Tamara Draut
Strapped: Why America’s 20 and 30 Somethings can’t get Ahead. She is a part of generation X, which gives her firsthand experience about the subjects covered in the book. Her studies and writings focus on the growing economic insecurity, rising debt among citizens and declining opportunity that now characterize American society.
The book consists of seven chapters. In which Draut focuses on young adults and the problems they face, once they enter the “real world.”Chapter one: Higher and Higher Education, Draut gives several examples of how the cost of education has change over the generations from the baby boomers to generation X.Chapter two: Paycheck Paralysis, Draut says that generation Xers are living paycheck to paycheck. Many of those who are qualified for many jobs are not able to find work because they truly are not qualified.Chapter three: Generation Debt, the author explains the debt students occur during college.Chapter four: The high cost of putting a rough over your head, Draut explains that the high cost of college catches up with former students. It is like a football pile up, the more loans the student has in college the less one will be able to afford in future life goals, such as owning a home and starting a family.Chapter five: And baby makes broke, the cost of growing a family, is becoming highly unlikely for generation Xers. She explains the high cost of childcare and having a child.Chapter six: Without a fight, Explaining Young Adults’ Political Retreat, Draut explains why young adults are not voting and why young adults are not as active in politics as their older counterparts.Chapter seven: Changing Course: An Agenda for Reform, the author gives a detailed antidote to the problem of generation Xers. The governments “I don’t care attitude” towards young adults causes them to reject some of the politics, which causes them to lose their voice. Most of the