The gap between the economic and social fortunes of the working class and those with college degrees has become a major point of contention in American policy circles, and it is the focal point of Batya Ungar-Sargon’s new book, Second Class: How the Elites Betrayed America’s Men and Women.
Her book is divided into two halves. The first profiles the state of the working class; the second contains policy prescriptions that Ungar-Sargon believes would boost its fortunes. Discussing how “working class” has been defined, she finds it useful to apply the label to those without a college degree and in the bottom 80 percent of the income distribution, though she recognizes that some people with college degrees also earn below the median income.
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