The Trap
Description
"Takes dead aim at the conservative economic consensus that has dominated U.S. politics . . . Biting and necessary."-The American Prospect
In this witty and revealing polemic, journalist Daniel Brook's The Trap argues that the exploding income gap-a product of the conservative ascendance-is systematically dismantling the American dream, as debt-laden, well-educated young people are torn between their passions and the pressure to earn six-figure incomes.
Rising education, housing, and health-care costs have made it virtually impossible for all but the corporate elite to enjoy what were once considered middle-class comforts. Thousands are afflicted with a wrenching choice: take up residence on America's financial and social margins or sell out. From the activist who works to give others a living wage but isn't paid one himself, to the universal health-care advocate who becomes a management consultant for Big Pharma, Brook presents a damning indictment of the economic and political landscape that traps young Americans.
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Person
Daniel Brook is a journalist whose writing has appeared in Harper's, Dissent, the San Francisco Chronicle, and The Boston Globe, among other publications. Brook was a finalist in the 2003 Livingston Awards for Young Journalists and won the 2000 Rolling Stone College Journalist Competition while a student at Yale. He lives in Philadelphia.