The Missing Class: Portraits of the Near Poor in America

An urgent examination of the lives of millions of hardworking Americans—neither poor nor middle class—who live without a safety net

The Missing Class gives voice to the 57 million Americans—including 21 percent of the nation’s children— who are sandwiched between poor and middle class. While government programs help the needy and politicians woo the more fortunate, the “Missing Class” is largely invisible and ignored. Through the experiences of nine families, Katherine Newman and Victor Tan Chen trace the unique problems faced by individuals in this large and growing demographic— the “near poor”—who have transformed their lives through hard work and determination.

Newman and Chen explain where these families came from, how they’ve struggled to make a decent living, and why they’re stuck without a safety net. The question for the Missing Class is not whether they’re doing better than the truly poor—they are. The question is whether these individuals—on the razor’s edge of subsistence—are safely ensconced in the Missing Class or in danger of losing it all. An eloquent argument for the need to think about inequality in a broader way, The Missing Class has much to tell us about whether the American dream still exists for those willing to sacrifice for it.

“The Missing Class is a call to action to change America. Like other books that transformed our nation, it will inspire us to work for an America that doesn’t ignore those in need . . . an America where the family you were born into or the color of your skin never controls your destiny.
—from the Foreword by Senator John Edwards

“A vivid, close-up, and often moving look at the urban ‘near poor.’” —Barbara Ehrenreich

“Just above the artificial ‘poverty line,’ millions of hard-working people struggle invisibly to gain a foothold on the promise of the American Dream. Their raw hardships and persistent hopes, collected in this book of unflinching portraits, ought to sound the alarm for an America grown complacent.” —David Shipler, author of The Working Poor: Invisible in America

“With riveting detail, The Missing Class uses the compelling stories of nine families to portray a neglected group – more numerous than the officially poor – who work hard, play by the rules, yet live on the brink of disaster, one unlucky step away from plunging into poverty. Sensible and realistic programs, Newman and Chen show, could prevent their fall, reduce their insecurity, and help the Missing Class join the middle class.” —Michael B. Katz, co-author of One Nation Divisible: What America Was and What It Is Becoming

“The Missing Class is an important book. Newman and Chen provide an absorbing account of the lives of nine near poor families and their day-to-day struggles to make ends meet. It is must reading for those concerned about the fate of Americans who live so close to the margins.” —William Julius Wilson, Lewis P. and Linda L. Geyser University Professor Harvard University

“. . . there are many millions of Americans who are not doing well, and the nation is not addressing their plight. Thirty-seven million Americans, many of them children, are officially classified as poor. What is not widely known is that another 57 million are struggling just one notch above the poverty line. This is spelled out in a new book, “The Missing Class: Portraits of the Near Poor in America,” by Katherine Newman and Victor Tan Chen . . .” —Bob Herbert, New York Times

Katherine S. Newman, the author of eight previous books, is the Forbes Class of ’41 Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at Princeton University. Newman has appeared on CNN, Oprah, NBC, CBS, and NPR. Victor Tan Chen is the founding editor and president of INTHEFRAY Magazine.