The Missing Middle

Chapter Four: Our Children and Their Overstretched Parents


In her book The Missing Middle, Theda Skocpol focuses on the idea of middle-class America being left out of the benefits of many social policies instilled by the government. To illustrate her point, Skocpol argues topics relevant to different groups of Americans such as the elderly and children. She emphasizes the idea that the United States government once implemented social policies that worked, but as years have past, the government has strayed away from these ideas.
In chapter four of the book, the author focuses her attention to the children of America and the issue of poverty among this group. To start off, Skocpol points out the roles played by American businesses and politicians in the fight to end child poverty in this country. The point is argued that while these people of often talk a good talk about fighting the battle of child poverty, they rarely follow through with what they initially say the...