Frank - Prof Frank

As economist Robert Frank argues in his new book, Falling Behind, middle-class America's perception that it needs more money to maintain its social rank is about more than unwise purchases of optional luxury goods. Prof Frank believes that rising income inequality has made it harder for middle-income families to maintain what they consider a middle-class lifestyle. Part of the dilemma is the old problem of coveting your neighbor's ox. In many circumstances, the sad fact of human nature is that we care more about having more than the Joneses than about what it is we actually have. But Prof Frank also thinks that some of the things most of us see as necessities, particularly an excellent education for our children, are becoming harder for the middle-class to afford. As evidence,e Prof Frank cites research by Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Tyungi showing that most of the extra income earned by families as a result of the move to two-earner couples was consumed by higher housing prices as these families sought to buy homes in safer neighborhoods with better schools. Key issues consonant with Franks' key thesis in Failing Behind include which of the following?