Shiplier talks about con artists in the loan programs in America. You will pass by buildings that say “Quick Cash” or “Easy Money”, tricking people into thinking that they will be able to pay off what they need to and be done. When in fact it is a whole mess of loans between you and them, Shipler explains what happens in the payday loan business but he talks about an Indiana woman that had to learn the hard way. Her loan did not go through and the payday loan officer charged her extra fees, so she sued. With court costs and the loans she racked up almost a 1,310 in debt just for a $300 loan.
So Shipler explains that this is the wrong way to go. His examples really opens up a whole new thought process to what you are reading making it easier to read and it works out in his favor. Shipler’s interviews and easy way of explaining poverty and its accountability makes it easy for the reader to understand what these families throughout this book are going through. He shows that money is indeed everything when trying to buy basic needs plus bills, cars and simple toys for your children. He shows that the poverty cycle still exists when he talks about the women who paid off her taxes but ended up owning way more than she possibly thought.
He uses excellent language and using easily understanding examples when it comes to talk about the IRS. Making it a trustworthy and emotionally investing novel about the working poor. Long term unemployment is not rare in today’s world, most people that get stuck in the poverty cycle never get out. Most employers will not hire anyone who has been out of work for longer than six months. Making it impossibly hard for these people to get any jobs that will allow them to bounce back from their loss of money.
A study conducted by, Rand Ghayer, a professor of Economics at Northwestern University tested this heory. Ghayer sent out 4,800 resumes to 600 job openings, with 3,600 being fake unemployed people. Among those 3600, he made various different reasons why they were out of work, for how long and if they have any work experience, what he got back was astounding and scary. Turns out, even if you have experience, if you have been out of work for longer than six months you will not get a call back. Which is very scary for anyone who has been laid off from any job. It is not just not making any money, but it is also the risk of never being employed again.
Most americans dream of idea of the “american dream,” but some fail to ever achieve it due to the poverty cycle. The poverty cycle can be tricky to escape, as shown in a graph by Pew Charitable Trust. Only 26% of people born into lower income households will grow up to eventually make enough money to enter the middle class. While only 4% become high earners and the rest of the 70% stay in the lower income area. They had a few things in common: 53% were college grads, 50% were two income families and 35% were white. Sadly making race a reason how people are making up to middle class status.
Overall minority groups have the highest poverty rate in the United States, according to The Henry Kaiser Family Foundation. Growing up in a low income can bring less opportunities to the table when it comes to education. Leaving them with no college education and no life skills. Which makes the susceptible to getting involved in crimes to earn money. Then they become apart of the prison system, and they will attempt to learn a trade. Then if they are lucky enough to get out, not many places hire criminals, leading them to commit more crimes.
Getting stuck in another dangerous cycle. Surprisingly, wealthy individuals can help control certain aspects of the government. According to Michael J. Barber, a political scientist, the government focuses on wealthy donors rather than the people in need. Most wealthy donors do not want to pay any taxes for anyone else to they donate to politicians that believe the same. Leading people to have a hard time trusting the government. Rightfully so, it is it hard to trust a group of people that seems like they are constantly working against you.
Most americans want to feel a sense of security about their financials and well being. Then the problems start, Americans on welfare do not feel a sense of safety. Their rights to have food, water and shelter are being threatened every day. Not everyone believes in paying for anything that supplies other people with their basic needs. Most people just want to pay for their own family because that is who they work hard for. They do not want to find their paycheck going to the “lazy” people, so the government should try to find a happy medium.
A tax that helps anyone on public assistance, but does not tax the wealthy so hard they want to get rid of it. Turns out, most people who live off welfare are not lazy. To be able to accept any public assistance programs you must be working. Some require you to work 30 hours a week to collect any money from programs. 82% of the public assistance programs are used by children, the elderly and people with disabilities. Another misconception is that most welfare collectors are drug addicts, actually, in Florida only 2. 6% of those test were posted for drugs.
Not all welfare collectors are “lazy”, but they are just trying to make a living like you and me. Minimum wage can do a lot to help a part time high school or college student. Puts any extra money in their pocket they might need to use. Whether it’s saving up for clothes or a new car, a minimum wage job can be super helpful. Minimum wage can turn out to be trouble for anyone trying to raise a family or to afford a month’s rent and groceries at the same time. That can end up putting these people into the poverty cycle. All the money they have goes to affording basic needs and nothing more.
A study by UC Berkeley, shows that 1 in 3 industry workers find themselves on welfare. Philadonna Wade is a mother of four who works at the assembly line at Ford Motors and she is living off of public assistance. She talks about how she “absolutely hates being on public assistance” and how she feels constantly judged for living off welfare even though she has a job. Ford Motors simply does not pay enough for her to support her four children. Most production jobs have an hourly wage of $15. 01 an hour, but Wade only receives $9. 50 and sometimes does not give her 40 hour weeks to make a livable wage.
Most americans living off public assistance are in a catch 22 with the federal system. If they do not have a job, they risk getting pulled into the poverty cycle. If they do have a job and they are not paid well enough they risk being put on public assistance, which also pulls you into the poverty cycle. When a household is in poverty, they never know how long they will really last in that cycle. Ann Huff Stevens, the Director of the Center for Poverty Research, discusses how long the average person spends at poverty line. The average person will spend about
2. years in poverty, 3. 1 years if you are a single mother, 2. 7 years if you are an African American male, and 2. 6 if you have an education less than a high school diploma. They will experience the “spells of poverty” multiple times over the years. Disappointedly you cannot just experience poverty once, it is something that can be lifelong. Poverty can not only affect you and you basic needs, but also the needs of a child. The American Psychological Association talks about how low income can hurt a child’s chances of ever getting opportunities to furth
