gap in American society is between the upper middle class and everyone else.
Reeves defines the upper middle class as those whose incomes are in the top 20 percent of American society. Income is not the only way to measure a society, but in a market economy it is crucial because access to money generally determines who gets the best quality education, housing, health care, and other necessary goods and services.
As Reeves shows, the growing separation between the upper middle class and everyone else can be seen in family structure, neighborhoods, attitudes, and lifestyle. Those at the top of the income ladder are becoming more effective at passing on their status to their children, reducing overall social mobility. The result is not just an economic divide but a fracturing of American society along class lines. Upper-middle-class children become upper-middle-class adults.
These trends matter because the separation and perpetuation of the upper middle class corrode prospects for more progressive approaches to policy. Various forms of opportunity hoarding among the upper middle class make it harder for others to rise up to the top rung. Examples include zoning laws and schooling, occupational licensing, college application procedures, and the allocation of internships. Upper-middle-class opportunity hoarding, Reeves argues, results in a less competitive economy as well as a less open society.
Inequality is inevitable and can even be good, within limits. But Reeves argues that society can take effective action to reduce opportunity hoarding and thus promote broader opportunity. This fascinating book shows how American society has become the very class-defined society that earlier Americans rebelled against--and what can be done to restore a more equitable society.
Also from
Reeves, Richard
Do the Media Govern?: Politicians, Voters, and Reporters in America
Iyengar, Shanto
Reeves, Richard
Paperback
Also in
Poverty & Social Work
Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O'Connell's Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People
Kidder, Tracy
Paperback
The Cost of Being Undocumented: One Woman's Reckoning with America's Inhumane Math
Garcia, Antero
Dick, Alix
Hardcover
Sensory Pathways to Healing from Trauma: Harnessing the Brain's Capacity for Change
Lanius, Ruth A.
Harricharan, Sherain
Kearney, Breanne E.
Paperback
The Double Tax: How Women of Color Are Overcharged and Underpaid
Gifty Opoku-Agyeman, Anna
Clinton, Chelsea
Hardcover
Burned by Billionaires: How Concentrated Wealth and Power Are Ruining Our Lives and Planet
Collins, Chuck
Hardcover
Miracle Children: Race, Education, and a True Story of False Promises
Benner, Katie
Green, Erica L.
Hardcover
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America (20th Anniversary Edition)
Ehrenreich, Barbara
Paperback
A History of the World in Six Plagues: How Contagion, Class, and Captivity Shaped Us, from Cholera to Covid-19
Bonhomme, Edna
Hardcover
The Containment: Detroit, the Supreme Court, and the Battle for Racial Justice in the North
Adams, Michelle
Hardcover
The Idea of America: Reflections on Inequality, Democracy, and the Values We Share
Walker, Darren
Hardcover
The Lost and the Found: A True Story of Homelessness, Found Family, and Second Chances
Fagan, Kevin
Hardcover
Getting to Reparations: How Building a Different America Requires a Reckoning with Our Past
Brown, Dorothy A.
Hardcover
Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity
Appelbaum, Yoni
Hardcover
Belonging Without Othering: How We Save Ourselves and the World
Powell, John A.
Menendian, Stephen
Hardcover
Fascism or Genocide: How a Decade of Political Disorder Broke American Politics
Barkan, Ross
Hardcover
You Only Get What You're Organized to Take: Lessons from the Movement to End Poverty
Theoharis, Liz
Sandweiss-Back, Noam
Hardcover
Overcoming Binge Eating: The Proven Program to Learn Why You Binge and How You Can Stop
Fairburn, Christopher G.
Paperback
Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty
Banerjee, Abhijit V.
Duflo, Esther
Paperback
Homelessness Is a Housing Problem: How Structural Factors Explain U.S. Patterns
Colburn, Gregg
Aldern, Clayton Page
Paperback
The Three Melissas: The Practical Guide to Surviving Family Homelessness
Nilan, Diane
Bowman, Diana
Paperback
Seeking Shelter: A Working Mother, Her Children, and a Story of Homelessness in America
Hobbs, Jeff
Hardcover
Plundered: How Racist Policies Undermine Black Homeownership in America
Atuahene, Bernadette
Hardcover
A Paradise of Small Houses: The Evolution, Devolution, and Potential Rebirth of Urban Housing
Podemski, Max
Paperback
Making It in America: The Almost Impossible Quest to Manufacture in the U.S.A. (And How It Got That Way)
Slade, Rachel
Paperback
You Are Not Your Trauma: An ACT Guide for Healing from Within
Walser, Robyn D.
Westrup, Darrah
Paperback
Raising a Secure Child: How Circle of Security Parenting Can Help You Nurture Your Child's Attachment, Emotional Resilience, and Freedom to Explore
Hoffman, Kent
Cooper, Glen
Powell, Bert
Paperback
Work Won't Love You Back: How Devotion to Our Jobs Keeps Us Exploited, Exhausted, and Alone
Jaffe, Sarah
Paperback
White Poverty: How Exposing Myths about Race and Class Can Reconstruct American Democracy
Barber, William J.
Hardcover
Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City (Pulitzer Prize Winner)
Elliott, Andrea
Paperback
Social Work Policy Practice: Changing Our Community, Nation, and the World
Ritter, Jessica A.
Paperback
White Poverty: How Exposing Myths about Race and Class Can Reconstruct American Democracy
Barber, William J.
Paperback
When We Walk by: Forgotten Humanity, Broken Systems, and the Role We Can Each Play in Ending Homelessness in America
Adler, Kevin F.
Burnes, Donald W.
Paperback
Billionaire Wilderness: The Ultra-Wealthy and the Remaking of the American West
Farrell, Justin
Paperback
Before Their Crimes: What We're Misunderstanding about Childhood Trauma, Youth Crime, and the Path to Healing
Smith, Wendy
Hardcover
Psychoanalytic Diagnosis: Understanding Personality Structure in the Clinical Process
McWilliams, Nancy
Paperback
Postcolonial Astrology: Reading the Planets Through Capital, Power, and Labor
Sparkly Kat, Alice
Paperback
Class Matters: The Fight to Get Beyond Race Preferences, Reduce Inequality, and Build Real Diversity at America's Colleges
Kahlenberg, Richard D.
Hardcover
Smart But Scattered Teens: The Executive Skills Program for Helping Teens Reach Their Potential
Guare, Richard
Dawson, Peg
Guare, Colin
Paperback
The Bipolar Disorder Survival Guide: What You and Your Family Need to Know
Miklowitz, David J.
Paperback
The Socialist Manifesto: The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequality
Sunkara, Bhaskar
Paperback
Introduction to Social Work: Social Workers Effecting Change in Our World
Ritter, Jessica A.
Paperback
Decolonizing Wealth, Second Edition: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance
Villanueva, Edgar
Paperback
Talking to My Daughter about the Economy: Or, How Capitalism Works--And How It Fails
Varoufakis, Yanis
Paperback
Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think about Race and Identity
Norris, Michele
Hardcover
Motivational Interviewing: Helping People Change and Grow
Miller, William R.
Rollnick, Stephen
Hardcover
Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor
Eubanks, Virginia
Paperback
Unhumans: The Secret History of Communist Revolutions (and How to Crush Them)
Posobiec, Jack
Lisec, Joshua
Hardcover
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (Emdr) Therapy: Basic Principles, Protocols, and Procedures
Shapiro, Francine
Hardcover
Program Evaluation: A Practical Guide for Social Work and the Helping Professions
Royse, David
Paperback
The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal about Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power
Mask, Deirdre
Paperback
School Social Work: Practice, Policy, and Research
Constable, Robert
Kelly, Michael S.
Massat, Carol Rippey
Paperback
Spectrum of Independence: How to Teach Your Neurodiverse Child Daily Life Skills
Lombardi, Kristin
Drew, Christine
Paperback
When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor... and Yourself
Fikkert, Brian
Corbett, Steve
Paperback
Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice: Putting Theory into Action
Capous-Desyllas, Moshoula
Morgaine, Karen
Paperback
Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth
Smarsh, Sarah
Paperback
The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide
Thrasher, Steven W.
Paperback
10th Anniversary Edition The Life You Can Save: How To Do Your Part To End World Poverty
Singer, Peter
Paperback
Living Well with Social Anxiety: Practical Strategies for Improving Your Daily Life
Dobson, Deborah
Paperback
Attachment Theory in Practice: Emotionally Focused Therapy (Eft) with Individuals, Couples, and Families
Johnson, Susan M.
Hardcover
Living Well with Social Anxiety: Practical Strategies for Improving Your Daily Life
Dobson, Deborah
Hardcover
Making Room: Three Decades of Fighting for Beds, Belonging, and a Safe Place for LGBTQ Youth
Siciliano, Carl
Paperback
To Marry an English Lord: Tales of Wealth and Marriage, Sex and Snobbery in the Gilded Age (an Inspiration for Downton Abbey)
Wallace, Carol MCD
MacColl, Gail
Paperback
Reclaiming Your Community: You Don't Have to Move Out of Your Neighborhood to Live in a Better One
Carter, Majora
Paperback
Chokepoint Capitalism: How Big Tech and Big Content Captured Creative Labor Markets and How We'll Win Them Back
Giblin, Rebecca
Doctorow, Cory
Paperback
Diversity, Oppression, & Change: Culturally Grounded Social Work
Lechuga-Peña, Stephanie
Marsiglia, Flavio Francisco
Kulis, Stephen S.
Paperback
Pay the People!: Why Fair Pay Is Good for Business and Great for America
Driscoll, John
Pearl, Morris
The Patriotic Millionaires
Paperback
These Are the Plunderers: How Private Equity Runs -- And Wrecks -- America
Morgenson, Gretchen
Rosner, Joshua
Paperback
Essentials of Social Work Management and Leadership: A Competency-Based Approach
Hoefer, Richard
Watson, Larry D.
Paperback