What Has Democracy Done For You Lately?

What happens when the people who keep ademocracyrunning can no longer afford to live in it?

A Bone to Pick: The Good and Bad News About Food

What hasdemocracydone for me lately?

InWhat HasDemocracyDone for Me Lately?, Saru Jayaraman and Rayan Semery-Palumbo argue that the crisis of Americandemocracycannot be separated from the crisis of economic inequality. Drawing on decades of organizing, original research, and vivid stories-from restaurant workers and caregivers to teachers and small-business owners-the authors show how a broken wage system has drained work of dignity anddemocracyof credibility. They trace how appeals to "savedemocracy" ring hollow when work doesn't pay, and why symbolic recognition without material improvement leaves millions vulnerable to false populism.

This book offers more than diagnosis. By chronicling the rise of the Living Wage for All movement, it shows howdemocracyhas been rebuilt before-and how it can be rebuilt again-by advancing bold, inclusive campaigns that inspire people and delivering tangible improvements in people's lives that prove thatdemocracyis worth saving. At a moment of deep economic anxiety and rising authoritarianism,What HasDemocracyDone for Me Lately?makes a clear, urgent case:when work pays,democracyworks-and without that promise, it cannot survive.