Contents
Volume One
Alphabetical List of Entries xv
Introduction: The American Dream and the Middle Class xxi
Prologue: A Portrait of the Middle Class
Essays 3
What Is Middle Class in Amer i ca? Examining Income and Occupation 3
How Americans View Themselves: The Dilemma of Class Identity 9
The Origins of the Middle Class 14
The Future of the American Middle Class 19
The Critical Role of Race in Defining the Middle Class 22
Portraits 27
The American Indian Middle Class 27
The Asian American Middle Class 32
The Black Middle Class 38
The Rise of a New Black Middle Class 40
The Hispanic Middle Class 45
The LGBT Middle Class 48
The White Middle Class 52
Part 1: Economic Uncertainty and the American Middle Class
Overview Essay 57
What Happened to the American Dream? 57
Entries 63
Affordable Care Act and the Labor Market 63
American Capitalism in the 21st Century 66
Antitrust Policy 68