The Two-Income Trap - Elizabeth Warren [1]
—Atlantic Monthly
“Warren and Tyagi masterfully demonstrate how parents’ quest for high-quality public schools often lies at the heart of their precarious economic position. . . . [I]nnovative . . . ingenious approach to a difficult and divisive issue.”
—Judith A. Winston, Former Undersecretary and General Counsel, U.S. Department of Education
“Presenting carefully researched economic data to support their arguments, the authors contend that, contrary to popular myth, families aren’t in trouble because they’re squandering their second income on luxuries. On the contrary, both incomes are almost entirely committed to necessities . . . The authors recommend a number of useful societal solutions to get families out of this trap . . . this is a needed examination of an emerging social problem.”
—Publishers Weekly
“[This] sobering analysis of the widespread and largely unaddressed erosion of middle-class stability presents a carefully crafted, persuasive indictment of a financial industry preying on the hardships and vulnerabilities of middle-class families, and the argument is perhaps most effective in its careful accounting of the families of public education to serve equitably the needs of those families.”
—Ruminator Review
“[A]ccurately characterizes the plight of the middle class and illuminates the problems that arise when families become dependent upon two incomes without adequately saving.”
—The Hill
“The book persuasively argues that the rise of dual-income families is increasing the chances of a middle-class financial disaster.”
—St. Petersburg Times
“My advice for a great way to start on the road back to fiscal solvency, or to avoid falling into this trap altogether, is to invest $26 of your dwindling discretionary income on THE TWO-INCOME TRAP. The solutions and advice it provides might change the financial future for you and your children, today, tomorrow, and forever.”
—Lowell Sun
“The book should be mandatory reading for any couple before they begin a family.”
—Pensacola News Journal
“Well-constructed book [with a] very persuasive argument”
—“Sound Money,” NPR
“An extremely thoughtful, well-presented, relevant book that challenges some of the basic assumptions in America today . . . this excellent work deserves to be considered by all, and most currently by policy-makers looking for creative solutions.”
—Tampa Tribune
“[A] comfort to parents who are sick of being told it is their own fault their families are struggling financially. Here, finally is another interpretation of the data, one that says we’re going broke not because we over-spend on things we don’t need but because we’re good parents . . . It is a sound policy document . . . Whether you agree with their suggestions or not, [Warren and Tyagi] offer plenty of food for thought and a welcome break from the guilt that comes with each month’s efforts to keep up with the mounting bills.”
—Chicago Parents Magazine
ALSO BY ELIZABETH WARREN:
As We Forgive Our Debtors
The Fragile Middle Class
This book is dedicated to all parents who wake up with hearts thudding over the possibility that buying school shoes and Girl Scout uniforms will mean that there won’t be enough left over to pay the mortgage. These people are our neighbors, our brothers and sisters, our friends and coworkers. They travel anonymously among us, but we know them. They went to college, had kids, bought a home, played by the rules—and lost. It is time to rewrite the rules so that these families are winners again.
Introduction
The Two-Income Trap shipped to bookstores on September 2, 2003—an easy day to remember, because it happens to be Amelia’s birthday. (Amelia’s co-author, Elizabeth, also celebrates that day, since she’s Amelia