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celina_r 's review for:
Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope
by Nicholas D. Kristof, Sheryl Wudunn
3.5 stars. NYT columnist Nick Kristof and his wife and coauthor Sheryl WuDunn return to his hometown in Oregon for an exploration of recent work (by Case and Deaton, among others) on deaths of despair: America's recent decline in life expectancy, due largely to health problems among the struggling working class. The deaths in this case happened to Nick's friends and neighbors from "the number 6 bus" to public school, of addiction and other health problems created or compounded by unemployment, prison, and poverty. The authors earnestly blend arguments for more government action with the acknowledgment that yes, their neighbors made poor choices (drug use, teen and single motherhood, child abuse). They expand their investigation with profiles of nonprofits around the country that have done heroic work getting neglected children and people with addictions and criminal records on their feet again.
It's a worthy effort, well reported and written and beautifully read on audio by Jennifer Garner. I'm just not sure the authors' exploitation of their friends (with their permission) will persuade the right-wing target audience to support more government intervention in the economy. They overstate the benefits of education, failing to acknowledge the fading of the historical moment that allowed them to rise by staying in school, but they do make a controversial yet compelling argument for more vocational education. After all that, the policy prescriptions at the end (payment of benefits contingent on "financial literacy classes" i.e. don't blow it all on lotto tickets or meth, a public option for health care, private donations to nonprofits) could be a lot stronger.
It's a worthy effort, well reported and written and beautifully read on audio by Jennifer Garner. I'm just not sure the authors' exploitation of their friends (with their permission) will persuade the right-wing target audience to support more government intervention in the economy. They overstate the benefits of education, failing to acknowledge the fading of the historical moment that allowed them to rise by staying in school, but they do make a controversial yet compelling argument for more vocational education. After all that, the policy prescriptions at the end (payment of benefits contingent on "financial literacy classes" i.e. don't blow it all on lotto tickets or meth, a public option for health care, private donations to nonprofits) could be a lot stronger.