Dan's review of The Working Poor: Invisible in America

The Working Poor: Invisible in America
by David K. Shipler

Dan's review

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status: Read in November, 2007

I often get into discussions with my father-in-law about the state of the nation, problems facing workers and companies, and especially the role of the government. My father-in-law will often say the phrase, "People just need to work harder" in response to my queries about how to get people out of poverty or dead-end jobs. Well, I heard that phrase one too many times, so I decided to read David Shipler's book to find out if this "American Dream" is as easy to do as it sounds.

It's not easy at all. Sure, people can pull themselves up by their bootstraps, but that task requires more than just elbow grease and a little savings these days. When you are at this level, the smallest problem has gigantic ripples throughout your life. Shipler notes throughout the book how each person or family he talks to has had a significant financial downfall due to a series of events. These events are always inextricably connected. For example, a mother of two has a very low-pa...more I often get into discussions with my father-in-law about the state of the nation, problems facing workers and companies, and especially the role of the government. My father-in-law will often say the phrase, "People just need to work harder" in response to my queries about how to get people out of poverty or dead-end jobs. Well, I heard that phrase one too many times, so I decided to read David Shipler's book to find out if this "American Dream" is as easy to do as it sounds.

It's not easy at all. Sure, people can pull themselves up by their bootstraps, but that task requires more than just elbow grease and a little savings these days. When you are at this level, the smallest problem has gigantic ripples throughout your life. Shipler notes throughout the book how each person or family he talks to has had a significant financial downfall due to a series of events. These events are always inextricably connected. For example, a mother of two has a very low-paying job. She needs to drive to her job because the bus won't get her there in time. She also needs to drive her children to the day care center. One day after work, the car does not start. The kids are now at the day care center after hours, thus ringing up an extra bill which she cannot afford. Plus, the car is broken and must be fixed. Plus, she now has no way to get to work on time the next day or to get the kids to the day care.

There are numerous other instances of these types of ripple effects in the book. People living paycheck-to-paycheck cannot keep a bank account open due to minimum amount requirements. They often get billed extra fees because they go below the amount. Then they go into debt because they can't pay the extra fee back. And they don't qualify for certain help from organizations or the government because they don't have a bank account because it's been closed due to the lack of a minimum amount in the account.

These are the stories of the people who are trying and can't get out of the spiral. Shipler also writes about people who are just flat out lazy. These people play the system, lie, cheat, and steal to get their way, all without working. These people give the working poor a bad name.

To me, Shipler's message is that we need to meet these people halfway. If they put forth the effort to get on their feet, we need to help them get the other half. Right now, they have to walk about 98% of that on their own before anyone else steps in.

Although being incredibly sad, this was a very good book. It did stray from the topic at hand from time to time, but each new topic was directly related to the troubles the working poor face (lack of healthy diet, no health insurance, lack of good parenting skills, etc.)

So now I have to recommend this book to my father-in-law so he can see that it takes more than just "working hard" to pull yourself up by your bootstraps. It's a Sisyphean task....less

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message 1: by Steve

06/11/2008 10:08AM

There is a problem with your story Dan. My wife and I are 29 years old, and have no children. We take responsibility for our actions, and decided to delay having kids until we can afford them (which likely won't be for a couple more years). This is not something the lady in your story decided to do. She is single with 2 kids. Having a child before you're ready is one of the single largest financial mistakes a person can make, probably a close second to serious drug addiction.

Unfortunately many people in the world make poor decisions. One of the most popular is to have a child before you have the extra income that child will require. Then, when you come up short each month on your bills, you expect other people to pay for your poor choice. When the "government" helps, it is really just other taxpayers who are helping. My wife and I both have steady, middle-class jobs. Yet we still eat cheap lunch meat, ramen noodles, and save every penny we can. We also have to pay 30% or more of our paycheck to taxes, many of which go to help the "poor".

The reality is that there are many people out there in the working poor that will spend the rest of their life paying for their mistakes. Why pass that burden onto those who made better choices and have their own, albeit less damaging, mistakes to pay for? I want to afford kids someday, but paying for the other lady's kids are part of what is preventing me from doing it.

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Dan's review of The Working Poor: Invisible in America

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