How realistic is the image and the American myth of pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps? And what policies would actually help promote social mobility at a time when the wealth gap is widening and the middle class is shrinking?

Here & Now‘s Scott Tong talks with Alissa Quart, author of the book “Bootstrapped: Liberating Ourselves from the American Dream.” Quart is a journalist and the executive director of the Economic Hardship Reporting Project.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.