Summary of David Cay Johnston's Divided

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

Sample Book Insights:

#1 The choice between World A, where you earn $110,000 a year and everyone else earns $200,000, and World B, where you earn $100,000 and everyone else earns $85,000, is difficult for many Americans to decide.

#2 In the housing market, as in the automobile market, top earners have initiated a process that leads to increased expenditures on down the line, even those who have not risen in income.

#3 The family that overspends on housing at the cost of heavy debt, long working hours, financial anxiety, and a scarcity of family time is not just a familiar anecdote, but also a fair description of where middle-class America has been going.

#4 Americans are spending more because they have more money. But their spending has led others to spend more, including middle-income families. This is because the rich are spending more now simply because they have more money. But their spending has led others to spend more as well, including middle-income families.