No Slack: The Financial Lives of Low-Income Americans

Posted by on October 14, 2013

No Slack: The Financial Lives of Low-Income Americans

The financial crisis lay bare how the financial system failed the nation but left hidden the many ways in which that system still fails the most vulnerable Americans. In No Slack, Michael S. Barr explores how low- and moderate-income households cope with financial stress, use financial services to make ends meet, and often come up short.

Many households were overleveraged or paid high costs for financial services, while others lacked access to useful financial products that can cushion against economic instability. The financial services system is not well designed to serve low- and moderate-income households, leaving them without financial slack: they did not have adequate breathing room for making the financial adjustments that would permit them to better meet their own needs. No Slack shows us why these families were the least prepared to handle the shock of the deep recession.

http://www.brookings.edu/research/books/2012/noslack


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