Poverty: a prevalent issue in the Latino community. Daniel Dohan explores this aspect in his book, The Price of Poverty. Studying two neighborhoods, the Chavez and Guadalupe barrios, he comes to a conclusion that there are three foundations that affect poverty. These three institutions vary amongst both neighborhoods, though both have similar viewpoints on each issue.
The first out of three institutions mentioned is informal social networks. This reflects how residents of both neighborhoods participated in low-wage jobs, and the motives these people have to continue working. Next, Dohan mentions indigenous organizations as the second institution. This explains how members of Chavez and Guadalupe incorporate breaking the law into their everyday
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Informal social networks, for example, include family and other low-income Hispanics for both neighborhoods. In the Guadalupe barrio, a large number of people have transnational ties to Mexican communities and believe that their work is only temporary before returning to Mexico. People in Chavez don’t have these transnational ties, which leads to them believing low-wage jobs are pointless. Indigenous organizations are viewed differently in both neighborhoods as well. In the Guadalupe neighborhood, people participate in the informal economy, in which they work illegally but lawful well. This includes activities such as accepting lower wages, using illegal documentation to get a job or working in conditions that ignore labor laws. In Chavez, residents work illicitly, doing work that is illegal and unauthorized. Selling drugs, theft, and belonging to gangs are a few examples of working illicitly. Lastly, public aid affects residents of both neighborhoods as well. In both Chavez and Guadalupe, residents believe that receiving aid is not a genuine source of income, creating a stigma around the idea. With Chavez residents, those who accepted aid did so strategically in order to gain an advantage in the community. In Guadalupe, residents believe that any aid is illegitimate, though can be reasonable depending on each person’s case. In both neighborhood’s cases, the issue of poverty remains, creating a deep issue for current residents and for future ones as