LA times here begins a series on working Americans. They focus on the idea that financial risks have been shifted to the workers as numerous safety nets have been shredded.
If America Is Richer, Why Are Its Families So Much Less Secure? - Los Angeles Times: "A broad array of protections that families once depended on to shield them from economic turmoil � stable jobs, widely available health coverage, guaranteed pensions, short unemployment spells, long-lasting unemployment benefits and well-funded job training programs � have been scaled back or have vanished altogether.

'Working Americans are on a financial tightrope,' said Yale University political scientist Jacob S. Hacker, who is writing a book called 'The Great Risk Shift.' 'Business and government used to see it as their duty to provide safety nets against the worst economic threats we face. But more and more, they're yanking them away.'"