From New York Times business reporter Nelson D. Schwartz comes a bold and urgent investigation
of division between the wealthy and the middle class n every arena of American life.In nearly
every realm of daily life--from health care to education highways to home security--there is
an invisible velvet rope that divides how Americans live. On one side of the rope for a price
red tape is cut lines are jumped appointments are secured and doors are opened. On the other
side middle- and working-class Americans fight to find an empty seat on the plane a place in
line with their kids at the amusement park a college acceptance or a hospital bed. We are all
aware of the gap between the rich and everyone else but when we weren't looking business
innovators stepped in to exploit it shifting services away from the masses and finding new
ways to profit by serving the privileged. And as decision-makers and corporate leaders
increasingly live on the friction-free side of the velvet rope they are less inclined to
change--or even notice--the obstacles everyone else must contend with. Schwartz's must read
book takes us on a behind-the-scenes tour of this new reality and shows the toll the velvet
rope divide takes on society.
