Stories from Strapped: Conclusion
Are you glad the Stories from Strapped series is finally coming to an end? In the last five weeks, we read some stories in the book Strapped: Why America’s 20- and 30-Somethings Can’t Get Ahead by Tamara Draut.
- Stories from Strapped: College Education
- Stories from Strapped: Paycheck
- Stories from Strapped: Debt
- Stories from Strapped: Housing
- Stories from Strapped: Child Care
Those real-life anecdotes are supposed to support the author's case for why America's 18-to-34 generation can't get ahead. As you probably figured out by now, I'm not impressed by the stories. Example after example, I see big gaps between expectations and economic means.
Stories from Strapped: Child Care
This is part 5 in the Stories from Strapped series. Previous posts in the series are:
- Stories from Strapped: College Education
- Stories from Strapped: Paycheck
- Stories from Strapped: Debt
- Stories from Strapped: Housing
Chapter 5 in Strapped: Why America's 20- and 30-Somethings Can't Get Ahead by Tamara Draut is And Baby Makes Broke. Basically the author says the younger generation can't get ahead because child care costs too much.
Stories from Strapped: Housing
This is part 4 in the Stories from Strapped series. Previous posts in the series are:
- Stories from Strapped: College Education
- Stories from Strapped: Paycheck
- Stories from Strapped: Debt
Chapter 4 in Strapped: Why America's 20- and 30-Somethings Can't Get Ahead by Tamara Draut is The High Cost of Putting a Roof Over Your Head. No need to explain. The author says the younger generation can't get ahead because housing is too expensive. I'm only interested in the stories.
Stories From Strapped: Debt
How do you like the stories from Strapped series so far? These stories get better and better. Previous posts in the series are:
Chapter 3 in Strapped: Why America's 20- and 30-Somethings Can't Get Ahead is Generation Debt. I think we all know what that means. The author says the younger generation can't get ahead because they have too much debt. Now, the stories:
Stories from Strapped: Paycheck
This is part 2 in the Strapped series. See also:
Chapter 2 in Strapped: Why America's 20- and 30-Somethings Can't Get Ahead is Paycheck Paralysis. It says the younger generation can't get ahead because they don't get good jobs. They have become Bouncers, Jugglers, Tempsters, and the Pajama Class. The stories are as good as the ones in the previous chapter.
Stories from Strapped: College Education
Because I looked at the book The Two Income Trap on Amazon, Amazon suggested that I also read Strapped: Why America's 20- and 30-Somethings Can't Get Ahead. It's a popular theme lately. They say that the younger generation today are worse off than their parents in the 1970s. Other books with similar thesis include Falling Behind, The Big Squeeze, and (Not) Keeping Up With Our Parents. So I decided to check it out and see what the buzz is all about.
The author Tamara Draut is a Director of the Economic Opportunity Program at Demos, a national think tank in New York City. The main theme of the book is that young adults, born between 1971 and 1987, are worse off than their parents a generation ago because of these usual suspects:
- high costs for college education (tuition rose much faster than inflation)
- low starting salaries, especially for people without a college degree
- high student loan and credit card debt
- high rent and home prices, especially in big cities on the coasts
- high costs for child care
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