Akemi Nakagawa
Mary-Ann Bowman
SW 100
24 April 2015
The American Dream:
Standard or the Exception?
The principle of the Protestant Work Ethic that is highly embedded in American culture asserts that an individual’s success – or failure – is a direct reflection of his or her individual efforts, suggesting that everyone has an equal opportunity to live comfortably. David K. Shipler’s The Working Poor explores the working poor of the United States – “… the forgotten Americans…” who live and work, as Shipler (2005) notes, “at the edge of poverty” (p. 2). They are the individuals employed by the exhausting, low-wage jobs that are essential to comfort and prosperity of the nation (Shipler, 2005, p. 300). This “silent America” of underpaid, overlooked, …show more content…
He opens the story of one of the women with the statement: “work didn’t work for Debra Hall either” (Shipler, 2005, p. 46). Debra Hall, raised by a mother on welfare and a predominately absentee father, was a single mother of two children: a younger son diagnosed with Down Syndrome and an older daughter (Shipler, 2005, p. 46). Like many other individuals in the book, she was confined to low-wage jobs that left her with an unstable cash flow (Shipler, 2005, p. 50). Shipler (2005) writes, “Debra’s cash flow was so anemic, compared with her expenses, that she barely had a bank balance” (p. 50). Debra worked strenuous shifts at a bakery, arriving at work at 3:30 in the morning (Shipler, 2005, p. 46). Despite the long hours that she put in, an increasing pile of debt and bills caused her wages to disappear almost immediately after her paychecks were deposited, leaving her with approximately eight dollars in her account each week (Shipler, 2005, p. 50). For Shipler, Debra unmistakably refutes the stereotype that the poor are lazy and exemplifies how being stuck in a series of low-wage wages jobs with no advancements can serve as a significant obstacle in overcoming …show more content…
Through the accounts of the individuals in the book, it is evident that these individuals of the working poor are diligent, dedicated, and driven to lift themselves and their families out of their circumstances. As Shipler portrays, it is a variety of factors that contribute to impoverishment rather than simply a lack of work ethic. According to data from a 2012 report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, of the 148,557,000 Americans living at or above the poverty line, only two percent did not work, while the remaining ninety-eight percent were employed (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014). Furthermore, of the population who did work, eighty percent were usual full time workers (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014). The Americans who made up the work force living below the federal poverty level demonstrated similar patterns. Of the 13,150,000 individuals, eighty-three percent worked during the year and only seventeen percent did not work. Of the working population, over fifty percent held full-time jobs, demonstrating that the vast majority of those living in poverty and even below the federal poverty level hold jobs and as Shipler persistently argues, the causes of poverty are too multidimensional for mere laziness to be a valid explanation (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,
Mary-Ann Bowman
SW 100
24 April 2015
The American Dream:
Standard or the Exception?
The principle of the Protestant Work Ethic that is highly embedded in American culture asserts that an individual’s success – or failure – is a direct reflection of his or her individual efforts, suggesting that everyone has an equal opportunity to live comfortably. David K. Shipler’s The Working Poor explores the working poor of the United States – “… the forgotten Americans…” who live and work, as Shipler (2005) notes, “at the edge of poverty” (p. 2). They are the individuals employed by the exhausting, low-wage jobs that are essential to comfort and prosperity of the nation (Shipler, 2005, p. 300). This “silent America” of underpaid, overlooked, …show more content…
He opens the story of one of the women with the statement: “work didn’t work for Debra Hall either” (Shipler, 2005, p. 46). Debra Hall, raised by a mother on welfare and a predominately absentee father, was a single mother of two children: a younger son diagnosed with Down Syndrome and an older daughter (Shipler, 2005, p. 46). Like many other individuals in the book, she was confined to low-wage jobs that left her with an unstable cash flow (Shipler, 2005, p. 50). Shipler (2005) writes, “Debra’s cash flow was so anemic, compared with her expenses, that she barely had a bank balance” (p. 50). Debra worked strenuous shifts at a bakery, arriving at work at 3:30 in the morning (Shipler, 2005, p. 46). Despite the long hours that she put in, an increasing pile of debt and bills caused her wages to disappear almost immediately after her paychecks were deposited, leaving her with approximately eight dollars in her account each week (Shipler, 2005, p. 50). For Shipler, Debra unmistakably refutes the stereotype that the poor are lazy and exemplifies how being stuck in a series of low-wage wages jobs with no advancements can serve as a significant obstacle in overcoming …show more content…
Through the accounts of the individuals in the book, it is evident that these individuals of the working poor are diligent, dedicated, and driven to lift themselves and their families out of their circumstances. As Shipler portrays, it is a variety of factors that contribute to impoverishment rather than simply a lack of work ethic. According to data from a 2012 report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, of the 148,557,000 Americans living at or above the poverty line, only two percent did not work, while the remaining ninety-eight percent were employed (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014). Furthermore, of the population who did work, eighty percent were usual full time workers (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014). The Americans who made up the work force living below the federal poverty level demonstrated similar patterns. Of the 13,150,000 individuals, eighty-three percent worked during the year and only seventeen percent did not work. Of the working population, over fifty percent held full-time jobs, demonstrating that the vast majority of those living in poverty and even below the federal poverty level hold jobs and as Shipler persistently argues, the causes of poverty are too multidimensional for mere laziness to be a valid explanation (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,