Barbara Ehrenreich's It Is Expensive To Be Poor

Analytical Paragraph In the article, “It is Expensive to be Poor,” author Barbara Ehrenreich effectively uses causes and effects to prove that poverty is expensive. The causes and effects are effective because they support her article, and they help the reader understand the problem. Some of the examples of causes and effects in the article are how the war on poverty slowed down due to lack of funds, and the war in Vietnam. The article also included examples such as not enough earning from jobs so people were not able to switch to other jobs, and a varying work schedule didn’t allow people to have a second job. The causes and effects showed the reader why the war on poverty was slowed down and the reason behind the occurrence of poverty.

In the article, Ehrenreich has included her personal experiences to ensure the reader that she isn’t just going on about the topic based on other people’s point of view but also through her background knowledge. Barbara’s experiences having worked different entry-level jobs, while trying to complete her book effectively explain as to why poor single mothers stick to their kind of jobs such as a waitress, and/or hotel housekeeping; and why they don’t really have a way to progress or transition into a higher-level job or to a well-paying job. Another example used by the author was the label that the poor single mothers had received, a key link to “the cycle of poverty” and that by sitting home and getting welfare, the women aren’t doing anyone any good. She also clarifies that poverty is a shortage of money rather than a character failing to prove that poverty isn’t intentional rather more fated. Nobody wants to be poor but at times it’s the circumstances that leave us in poverty such as the Great Recession. The emotional appeal really helps persuade the reader of the author’s thesis by talking about tha one-on-one experience of people who’ve been in that