“The Working Poor: Invisible in America”, written by David Shipler (2004), portrayed many families who faced extreme barriers that directly impacted their families and affected the quality of their lives. This book not only gave the reader a sense of America’s social justice issues, but it also allowed the reader an opportunity to take a look inside the lives of real people struggling with social, economic, and cultural barriers to achieving the “American Dream”. Among many of the individuals and families in the book, most were barely making it financially, despite large efforts. With respect to social work, David Shipler did a fantastic job opening the eyes of the reader to the problems one might face with clients, and the spiral effects …show more content…
This book shows the saddening truth of why the poor typically stay poor and the many, many obstacles that must be overcome just to “get ahead”. As mentioned above, the families in this book were largely affected by social, economic, and cultural barriers. Barriers of all three structural blocks, can include, but are not limited to, low wages, safe housing, education, job training, language barriers, and religious beliefs. Early in the book, Shipler writes about corrupt public administration, such as banks, check cashing facilities, and tax preparers. These are a few examples of structural economic barriers that families encountered. It is clear to understand while reading, that the working poor are easy targets of abuse by these institutions. Check cashing facilities offer a sense of false hope for the poor who need a “quick loan” to get out of a financial crisis. In chapter one, Shiper discusses the misleading information given by these facilities, such as the interest rates or appealing promises that have bad end results. …show more content…
The lack of proper English and understanding of the American culture was a huge problem for those working in sweatshops in Los Angeles, emphasized profoundly by Shipler. These individuals were unable to escape the low wages they were receiving for many reasons, including lack of English or fear of being deported. A consequential result of language barriers and immigration also affects the ability to obtain proper health care for families and children. In chapter eight, Shipler writes, “ Many legal immigrants are reluctant to accept food stamps or Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, to which they may be entitled, because they are afraid they will be judged ‘public charges’ and therefore be denied permanent residence leading to citizenship” (Shipler, 207). This is a great example of how families are not receiving benefits they deserve due to fear of deportation or not gaining citizenship. Many of these families may not know be aware of their rights or know where to go for help. There should be reform around these types of scenarios, so families can feel safe accessing
In David Shipler’s book “The Working Poor: Invisible in America” starts out describing what Earned Income Tax Credit is it’s a program to help people in poverty who are either liberals and conservatives. Providing a significant source of income once a year to help your down payments on a car, house, bills, debt, or other taxes. It seems to be a good program, but some government businesses sometimes mislead their claims and denying others access to certain benefits or rights. Certain people who have a hard time doing their taxes seek help, but tax prepares may charge high interest rates and fees to just use their services. For example, Evon Johnson who had a tax charge from the IRS for over $2,072.
In a New York Times article, “Too Poor to Make the News,” author Barbara Ehrenreich focuses on the impact the recession has caused to the lives of the working poor. She begins her article by describing how the newly group, known as Nouveau poor, have to give up valuables where as the working poor have to give up housing, food, and prescription medicines. Ehrenreich’s purpose is to inform her readers who are blessed enough not to suffer like the working poor. Barbara Ehrenreich’s article examines the impacts the recession has on the lives of the working poor, by demonstrating pathos, and makes readers aware of the sufferings the poor have to face. Barbara Ehrenreich examines the aspects that are impacting the working poor from the recession.
In the book, Off the Books, by Sudhir Alladi Venkatesh, the author provides a comprehensive look into the lives of the urban poor in the United States. In his book, Venkatesh examines the way in which the urban poor employ a variety of strategies to make ends meet in the face of limited resources and lack of access to mainstream banking and financial services. By exploring the social networks and informal economic activities of the urban poor, Venkatesh provides an in-depth look into this community and the unique ways in which they make a living. This book highlights the struggles of the working poor in Chicago's inner-city as it provides an in-depth look at the challenges faced by the underprivileged in their daily lives. Venkatesh examines
In the book Nickel and Dimed, the author Barbara Ehrenreich who is a reporter, but she describes a cruel fact of the American low wage workers’ life after she experienced poverty. She illustrates a series of stories about the poor life of low wage workers from different aspects, such as food, shelter and health insurance. She had been worked as three kinds of jobs in three diverse places, but the common point of these three jobs is low salary, which means that the money she earns was not enough for living. The author also mentioned some of her coworkers’ life, the life of low wage workers seems like a circle, it is hard for them to escape, it repeats all the time, nobody helps them to get out of the circle. To find out which obstacle keeps the poor poor, we should to know what kind of characteristics that the low wage workers had.
In preparation for this paper I chose to read Fire in the ashes: twenty five years among the poorest children in America by Jonathan Kozol. In this book Kozol has followed these children and their family’s lives for the past twenty five years. In his writing Kozol portrays a point of view most from his background and standing would not be capable of having. He portrays what life is like for those who have been let down by the system that was meant to protect them. Kozols writing style can be very blunt at times, not for shock value, but for the sake of portraying these children’s realities, and not sugarcoating the inequalities that they are faced with.
Poverty shares traits with the Shawshank State Penitentiary: a rare few find a way out but more often than not, those who begin the escape get caught and sent back to the same place they started. The path out exists, but it may require help from outside influences or having to digging away at a hole with a rock hammer for years. Unfortunately, not every impoverished American shares the triumphant tale of Andy Dufresne. The Other Wes Moore tells the story of two men of the same name and beginnings who have disparate futures. The author, Wes Moore, ended up on a path to success while the other Wes Moore remains in a jail cell for the rest of his life.
In “Millions in U.S. Climb Out of Poverty, at Long Last”, the author Patricia Cohen effectively achieves her purpose of informing readers of The New York Times about the recent decreasing poverty rate in America and somewhat motivating people currently in poverty to climb over the poverty line. She effectively supports her thoughts with logos and examples of success stories from people who rose out of poverty. Cohen begins her article with a brief success story about Alex Caicedo, who overcame poverty, and continues to introduce the main idea of her article by informing her audience about the decreasing poverty rate. Cohen continues to support the idea of the decrease in poverty by presenting statistics and facts about the situation.
The Truth About Poverty “Poverty is like punishment for a crime you didn't commit” this quote was said by Mahatma Gandhi and it relates so well with this article “It is Expensive To Be Poor”, answer the question yourself, Is it expensive to be poor? This article is titled like that to get the audience's attention early and have them thinking ahead of reading. The author Barbara Ehrenreich is building a pre thought when she does this which helps support her claim. “It is Expensive To Be Poor” by Barbara Ehrenreich is an article posted on “The atlantic” “which is where you can find your current news and analysis on politics, business, culture, and technology”. Knowing what “The Atlantic” offers for readers this gives Ehrenreich a detailed look at who she is writing to.
By following these families and writing this book, the audience is truly shown the major problem of poverty in our country. Matthew Desmond
The novel, The American Way of Poverty: How the Other Half Still Lives by Sasha Abramsky is about how he traveled the United States meeting the poor. The stories he introduces in novel are articles among data-driven studies and critical investigations of government programs. Abramsky has composed an impressive book that both defines and advocates. He reaches across a varied range of concerns, involving education, housing and criminal justice, in a wide-ranging view of poverty 's sections. In considering results, it 's essential to understand how the different problems of poor families intermingle in mutual reinforcement.
The complementary relationship between low-wage immigrants and high-wage natives seems to hold even as the encounter between them becomes more distant and abstract. Middle class Americans are capable of buying a fast food meal and picking up a veggie tray at a grocery store or even having presents prewrapped before they are sent to their door all because of immigrants. Low income immigrants make the lives of higher income natives easier and more efficient. The promise is, however, that even if one cannot afford to use day care services, even if one does their own landscaping, even if one cannot afford to buy fast food meals or veggie trays, even if one shops at a dollar store rather than using the services of Amazon, one will still be better
This essay highlights that in today’s society there are still ongoing issues that need to be addressed. With the government changing the benefit system again, which is creating more debt and stress to families and individuals in the process of this change, the cycle of poverty will still be ongoing for the foreseeable
Generational Poverty Poverty has been around for numerous years. Poverty can be a generational problem if people let it. James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” and David Joy’s “Digging in the trash” both show that families in poverty do not have it easy, the children will live in poverty unless something is done, and people either find a way of escape or stand up against it. In the short story, “Sonny’s Blues” Baldwin shows how the lack of monetary resources affects many generations.
1984 Synthesis Essay Poverty negatively influences how the minds of people work in the world. The fact that poverty exists itself, obstructs people from changing their circumstances in what is known as “the cycle of poverty.” The lower class is incredibly disadvantaged in that it lacks the necessary social and economic resources needed to increase chances of social mobility. In return, the absence of these resources may increase poverty. Therefore, the lower class is unable to change its situation because the majority believes that any efforts to climb the social ladder is highly inefficient.
In “What is Poverty?” by Jo Goodwin Parker, Parker describes the readers about the life of someone living in poverty from a first person perspective to help inform the readers about poverty and to persuade them to help solve the problem of poverty. This insightful essay describes the aspects of being poor from being tired all the time and dirty to not having money for electricity and having to ask for help. This essay also explains how it was like to grow up in poverty as the speaker had to quit school to get jobs and support themself. The speaker also describes her own children and the poverty will and has affected their lives tremendously too.