Newman and Chen's book “The Missing Class” is a look into the lives of people living in the United States, who can't make it but also can't be helped with their problems by government programs . The missing class is exactly as it is described, a group of people who fare slightly better than their poor counterparts, but have no political or economic influence. The class is ignored by the masses and politicians because they are not penniless, but American society expects them to be better off than they are, and their situation could actually be improved if they were a little worse off and received assistance. Luckily I have never been part of the poverty or missing class, but many, if not all of my friends' families fall into this category, and I have seen firsthand the problems these families face, and this book has done nothing but further reinforce what I observed. The first problem, which I consider the most important and harmful for the disappeared class, is that of credit. Credit is one of the cornerstones of American culture; the ability to own things you can't afford is very attractive to anyone, especially in a culture where possessions are status. Nearly every case reported in the book showed people significantly behind on rent, utilities, or even credit cards themselves. In the extreme case of Julia, who “has seventeen credit cards” (1) she was forced to take a loan from the bank to pay off her credit, putting her in more manageable debt. Credit companies target these families because they know they earn enough to make a minimum payment that pays off the interest and little on their actual debt. This is guaranteed money for the company, keeping the class in debt, it is almost promised generations of income streams because... middle of paper... you have time for your real life. This is further agitated by how the missing class is viewed; they are expected to compete at the middle class level, without the tools necessary to do so. With difficulty owning a nice home, getting a well-paying job, or even getting noticed socially, the vanishing class is thought to be keeping its head above water, but in reality it is sinking fast. In conclusion, I enjoyed reading the cases found in “The Missing Class”. Reading these stories reminds me why I want to major in Sociology, to attempt to help those that no one else will. I actually felt angry while reading the section with Gloria, who was passed on by healthcare workers until she was forced to get tested and the results were thyroid cancer. Adding to my frustration are her children who have given her absolute hell and a morally deficient father who refused to help her in any way possible..