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The Working Poor: Invisible in America by…
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The Working Poor: Invisible in America (edition 2005)

by David K. Shipler (Author)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
1,3602313,674 (3.98)26
Very insightful and familiar. Free of judgement and more observational than I had expected, the biggest idea that is presented early on, is that poverty or struggle isn't normally based on one thing, but a collection of events...some chicken/egg, but still a different way of thinking. ( )
  Bricker | Oct 25, 2017 |
Showing 23 of 23
Who couldn't enjoy anything written by David Shipler?
The weaving of personal stories with journalism/objective data & trends is important. It allows me to see different angles, and not necessarily in agreement/objection - but varied understanding of poverty in the United States.

Not in the book, but i now believe the idea of a social welfar state can never work in the U.S.; so long as our federal/state/local jurisdiction laws are so fragmented any attempt to distribute wealth through the state will utterly fail.

I have recommended this book to friends, and will mail my paper copy to a friend who is a director (on the board) of a non-profit. ( )
  maitrigita | Mar 3, 2022 |
Let me begin by saying this book was not an easy read for me. The author holds little back in describing the lives of the working poor, which can feel depressing, unsettling, and at times even hopeless.

Nevertheless, David Shipler's The Working Poor is a powerful lesson of empathy. He forces his readers to see life through the eyes on those on margins of society. His goal is to highlight America's disregard for the working poor and make visible those we often overlook. Each chapter focuses on a different barrier for those at the financial bottom, painting a picture of the nature of poverty and the issues that keep so many down. However, he does so, not as much from the ivory tower of academics but rather through interviews with people from all over the country. Throughout the book, Shipler tells people's stories, describing what life is like being poor. Poverty is not simply because of bad decisions (although this is definitely a contributor). Nor is it simply the consequence of a corrupt system. The reasons for poverty are intensely complex, and only through a holistic system of supports (including kinship, housing, healthcare, transportation, education, a fair wage, etc.) does anyone rise from poverty.

The lessons he writes about are for all to consider. And sadly, those who need to hear this message the most will not read this book. Nevertheless, for a superb summary, look to: http://tamarackcommunity.ca/downloads/vc/work_poor_invisible_in_US.pdf
( )
  nrt43 | Dec 29, 2020 |
If you don't know much about poverty, this book may prove useful to you, but go in with eyes open. Shipler is at his best when he's letting the poor folks he speaks to speak for themselves. However, he is very much a liberal, and while he's talking with poor people we also get sympathetic interviews with bosses, managers, job trainers, "tough love" social workers, and the like. He praises people who shape themselves (and allow themselves to be shaped) into well-behaved, obedient workers set on climbing into higher levels of workplace hierarchy. His solution for the plight of the working poor is very much reformist and government-centered - the poor should overwhelm the rich at the voting booth, and his critique of how successful that has been/could be is nonexistent. The answer comes not from below - from poor people organizing themselves and building power - but from government programs, corporations, politicians, and benevolent gentry such as himself and his target audience. Capitalism needs to be changed, but is essentially good. It depends on poverty - Shipler says so quite uncritically - the issue for him is that the poor are treated better and given the opportunity to get ahead so others may replace them. If any of this made you cringe, you might be better off finding something with a little more teeth. ( )
  2dgirlsrule | Jul 12, 2020 |
ok so i liked this book. it is mass-market muckraking. the solutions at the end assume a market economy (which is totally safe for mass-market i guess!) so it ends up being a set of harrowing tales of life in or near poverty with the end result being, "well, it's all connected, so we need more funding for ... everything." which like yes! but also, hey, a living wage? he almost-kinda-doesn't really mention the possibility that walmart etc. paying wages as low as they can possibly get away with because the social safety can and will and does step in with food stamps and other subsidies that make this possible! so work can be an answer, it is not THE answer, you know?

our economy is utterly fucked and by couching his solutions within the system after so much (deserved!) hand-wringing about the Life of the Poor, it left me cold.

it didn't mean to be more than this, this, this, told a dozen different ways: "Workers at the edge of poverty are essential to America’s prosperity, but their well-being is not treated as an integral part of the whole. Instead, the forgotten wage a daily struggle to keep themselves from falling over the cliff. It is time to be ashamed."

i SO understand the impulse to set context and propose solutions but they were so tepid! agh! anyway, read this. anecdotal evidence is powerful. ( )
  mirnanda | Dec 27, 2019 |
Very touching and poignant, this book will tug at your heartstrings. It is a call to action for a wide span of problems that plague the destitute and impoverished, especially those in America, since that is the main focus of the book. Some people do want to work but lack the job skills necessary to be marketable, or they have a string of bad luck, or they made some terrible choices. Whatever the case may be, digging out of the hole called poverty is much harder than it sounds.

Politicians on both the right and the left of the divide might have some ideas, but Shipler is here to tell you that problems can't be generalized to a whole population. Perhaps they say that the person should just "get a job," but without soft skills, hard skills and contacts already in the labor force, that is a daunting task. Even if someone does get a job, it is hard to live off of 7 dollars an hour, and in most cases that puts people off of even trying, since welfare is just easier. Not because they don't want to work, but in some cases, it jeopardizes everything they were trying for.

However, this can't be waved away by raising wages, because as Shipler points out, raising the wages forces the prices up because that money to pay the workers has to come from somewhere. This leads to a massive sweep throughout the economy that puts people back where they started. People won't be able to buy the dresses they sew or the cars that they make.

You could merely get people education, but it isn't very easy to educate people that are hungry. You could give them food stamps, but that won't ensure that the right sort of food enters their mouths. You could educate them on the food they need to eat, but it's difficult to communicate across a language barrier or a racial divide. It might be that the children of these people can learn English better and take advantage of citizenship to the US, but it doesn't change the fact that the slum they live in has terrible schools. The terrible schools would like to get better funding and spend more time with students, but when you have 40 students to a classroom it is difficult to focus on one. Also schools have the whole standardized test thing to follow, and they just can't devote that much energy to the individual. Not to mention the fact that school funding is based on property values.

So basically, this is a horrible problem with no clear cut solution. Now the example in the above paragraph isn't to say that only non-white immigrants are stuck in poverty, far from it... that was only an example of the problems affecting these people.

Anyway, I recommend this book. It is quite touching and good. ( )
  Floyd3345 | Jun 15, 2019 |
Very insightful and familiar. Free of judgement and more observational than I had expected, the biggest idea that is presented early on, is that poverty or struggle isn't normally based on one thing, but a collection of events...some chicken/egg, but still a different way of thinking. ( )
  Bricker | Oct 25, 2017 |
This book is nearly 10 years old now, so parts are certainly a little out of date (especially the section on healthcare in the final chapter). For the most part, though, what is most depressing is how little things have changed.

Whether the poor are native born or immigrant, white, black, Asian, or Hispanic, they face a stream of bureaucratic, housing, childcare, transportation, and healthcare crises--and one of which can cause an employment crisis. Meanwhile, the schools failed many of them and are, in turn, failing their children (often because the parents don't trust teachers and administration based on their own experiences). Hunger and chronic seemingly minor health conditions (especially asthma and allergies, as well as learning disabilities and poor eyesight) can strongly affect a student's ability to learn--things that, for even a slightly more prosperous family, would be solvable. Allergies and asthma can be helped by moving to a roach- and carpet-free apartment, glasses fix vision problems, and demanding proper school services help with learning problems. Many of the poor cannot simply do these things without risking jobs due to transportation or missed wages from time off.

Social services are often weak--but many do not even receive what they qualify for. The hoops that require jumping can be arduous (and require more time off work), and staff can be rude and difficult and shame recipients.

Drugs and alcohol pull many of the working poor farther down--as do the childrearing practices employed by overtired and hungry parents. Shipler discusses how patchy services do not help because everything is interconnected--a child's asthma results on missed school, lack of health insurance results in no meds and worse attacks and more missed school, a doctor's appt results in hours lost at work (or a job lost), and the coackroaches in the cheap apartment are the root of all of these issues. But the family cannot move because there is nowhere else for them to go that is on a busline and moving is expensive.

So, still an interesting book, if a bit out of date due to its age. Also, depressing. ( )
  Dreesie | Sep 13, 2017 |
This is a powerful book. It's not pretty or easy...in fact at times it had me nearly in tears. It does a very good job at illustratinf the hardship that the working poor face, the lack of options they are given, and the cold cruelty that they face from those who think they are better because they have been given more opportunities.

My only problem with this book was the author's attempt to remain neutral politically. The problem is very obviously not a neutral one, and there are obvious wrongs and obvious rights. By ignoring (or at least downplaying) the overreaching socio-economic causes of poverty, Shipler has nearly undermined some of his own arguments. It should not be necessary to tread some wishy-washy political center in a situation where the truth holds a very obvious liberal bias.

That said, this is definitely a book worth reading. ( )
  sammii507 | Aug 19, 2014 |
You could either pick up The Working Poor and feel really good about your own situation (if you are employed and are living well within your means) or you could read it and feel absolutely terrible for a myriad of reasons; you feel guilty about your well-off situation or you, yourself are feeling the stress of mounting debt and the growing impossibility of making ends meet. Shipler takes an unflinching look at the men and women trying to stay afloat financially as well as emotionally when they are mired in a variety of debts. He interviews men and women from all walks of life; the good, the bad, and the ugly. You have no choice but to feel something for these people. The myriad of emotions range from pity to disgust and everything in between. ( )
  SeriousGrace | Jul 15, 2013 |
Shipler's well researched analysis of the working poor prompted feelings of anger and futility as I contemplated how some of these experiences could happen in one of the world's richest industrial nations. His investigative journalism shows the reader how precariously many of our working class live where any unexpected circumstance can derail or even ruin a family's financial hopes and dreams.

Throughout the book, Shipler does an excellent job of detailing the complexities of problems facing the working poor as well as the nation as we design programs and incentives to support the our lower socio-economic class. The book includes analysis of problems within schools, medical clinics, among migrant workers, in U.S. sweatshops, and among immigrant populations. Some of the problems explored include: limited health care, poor transportation options, limited access to daycare, lack of parenting skills, poor and unsafe housing options, the need for job skills training, and list goes on and on. Shipler also explores programs that have made a difference and makes recommendations for a more holistic approach to welfare reform and social change.

While some of the statistics are probably outdated by now, this is still a good read for teachers, doctors, landlords, employers, or anyone who wants to see change in the world. ( )
  speedy74 | Jun 12, 2013 |
I'm reading this book for our church's "Windows on Poverty" adult education series, which will include a play about and by homeless people, lectures and book discussion. I think this was a good choice for the book. The past two years, focusing first on War and Peace and then on Islam, we read novels ([b:March|1934|Little Women|Louisa May Alcott|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1159226620s/1934.jpg|3244642] and [b:The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf|89754|The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf A Novel|Mohja Kahf|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171163627s/89754.jpg|86626]). But I can't think of a novel that would have covered the diversity of poverty in America the way this book did. One thing I believe will be especially helpful is that Shipler spent time with poor white people in small-town/rural New Hampshire. I know that there are similar stories in our area and hope this will help people relate, and not feel that poverty is just a problem in the inner city and among minorities. Shipler tells it like it is, pointing out both the ways in which our system oppresses poor people and the ways they themselves or their family backgrounds oppress them as well. One thing that I should have been able to figure out myself, but that it took this book to bring home to me, was that the relatively inexpensive food we buy, whether in groceries or restaurants; as well as many other goods and services we use daily, all represent people living as the working poor and unwillingly subsidizing our lifestyles. I think this is a book everyone should read. ( )
  auntieknickers | Apr 3, 2013 |
A powerful examination of the poverty right under our noses here in the US, people who work and live near us but are struggling to get by and how the system contributes to their failure and keeps them slaves of poverty. An important, well written book. ( )
  BryanThomasS | Nov 7, 2011 |
Hey, everyone! Looking for an antidote to all this doom-and-gloom market news? Need a little feel-good pick-me-up?

This ain't it.

Allow me to summarize the pith of this book: Bad choices + no safety net * societal indifference = entrenched, inescapable poverty. And even the bad decisions are decisions that seem to be made for people, rather than by them. Abuse as children, crumbling schools, parents who can't advocate for their kids, unreliable transportation, bad habits ... it's just a long, long laundry list of tragedy. And most of them could be fixed with just a bit of coordination and a bit of help. (Not to say a BAILOUT, since those aren't for people, right? You just keep your head down, wage slave, and keep working. Nothing to see over here.)

But really, who hasn't needed help in their lives? Who hasn't made some bad decisions and needed to be bailed out? That's where your reliable friends and family come in. I speak from the position of ineffable privilege, since I had NONE of these poverty risk factors (totally stable, affluent upbringing), and managed to make absolutely NO stupid teenage decisions to derail my march to the Ivy League.

But I digress. Even I, with advantages a-plenty -- personal, parental, educational, societal -- made some stupid decisions as a young independent and needed to be Bailed Out by my parents with cash. Had I no safely net, no one to help me out, these silly, easily-made errors would likely be dogging me and my credit rating still. Stupid, easily fixed, and yet somehow we let families be crushed by this for generations.

This book took a much different tone than Nickel and Dimed, although it covers a lot of the same ground. It did a much better job, I think, in examining the many factors that contribute to entrenched poverty, and doesn't canonize any of the people it pictures, the way Barbara Ehrenreich's book did a little. Not a quick read, and not uplifting -- it left me more disheartened with the problem than Fired Up, Ready To Go -- but still, compelling.

Another thing this book taught me: I am the only middle-class American that cleans my own house. Even my robot slave Scooba went all SkyNet on me and I mop my own floor. Seriously, a chapter of this book was devoted to the unhealthy stressors of poverty, which included cleaning one's own house. Once people claw their way above the poverty line, apparently their first call is to the Merry Maids. ( )
2 vote livebug | Sep 6, 2010 |
David K. Shipler tackles this difficult subject with compassion and honesty. This is not one of those books that is boring to read, with endless facts and figures. Shipler engages his readers with his conversational style of writing. He introduces us to some of the working poor, tells us of their hardships and their victories.

Most people are not poor because they are stupid or lazy. Many of us, in fact, are one bad choice or one serious illness away from being part of the working poor. This book sheds light on a subject that has too long been swept under the carpet. I believe everyone in the U.S. should read this one. ( )
  Darcia | Oct 1, 2009 |
Pulitizer prize author David Shipler has done a great public service with this book. He shows what it means to be part of the working poor and how people get to there. He offers revealing stories and hopeful tableaus that will truly educate anyone who reads the book. I used to think that I had some idea of what it means for people to be poor and how they got there. This book disavowed me of that notion. Shipler carefully identifies the many ways the slide van begin. This book is a must read for anyone thinking about dropping out of high school or college, one of the many avenues to working poorhood. I've read excerpts of it to my students and they have been mesmerized by it. I am hopeful that they will remember the wise admonitions it contains. ( )
  LawrenceJDanks_v01 | Dec 21, 2008 |
First, what this book is not: this is not a book about the very poorest of the poor, or about the poor outside of the U.S., or about all of the varieties and challenges of being poor, or about the evidence on policies to help the poor. It's a very limited book, and I know I, for one, will want to read more on this topic.

What it is, though, is a long series of true stories of people in the U.S. who have been working for a living and yet cannot make it into the middle class. These stories hint at a number of the components of the problem: transportation, child care, health, expensive financial instruments, opportunities for advancement in low-wage jobs, psychological trauma, immigration requirements. They hint at some of the things that help these people (knowledge of the systems, support structures such as family) as well as the things that impede them (addiction, credit, plain old "bad judgment").

Most importantly, though, these stories emphasize the intertwined elements of poverty in the United States, the entire system that cannot be unraveled with one snip. This is the level at which we must think if we want the United States to be a land of opportunity. Although the stories do not cover all of the relevant ground, I believe they make this point well, and provide food for thought along these lines.

Things that were not discussed enough, I believe, were the importance of race, gender, and disability; the restrictions placed on people who have committed crimes in the past; the disincentives for people to do traditionally "frugal" things such as sharing housing under Section 8 or cooking from scratch with the lack of time and facilities; matters of architecture and urban planning such as access to affordable groceries in inner cities; the poor on the family farm; the economics of medical care, especially such issues as preventive care and reproductive health. I know there are many others I noticed along the way as well.

All in all, recommended, easy to read, and hopefully only the first step on learning about these issues. ( )
3 vote chellerystick | Jul 2, 2008 |
I like how unbiased the book is-it doesn't veer into sanctifying its subjects, nor does it fully condemn them. You can visualize the homes and the jobs and the people easily. It's a really well done book thus far. It reminds me a lot of Random Family: Coming of Age in the Bronx, come to think of it. ( )
  phillyexpat | Jun 14, 2007 |
A well written journalistic take on the losers of the American Dream. The poor and the immigrants (an overlapping group) are people much talked about but hardly ever listened to. Shipler gives these unheards a voice and presents their broken lives. Often, a little leniency, a little cash and a little thought could avert major disasters. But nobody cares. Their employers seem much more interested in creating a surplus proletarian army; the bureaucracy is time-starved and stingy and banks and insurers increase shareholder values instead of providing community services. Shipler presents his subjects in a sympathetic and upbeat way. Ever the American optimist - quite a contrast to Zola's misérables.

Nowhere in the First World does poverty carry such a stigma of failure than in the US. Nowhere can you see so much poor people working at menial jobs: Shoe shiners, porters, shopping greeters, ... The lack of labour protection, decent minimal wages and mandatory health insurance has created a sub-proletariat without an escape hatch. In the 19th century, some rose from railsplitter to lawyer to president. In the 21st century, it is nearly impossible to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills. Twenty percent of Americans believe to be in the top one percent of income earners and a further twenty percent expect to reach that exclusive group in their lifetime. The poor could shatter the faulty math (a US global specialty) and are shunned aside. Poor public services, poor schools and little political interest. Local church and charity activities may alleviate the suffering, but only a rejuvenated New Deal could really make a difference. Unfortunately, the poor don't vote and do not count in the American (multi-)millionaire democracy.

Shipler enlightens his readers about the problems of the invisible and the unheard: Abuse and bad parenting, malnutrition, disease, bad schooling, the lack of a safety net and connections ... Every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. Solutions can only be systemic and require attention and care - not a forte of American bureaucracy. This brings me to the only negative point of this book: Shipler is a journalist not a social scientist. A framework would have helped to sort the anecdotes into categories and develop some hypotheses. The sweeping essay of the final chapter is only a first step in the right direction. A pointer to further reading is also missing. Overall, a good, important book that more Americans should read. ( )
1 vote jcbrunner | May 27, 2007 |
Journalist David Shipler explores the darker side of the American Dream, demonstrating that while it's possible to rise from rags to riches in the United States, it's far harder than most of us imagine. Although I felt the writer sometimes went overboard to sympathize with the "working poor" he profiles, this book clearly demonstrates the interlocking difficulties to combine to keep people poor. Most of his subjects are at least partially responsible for their own financial woes, but poor education, bad credit, bad families and unhelpful government programs collide to make it impossible to recover after just one mistake. I'm still thinking about some of the ideas in this book 11 months after reading it. No matter what your political persuasion, I guarantee you'll find this examination of the mechanics of poverty informative. ( )
1 vote cestovatela | Apr 9, 2007 |
This is the book I recommend to people who were engaged by Barbara Ehrenreich's book Nickeled and Dimed. I find The Working Poor to be FAR more powerful, because the people profiled here are not living on minimum wage for a lark, for a short time, for a magazine story. This is their real life, and the real decisions they are forced into. Shipler is a sympathetic yet objective listener. I admire his work and this book in particular. ( )
1 vote janey47 | Oct 26, 2006 |
This is an edited version of a poorly written hasty reply that I put on Amazon out of anger.
It was clear to me after having read only a few pages that this book was written with a right wing slant utilizing typical right wing stereotypes. I noticed that there wasn't one person in the list of those consulted in the writing of this book, or that offered an editorial review, that wasn’t a newspaper or affluent. No anti-poverty, women’s, immigrant, or any other group that represents the poor were included. All people who have much to gain from giving the average American the impression that the poor are poor due to their own defects. I would have thrown this book out except that I feel that you must know your enemy to fight them. Reading this book was infuriating. The author made it appear that most low income people have a combination of drug problems, alcohol problems, childhood abuse issues, poor parenting skills, poor budgeting skills, and an incomplete education.
In the chapter on child abuse there isn't a poor parent in America that hasn't been abused by their parents and all are at risk, if not already abusing their own kids! He feels that they all need to take parenting classes!
When the author discusses illegal immigrants, particularly farm and factory workers, and describes their terrible living conditions he gives the impression that poor immigrants must be terrible slobs that can't see anything wrong with their living conditions and are satisfied with them as long as they have work. He wasn't able to find a single illegal immigrant farmer or factory worker in the entire United States that had anything negative to say about these conditions! Does this author really expect people to buy this?
The author found a token *middle class* white woman who had been unfortunate enough to have divorced and fallen from her higher position in society. Of course, according to the author, there are no low income people in America that haven't fallen from this higher rung on the economic ladder that are literate so he must use this example. Here he portrays her as making the correct choice of working part time to spend more time with her kids and to send them to private school by making sacrifices in other areas while she lives off of the generous support payments that her husband provides. He can't use a mother on government assistance as an example of working only part time to stay home with the kids because that would not sit well with the affluent readers.
He consistently portrays the low income person’s home as dirty, dishes everywhere, clothes on the floor, filthy conditions generally. They are deficient in homemaking skills!
He insists that they haven’t any ‘soft skills’, a spin phrase used by the welfare reform proponents to denote cases that must be forced into training programs which consist of resume writing, interviewing skills, basic computer usage, getting to work on time, etc. According to this author, all poor people have low self esteem and can't even look at an employer or speak properly when in an interview, nor arrive to work on time, or call in when they can't show up for work. The author makes the reader feel that they are all so terribly damaged and need help in this area in the form of forced participation in a *program* that will address these soft skills and then direct the poor into *entry level* positions. After all, do you really expect employers to pay decent wages to people when they are so damaged and so useless that they are barely even human? They are costing companies money by putting up with them you know!
Really is just amazes me that so many readers are taken in by this book. I wonder how it is that nearly every low income person I have ever known had excellent skills in time management, budgeting, problem solving, and are computer literate today as well. They have all kept relatively clean houses and none of them beat their kids, in fact they were usually the first ones to point out minor flaws in each other’s parenting and offer helpful suggestions. They develop fine networks of bartering and support amongst each other. They are skilled at resume writing and communication skills.
So how come they aren't working or working and still low income? Well, there are no unskilled jobs that pay enough money to support a single person, never mind a family. There is a lack of economically feasible and decent childcare. Tuition costs are so high that only a fool would go into that kind of debt for a higher education with little means to pay it off upon graduation. Jobs once performed by unskilled labour now require a masters degree to get hired. There are often a thousand applicants for every one position advertised. Low paying jobs don't have promotion opportunities. Neither do they provide raises for skills, experience, and time on the job. They may, for example, offer a 2% raise when inflation is 5% which puts the low income person further into the hole. They call this a raise. Employees wages are decreasing every year to the benefit of the employers. There is also the cost of public transportation or a car if they are rural, clothes for work and quicker more costly meals because of the time factor. The low wage worker ends up without enough left to sustain them to go to work. I guess low income people are supposed to work hungry and like it. This will really increase self esteem! Does this author actually expect us to buy the idea that a lower income job, usually a position that no one wants to do, doesn't lead anywhere, and doesn't pay enough to fill their stomach or pay their bills to increase people's self esteem!? Let the author work at one of these low wage jobs for a few weeks and see how his self esteem is.
While I don't dispute that the people mentioned in this book are actual people with the problems cited, the author has conveniently selected a group of experiences which very carefully fit the spin doctors stereotypical view of the poor in order to justify their welfare reform, low wages, and forced back to work *programs*. Very clever and hardly noticeable by the general population who are not acutely aware of the real issues and the elaborately planned, corporate funded, political brainwashing attempt to divert their attention from the problems of the free market system to the defects of the poor.
Absolutely no mention was given to the responsibility of corporations in paying livable wages and his end remarks regarding government responsibility were diluted at best. The author mentions a few employers who say they can't cut into their profit margins or it will put the business at risk. These are all small operations he mentions. Does the risk to employees mean anything? Have corporations that have billions a year in profits been mentioned? NO! We can't upset the corporate guys or they won't buy the book !
Though there are many problems amongst lower income people these problems are almost always caused by poverty itself and could be significantly reduced by providing universal health care, access to decent and affordable housing, livable wages, reliable and efficient transportation, affordable food and nutritional supplements, affordable and reliable child care, and a comprehensive education for all members of our society.
Don’t buy the SPIN!
1 vote BookAddict | Mar 20, 2006 |
A well-researched and even-handed survey of the working poor in America. An inundation of anecdotes and research show the reader that the road from welfare to work is difficult for anybody, but especially those who are most at risk for illness, mental stress, lack of transportation, addiction, and violence. Easy to read and impossible to forget. ( )
  kuzmatt9 | Sep 27, 2005 |
I know plenty of peopple who have worked low-paying part-time jobs just for a store discount or for extra "walking around" money. However, working these kinds of minimum wage jobs as one's only income is another story all together.

This book reports with devastating detail, mostly through case study-like stories, just how soul-deadening and frightening life on the edge of poverty really is. He also shows, how, unfortunately, there is no easy solution to the problem. The lives of the working poor are a tangle of bad education, dysfunctional families, bad health (with no health insurance) and a lack of the basic life skills that make for reliable employees.

Shipler ends the book saying that America should have the will to addres the problems of this large segment of our population & that the country should be ashamed that this hasn't been done already. I happen to agree with him. ( )
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