Working Poor

The Struggle of the determine Poor Revised Essay Sociology 113 Yvonne Barney October 19, 2012 The Struggle of the works Poor Society oft describes the destitute with champion word, lazy. Society has taught us that if a person wants to be financi tout ensemble(a)y prospered, it is a simple functioning of educational activity and hard take a leak that will equate to a winnerful income. This is the Ameri fuel dream. If the destitute evidently would get a rail line sort of of being lazy, they would non need to rely on programs like welf atomic number 18. The impoverished would succeed if they wholly would apply themselves.However, in an attempt to present few opposite point of view, The Working Poor Invisible in America by David K. Shipler (2004) explored multiple variables this group struggles with daily. Chapter 1, Money and Its Opposite, explains the operatives and effects of tax ease upments and re ancestrys, the call out of the ugly by public and private instit utions, the spending habits of the operative ridiculous, the consumerist shade of the down diminution in States, and the omnipresence of money as a guiding factor in in the pass aways of the exercise unforesightful.Chapter 2, Work Doesnt Work, chronicles the struggles of three work women as they attempt to climb out of beggary through employment. They hold jobs that pay between $6 and $7 per hour and attempt to eke out a backing with the additional assistance of welf atomic number 18 checks, intellectual nourishment stamps, Medicaid, and other services. However, a slight raise in their pay creates an offsetting loss in benefits. Chapter 3, import the Third World, addresses the deplorable immigrant workers, both legal as soundly as illegal, laboring in sweatshop conditions in the joined States.Shipler recounts the working conditions of numerous run up shops in Los Angeles, where legal and illegal immigrants from Mexico, Honduras, Korea, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Thailand, C ambodia, and other nations work for engage on a pitiableer floor the federal minimum wage and without over succession pay. Chapter 4, Harvest of Shame, tells of the harsh living conditions of migrant farm workers across the united States. They receive low wagesmostly minimum wage live in deplorable trapping ar exposed to azardous pesticides and herbicides face little government en jamment of labor laws be difficult to organize due to the transient nature of their work and the unregistered term of most and atomic number 18 constantly on the move, which does not will their barbarianren stable access to education. Chapter 5, The Daunting Workplace, addresses the diverse challenges the workplace holds for those from the lower rungs of the socioeconomic ladder. Many working scurvy have no work experience, no education, a criminal record, a drug addiction, and a lifelong absence seizure of role models.Dysfunctional families in which no one works, or even ventures outside(a) t he neighborhood, have provided no jut out system or role models. Chapter 6, The Sins of the Fathers, begins by unveiling an epidemic of sexual abuse that claims all classes and races in the United States. Both the wealthy and the vile atomic number 18 abused however, the wealthy feed to have the financial as well as the family resources that enable them to subdue abuse. Chapter 7, Kinship, emphasizes the role that kinship plays in overcoming the hardships of scantness.Shipler writes, Kinship quarter blunt the limit of economic adversity (p. 179). He describes a family of five that has faced all forms of hardship and povertyfrom job loss to assholecer to the death of the scramyet holds together through bonds of love and caring. He also chronicles the drool of a woman who chose to earn importantly little and be plunged into poverty and debt in order to spend time with her pip-squeakren, one of whom eventually accompanied Dartmouth College. Chapter 8, Body and Mind, addr esses health fall outs affecting unretentive families.Shipler mentions malnourishment, susceptibility to infections, disease, chronic conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, and allergies), premature birth, retarded cognitive and physical development, stress, and emotional distress, as well as material support that can help a family endure. It is not uncommon for children in measly families to nominate from poor diets, which can be the cause of numerous related health problems. Chapter 9, Dreams, begins with the ambitious professional aspirations of ordinal and eighth grade children from poor families in Washington, DC.Shipler contrasts these aspirations with the enormous faced problems beyond their control. Chapter 10, Work Works, is dedicated to the positive impact that job training and working has had on some poor individuals and families. Job training programs that teach downy skills as well as hard skills and are successful in instilling confidence and self-esteem are appre ciated by employers. Chapter 11, achievement and Will, emphasizes that American society must understand what it can do victimization the skills and resources it has to combat poverty.The approach to remedying poverty, Shipler argues, must be holistic, tackling all problems associated with it at once. The United States is a good deal described as a place where anyone can alternative themselves up by their bootstraps and realize the American dream of a soothing lifestyle. But, for over 30 million Americans, this dream is no longer possible. though we live in the richest and most powerful country in the world, thither are more individuals who are living under or at the poverty take. While the United States has enjoyed unprecedented affluence, low-wage employees have been testing the American doctrine that hard work cures poverty (Shipler, 2004). The status of poverty translates to families of four making around $ 18,850 a year. And as soon as they meet work or move just slightl y supra the $ 18,850 a year (which is still a meager and deprived way to live), they are cut off from offbeat subsistence and lose other support intentional to help them, such as food stamps and health insurance This office staff often leaves them no develop off, and sometimes worse off, than when they were not working.Proponents of welfare reform have verbalized that the working poor are poor because of their want of effort and laziness this statement is an oxymoron. The working poor work longer hours, with less pay and few, if any, benefits. Some make the right choices and conserve a little money, avoid overwhelming debt, and live modestly. Even for those who live divvy upfully off a working wage, it yet takes one issue for their world to crumble around them. If the car breaks down or a family member is injured at work, what little savings they have salt away could be gone in an instant.Why do slew stay poor when popular opinion tells us if we work hard, we will be okay. The tell lies in the valued social inequalities the opportunities visible(prenominal) to each socioeconomic status aim differ greatly. One factor that seems to distribute over the impoverished is lack of education. Lack of k without delayledge affects each aspect of life from elemental health dole out to effectively raising children in a good and secure environment. baby birdren who come from a working-wage family should not be disadvantaged.There is no conclude wherefore the public education system should not give every child an equal opportunity to graduate high school and treat on to college or trade schools. The fact is public schools are funded to a large degree by property taxes. Impoverished schools receive considerably less funding and have to find ways to make their budgets work. Furthermore, the stovepipe teachers are often in school districts that can offer belligerent salary. It is a well- fill inn fact that children from copious families tend to do better in school.Children from low income families tend to do poorer on tests, have a lower graduation rate, and are less believably to attend and tell apart college (Melville 2012). Yet the income divide has received far less attention from polity makers and government officials than gaps in student accomplishment by race. Now, in analyses of long-term data published in recent months, researchers are finding that spot the achievement gap between white and black students has narrowed significantly over the past few decades, the gap between rich and poor students has grown substantially during the same period (Levitan, Magnum & Magnum 1998). We have moved from a society in the 1950s and 1960s, in which race was more important than family income, to one today in which family income appears more determinative of educational success than race, said Sean F. Reardon, a Stanford University sociologist. Professor Reardon is the author of a get a line that nominate the gap in standardized test scores between affluent and low-income students had grown by about 40 part since the 1960s and is now double the testing gap between blacks and whites (Tavernise 2012).A-1 In another study, by researchers from the University of Michigan, the imbalance between rich and poor children in college completion the exclusive most important predictor of success in the work force has grown by about 50 percent since the late eighties (Tavernise 2012). Tavernise (2012) concluded that 8 % of the working poor hold college degrees compared to 26% of all workers. Although, two-thirds of the working poor hold high school degrees this proportion is practically lower than the 88% of all workers who hold high school degrees.The core of not holding a high school degree is often poverty. 22% of workers who do not hold high school degrees fall below the official poverty level which is $23,050 for a family of four, and 34% dismiss below one hundred fifty% of the poverty level which is $ 34, 5 75 for a family of four (Problems approach 2012) . There is some evidence that the working poor are less presumable to receive job training from their employers. The combination of lower education and lack of training compared to other workers make it difficult for the working poor to climb out of poverty.Only 30% of the working poor live in married couple families, compared to 65% of all workers. Single, female-headed families are oddly overrepresented among the working poor. Among the working poor, 49% live in families headed by a si ngle woman. Of those who live in families headed by a single female, 28% work but live below 150% of the poverty level. In addition, about half (46%) of all single parents who work and have children under sextette years old are in poverty.Workers who were never married or those who were once married also face relatively high rank of working poverty. Twenty percent of workers who have never been married and 21% of those who were divorced, widowed , or separated lived below 150% of the poverty level (Problems lining 2012). The working poor are less likely to be cover by health insurance by their employers. Only 18% of the working poor are covered by health insurance procurable through their employer or their union, compared to 55% of all workers.Malnourishment, susceptibility to infections, disease, chronic conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, and allergies), premature birth, retarded cognitive and physical development, stress, and emotional distress can be a side effect of lack of health insurance. It is not uncommon for children in poor families to suffer from poor diets, which can be the cause of numerous related health problems. Although many of the working poor qualify for food stamp benefits, few receive them. The modal(a) food stamp benefit for a family of four is $ 496 per month ( reduce on budget and Policy Priorities 2010).Of those who qualify for these benefits, two-thirds do not receive them. It is unclear wh y the working poor do not receive these benefits, but lack of need does not seem to be the reason. Research suggests that the working poor do not know that they qualify for these benefits. In addition, welfare administrators in some states incorrectly tell applicants, especially men, that they do not qualify for these programs. Finally, often local agencies create added barriers to discourage welfare participation.The City of impertinent York, for example, used to require that applicants return to the welfare office for a countenance visit in order to apply for food stamps. This requirement was eliminated only recently because of a court order (FamiliesUSA. org 2012). Many working poor families cannot find affordable housing. Almost one in six households are cost-burdened, gainful more than 30% of household income on housing expenses. median value level shelter costs, including mortgage payments, real estate taxes, property insurance, rent, nd utilities, account for 20% of the a verage non-poor households income. For poor households, the median expenditure can be as high as 60% of household income (Levitan, Mangum Mangum, 1998). In addition, poor families may face long waiting lists for available support housing units, especially in rural areas. However, access is improving as extension educators provide the working poor with information about al-Qaida ownership and special mortgage programs, and how to access them. Balancing employment and parenting demands is especially challenging for the working poor.They have fewer financial resources, and the types of jobs for which most are eligible provide little independence, authority, and flexibility to respond to conflicting demands (Henly 1999). Child care is an important obstacle. Nationwide, high-quality child care is scarce and expensive. Respondents in one study paid, on average, $70 per week for child care, about 22% of their earned income. In the same study, about one-fifth of respondents reported they had no regular child care provider and had to piece together care for their children at the last minute or leave children home merely or with an older sibling.Thirty percent of respondents reported having left a job because of a child care disruption (Henly, 1999). According to a study conducted by the Urban Institute in 2005, more than two thirds of children ages 5 and under from low income families spend a significant amount of time in child care each week. This is significant because the quality of child care available to low income families is much worse than that available to high income families, and the quality of the child care affects the childs development. High quality, center-based care is expensive and is simply not an option for many low income families.Instead, they turn to informal, sometimes unregulated child care (Melville, 2012). There are federal programs to improve and fund early childhood education, but these programs do not work with the febrile working sc hedule of low income parents. Child care subsidies are available in some states, but not available to all low income workers. In other words, low income families often have difficulty accessing support systems that help them balance work and family life. As a result, the children of low income families are not given the same opportunities as their middle class counterparts (Melville, 2012).Unfortunately, high-quality care tends to be more expensive, and childcare subsidies in many states pay only the average market rate. Moreover, childcare subsidies cover only a minority of the low-income workforce (Henly, 1999). Parents who choose to enroll their children in high-quality child care often would have to pay the additional costs a choice many cannot afford to make given other demands on the family income. For many working poor families, these additional costs make selecting high-quality child care financially impossible (Schulman & Adams, 1998).Extension educators can make sure the working poor know about and take advantage of available subsidies, and tax credits can offset the high costs of child care. Transportation is also a major barrier to financial self-sufficiency for many working poor families. Many of the working poor do not get to work with the ease that most working non-poor enjoy (Lambert, 1998). Even though some communities have identified creative solutions to local transportation needs, transportation carcass a problem for many of the working poor. Mass transit, if available, is often sparse, not taking direct routes to most job locations.Outside of heavily populated metropolitan areas, public transportation is largely unavailable. Working poverty does not affect everyone to the same extent, and certain segments of our population are more likely to find members of the working poor. Individuals in this category include workers who are most likely to be allocated to the low-wage jobs that fail to provide full-year employment. Women make up a gre ater share of the working poor than do men, probably because on average they earn lower wages and work fewer hours.Although women comprise 47% of workers between the ages of 18 and 56, 56% of the working poor are women (FamiliesUSA. org, 2012). Non-citizens of the United States are also disproportionately represented among the working poor. Fifteen percent of such workers live below poverty, and 30% live below 150% of the poverty level. Blacks and Hispanics are especially affected working poverty affects people of color to a much greater extent than it does white Americans. A surprisingly large number of blacks and Hispanics work below the poverty level.Twelve percent of all blacks who work fall below the poverty level, and 23% fall below 150% of the poverty level. Among working Hispanics, the poverty rates are even higher(prenominal) 14% live below the poverty level and 29% of Hispanic workers fell below 150% of the poverty level (Shipler, 2004). The working poor face a number of d ifficulties low wages, poor hours, layoffs, lack of skills along with limited health benefits affect their health and other conditions that may affect their work performance. Thus, prescribing one solution is not likely to solve the problem of working poverty.The working poor need higher wages and jobs that offer full-year employment, wage supplements such as the Earned Income revenue enhancement Credit, and access to services such as health care and child care. Most importantly, we should not assume that we can solve the problems of working poverty without income supports. Because many of the working poor are disabled or suffer from other serious health limitations, some workers may not be able to work more hours or in higher paying jobs and must rely on income supports in order to survive above the poverty level. References Center for American Progress (2012. Retrieved October 10, 2012 from http//www. mericanprogress. org/issues/women/report/2008/10/08/5103/the-straight-facts-on -women-in-poverty/ Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. (2010). Retrieved October 10, 2012 from http//www. cbpp. org/cms/index. cfm? fa=view&id=1269 FamiliesUSA. org. (2012). Retrieved October 10, 2012 from http//www. familiesusa. org/resources/tools-for-advocates/guides/federal-poverty-guidelines. html Henly, J. (1999). Challenges to finding and belongings jobs in the low-skilled labor market. Poverty Research juveniles, 3(1), 1-5. Levitan, S. , Mangum, G. , & Mangum, S. (1998). Programs in aid of the poor.Baltimore, MD John Hopkins University Press. Melville, J. (2012). Effects of low family income on children. Retrieved 0ctober 10, 2012 from http//www. ehow. com/list_6195251_effects-low-family-income-children. html Problems Facing the Working Poor. (2012). Retrieved September 30, 2012 from http//www. dol. gov/oasam/programs/history/herman/reports/futurework/conference/workingpoor/workingpoor_toc. htm Shipler, D. K. (2004). The working poor Invisible in America. New York Alfr ed A. Knopf. Tavernise, S. (2012, October 10). Education gap grows between rich and poor, Studies say New York Times, February 9, 2012, A1.