Tightrope

Discuss how the intergenerational impacts of poverty make it hard for people to escape from the cycle, drawing on the examples of three characters from the book.

In the final chapter, the authors suggest several interventions targeted at children in particular. Describe why early childhood interventions are so important in addressing poverty, citing examples from the book.

Throughout the book, the authors describe how America’s two-tier system is creating different realities for affluent and working-class Americans. Describe how this system is playing out in three domains of American society.

In Chapter 15, the authors discuss the impact of single-parent households on the well-being and mobility of children, but they also note that progressives have traditionally been skeptical of the emphasis placed on family. Discuss the advantages, and potential pitfalls, of the family stability lens of understanding poverty.

Throughout the book, the authors write that they chose to focus on the stories of individuals as a way of humanizing those living in poverty. Discuss why this approach is important, according to the authors, and describe how the individuals they profile challenge stereotypes about poverty, citing examples.

How does the symbol of the school bus show how far America has strayed from the original promise of the American dream? What does this symbol demonstrate about how this dream can be recovered?

At several points throughout the book, the authors describe the limitations of a lens of personal responsibility for poverty. Why, according to the authors, is this lens inadequate to explain the struggles of working-class America? Draw on examples from the book in your answer.

Several of the people the authors profile are single men afflicted by loneliness, drug addiction, and despair. Describe how the various challenges associated with poverty are particularly impactful for single men, and discuss what this impact says about the problems facing American society, in general.