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The Working Poor
The Working Poor: Invisible in America | David K. Shipler
4 posts | 8 read | 26 to read
From the author of the Pulitzer Prizewinning Arab and Jew, an intimate portrait unfolds of working American families struggling against insurmountable odds to escape poverty. As David K. Shipler makes clear in this powerful, humane study, the invisible poor are engaged in the activity most respected in American ideologyhard, honest work. But their version of the American Dream is a nightmare: low-paying, dead-end jobs; the profound failure of government to improve upon decaying housing, health care, and education; the failure of families to break the patterns of child abuse and substance abuse. Shipler exposes the interlocking problems by taking us into the sorrowful, infuriating, courageous lives of the poorwhite and black, Asian and Latino, citizens and immigrants. We encounter them every day, for they do jobs essential to the American economy. This impassioned book not only dissects the problems, but makes pointed, informed recommendations for change. It is a book that stands to make a difference.
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Wellreadhead
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Pickpick
89 likes3 stack adds
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Megabooks
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Watched another #Pbs #frontline documentary for #NFNov. This one is an update of a 2012 story on how hard it is to be a child in a family below the poverty line in America. Unfortunately all three families were still struggling five years later, but all the kids were still in school or graduated, which is major!

#TIL (but already knew) My dad is awesome! He works on a federal grant providing assistance to seniors and families finding federal 👇🏻

Megabooks And state programs that they qualify for but aren‘t aware of. The average extra benefit he finds in our 7-county region is 11k!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻 4y
Eggs That‘s awesome @Megabooks ! That‘s a great skill/talent finding such resources 4y
Megabooks @Eggs Thanks!! It‘s been an incredible retirement job for him and he loves talking to people, helping them, and being involved in the wider community. He‘s connecting with a lot of different people than he did in the lumber business, and he is a super extrovert!! 😁 4y
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BarbaraBB Your dad sounds incredible again. And I‘m happy he has found a retirement job that gives him so much energy - beside the help it gives the people involved 💕 4y
Megabooks @BarbaraBB Me too! And thank you! If only he read more! 😂 j/k He tried a number of things, mainly because he just didn‘t want to be at home all day, before a family friend suggested him for this position. He gets to do three things he loves data collection and processing, talking to people and helping people. It‘s perfect. 4y
TheAromaofBooks Such an important role! Someone similar to your dad has been an immense help to us finding assistance for my aunt, who is developmentally challenged. So grateful to people like your dad!! 4y
Megabooks @TheAromaofBooks That is awesome!! I‘m so glad there are people helping in other communities!! When people think of programs, they think of food stamps, SSD, Medicaid/Medicare. etc., but there are so many smaller, more specific programs that help people like your aunt. I‘m glad she‘s been able to get help/support. 4y
rsteve388 9 pts 4y
74 likes8 comments
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DreesReads
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This book is nearly 10 years old, so parts are very much out of date (especially the health insurance discussion in the final chapter). What is more depressing is how much other things have not changed. Whether immigrant or native-born, black, Hispanic, Asian, or white, the poor deal with constant bureaucratic, transportation, housing, childcare, and health crises. Any of which an cause an employment crises. And the educational system fails them.

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DreesReads
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Next up for nonfiction--it's been awhile since I read something sociology-ish.