309: Debunking the Myth of the American Dream with Alissa Quart, Author of Squeezed & Bootstrapped

B”H

Today we are taking a more macro look at our finances. We’re addressing the American Dream, and the idea of “bootstrapping,” with Economic Journalist Alissa Quart.

Alissa has covered economic hardship in much of her acclaimed work, including her last book Squeezed: Why Our Families Can’t Afford America, and her upcoming book Bootstrapped: Liberating Ourselves from the American Dream.

She’s Executive Director of the non-profit the Economic Hardship Reporting Project.

What is wrong with the idea of bootstrapping, how is it not serving us today? The problem with the grit narrative, as well as the self actualized – I did it myself, narrative. Can the experience of our Jewish immigrant grandparents be replicated in America today? We discuss “middle precariat,” those considered middle-class professionals living a precarious economic life, who are just barely making it, underemployed and/or saddled with debt. If the solutions are largely social reform, where does that leave much of our individual efforts at side gigs and such to help alleviate financial challenges? In an unexpected twist, our conversation really made me value and appreciate the gift of community – Jewish community specifically, and more specifically, as it applies to those of us for whom Jewish observance centers so much around a vibrant communal life, where the interconnectedness mitigates and alleviates so much of the issues that Alissa presents as plaguing secular American culture. Fascinating and fun conversation with Alissa Quart.

Her upcoming book Bootstrapped: Liberating Ourselves from the American Dream is now available for pre-sale on Amazon.

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