Broke, USA: From Pawnshops to Poverty, Inc: How the Working Poor Became Big Business

How billions are made off Americans living paycheck to paycheck--and the grassroots crusaders fighting back. From the author of the New York Times Notable Book of the Year Drive By comes a unique and riveting exploration of one of America's largest and fastest-growing industries--the business of poverty. Investigative journalist Gary Rivlin chronicles the dramatic rise of fringe finance, documenting how check cashers, pawnshops, and installment operators built a multibillion-dollar business on the backs of the working poor. The narrative moves from storefront operations to major financial centers, uncovering how commercial banks and subprime mortgage companies targeted credit-starved households before sparking nationwide legal battles. Broke, USA is a Fast Food Nation for the "poverty industry" that will also appeal to readers of Barbara Ehrenreich (Nickel and Dimed) and David Shipler (The Working Poor). Predatory Lending: How venerable financial institutions like Household Finance and Fleet targeted credit-starved homeowners with hidden fees, ballooning payments, and deceptive insurance policies that stripped away hard-won equity. Payday Loans: Inside the rise of storefront cash-advance empires like Check Into Cash and Advance America, where entrepreneurs turned two-week bridge loans into lucrative, repeat-borrower cycles. Case Studies: From an elderly Ohio delivery driver to an Atlanta legal aid attorney uncovering reverse redlining, Rivlin brings human faces to the victims and crusaders on the front lines. Economic Disparity: An unvarnished look at how fringe financial sectors--including rent-to-own outlets, pawnshops, and rapid tax refund services--routinely extract billions in fees from families living on under $30,000 a year.…