The Working Poor in America Essay - 1387 Words

The Working Poor in America The concept of the working poor has gained prominence in the post-welfare reform era. As welfare rolls shrunk, the focus shifted from the dependent poor to the working poor. It was obvious that without substantial outside support, even families with full-time low-wage workers were still earning less than the official poverty line. And while American society purports that anyone can prosper if they work hard enough, it became apparent that with inadequate opportunity or bad luck, a growing number of families could not attain the American dream, or even break the cycle of poverty. The new challenge for American social policy is to help the working poor lift themselves out of poverty. Thats why progressives†¦show more content†¦He describes the entangling forces that grip many of the poor: For practically every family, then, the ingredients of poverty are part financial and part psychological, part personal and part societal, part past and part present. Every problem magnifies the impact of others, and all are so tightly interlocked that one reversal can produce a chain reaction with results far distant from the original cause. A run-down apartment can exacerbate a childs asthma, which leads to a call for an ambulance, which generates a medical bill that cannot be paid, which ruins a credit record, which hikes the interest rate on an auto loan, which forces the purchase of an unreliable used car, which jeopardizes a mothers punctuality at work, which limits her promotions and earning capacity, which confines her to poor housing. Caroline Payne, who as a child bounced back and forth between caretakers after her parents divorce, is one of the impoverished workers Shipler offers to illustrate the point. After two divorces and four children, Caroline worked several low-wage jobs. The jobs, and the odd hours that often accompanies unskilled labor, became more difficult to maintain as she tried to arrange appropriate schooling and after-school care for her learning disabled daughter. Promotions in jobs she kept were difficult to come by becauseShow MoreRelated The Working Poor in America Essay1153 Words   |  5 PagesThe Working Poor in America The United States, a place where anyone can â€Å"pick themselves up by the bootstraps† and realize the American dream of a comfortable lifestyle. Well, for over 30 million Americans this is no longer possible. Though we live in the richest and most powerful country in the world there are many who are living under or at the precipice of the poverty level, â€Å"While the United States has enjoyed unprecedented affluence, low-wage employees have been testing the American doctrineRead MoreThe Working Poor: Invisibe in America Essay1513 Words   |  7 Pages well paying job, and have a secure family. 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