{"product_id":"unjust-debts-melissa-b-jacoby-9781620977866","title":"Unjust Debts: How Our Bankruptcy System Makes America More Unequal","description":"\u003cb\u003eA groundbreaking look at the hidden role of bankruptcy in perpetuating inequality in America, from an expert in the field\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"\u003cem\u003eUnjust Debts\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e throws open the doors and windows to the bankruptcy system so readers can see for themselves how this law works and doesn't work for the real people it so profoundly affects.\" \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e--Beth Macy, \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e bestselling author of \u003cem\u003eDopesick\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eRaising Lazarus\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBankruptcy is the busiest federal court in America. In theory, bankruptcy in America exists to cancel or restructure debts for people and companies that have way too many--a safety valve designed to provide a mechanism for restarting lives and businesses when things go wrong financially.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this brilliant and paradigm-shifting book, legal scholar Melissa B. Jacoby shows how bankruptcy has also become an escape hatch for powerful individuals, corporations, and governments, contributing in unseen and poorly understood ways to race, gender, and class inequality in America. When cities go bankrupt, for example, police unions enjoy added leverage while police brutality victims are denied a seat at the negotiating table; the system is more forgiving of civil rights abuses than of the parking tickets disproportionately distributed in African American neighborhoods. Across a broad range of crucial issues, \u003cem\u003eUnjust Debts \u003c\/em\u003ereveals the hidden mechanisms by which bankruptcy impacts everything from sexual harassment to health care, police violence to employment discrimination, and the opioid crisis to gun violence.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the tradition of Matthew Desmond's groundbreaking \u003cem\u003eEvicted\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eUnjust Debts\u003c\/em\u003e is a riveting and original work of accessible scholarship with huge implications for ordinary people and will set the terms of debate for this vital subject.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Melissa B. Jacoby\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1620977869\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781620977866\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e New Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/11\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.05lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.60h x 5.50w x 1.20d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/22\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 05\/01\/2024","brand":"Melissa B. Jacoby","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44790503637247,"sku":"9781620977866","price":27.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_d7b7b144-557d-44e6-943a-912daaabe9a7.jpg?v=1707289133","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/unjust-debts-melissa-b-jacoby-9781620977866","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}