Reflection On The Bok “$2 A Day: Living On Almost Nothing In America”
Luke Shaefer and Kathryn Edin wrote an interesting book describing how much poverty is around the United States that people do not understand and neglect. The book “$2 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America, ” is about a group of families that are living in a wage that is unimaginable to most. The book speaks about groups of people that have lived a long time with $2 a day salary which is an income that does not provide the proper living conditions. Edin and Shaefer did an extensive amount of research to write this book, the studies were from major cities in the United States including Chicago and Tennessee.
While reading I saw how much effort was put into writing the book and noticed the problem is not only affecting a small part of the population but a significant amount of people from all kids of backgrounds. Shaefer and Edin have a tremendous amount of knowledge about the subject and they really helped me understand the reality we are living in. The amount of people that are a part of the welfare program has increased since 1994. This increase is not great news because it means people are relying on the government during their daily lives and poverty is rising. This reform was made to help people get back on their feet and improve their lives. A solution for the poor and with the increased poverty we could see that it has not been one hundred percent beneficial but Edin and Schaefers research showed that people were having trouble maintaining a job. They use a woman from Chicago as an example, she applied to countless amounts of jobs and never got a response. The data they came across also stated that white people with a disadvantage were more likely to get a job over a black person with no disadvantage. Landing a minimum-wage job seems like the solution to be able to live in better conditions.
On the contrary these jobs are hazardous and creates a hostile environment for many. There are certain expectations that people hold for minimum-wage workers that they must work harder even though they are being under compensated. In the book, Edin and Schaefer mention a woman working as a cleaner for a spa that was threatened to be fired if she did not go way over time every week. If someone is working a minimum-wage job with that extreme number of hours, they are most likely trying to take care of a child or provide for the family. Being threatened to be fired if she did not show up to work is absurd because she is most likely trying to take care of her family in which she has no time for. With all these requirements, people really have their hands tied up and need to rely on welfare and friends to make ends meet. Edin and Shaefer write an incredible book shining a light at this problem that has been around for quite some time. They both believe that the government needs to take more action and bring awareness by creating more programs that help people who are living with $2 a day income. There needs to be a change because kids are growing up in this environment and they will continue to live a life of poverty in the future. The cycle won’t have a closing end and people will continue to struggle decade after decade.
The reality is that most Americans are turning their heads to this situation and not acknowledging head on the harsh reality. Sure there are many programs already in place to help people with this situation but two parents each living at $2 a day is astounding. The ability for these families to keep moving forward each and every day deserve more help from our government just because of the determination put forth. In early 2014, over 1 million US households and more than a million children in the US were living on the income of $2 a day. A family that has three members and each of them make less than $18 a day are considered to be in the poverty line and we have people making only $2 a day. This issue cannot be ignored, people are suffering, and we must create more programs like Edin and Shaefer mentioned. Aid to Families with Dependent Children is a welfare reform that has been removed which left more families to fend for themselves and depend on their acquaintances for their daily lives. This program had cash help that allowed families with absolutely no means of providing food, warmth, and all the basic needs to maintain a household.
The book is filled with citing’s and statistics that prove what Edin and Shaefer are saying, also people blaming the government for wrongful policy making is conventional. The United States has always been proclaiming a known fact that the one percent control all of the money while the rest must live under them. The personal data collected by Edin and Shaefer was what intrigued me the most. The illustration the authors portray put me in that situation and I was able to sympathize with the families that are experiencing this unprecedented dilemma. Poverty has been around from the beginning of human civilization, it has been right under our noses for ages and it seems to me people continue to ignore it. There are some people that promote change, donate, and inspire everyone to do something to make a difference but that is only a small percentage of our population.
Coming together and realizing the root of the problem would allow us to take these families away from this vulnerable situation and have their children grow up in a country where they do not have to worry about when their next meal is going to be. The statistics is what shocked me the most, even I was unaware of the large numbers of people suffering specially after Bill Clinton’s policy of welfare reform. Our president had a great idea back in 1996 which helped a lot of people at the time and also in the future but there are flaws in the programs just like in any other part of government, but it is our duty to fix those flaws and continue to improve the lives of families in poverty. Families that are earning $2 a day per person in the household have claimed that at least one person in home has to work a job that is the lowest of the lows. These jobs do not pay the minimum wage, they are the end of the line and have the worst scheduling with no guarantees. The conditions that some people work in are unprecedented, they must work twice as hard for the smallest imaginable wage. The problem in this scenario is that these families have no choice but to settle for jobs that are full of hard manual labor that does not require any prior experience such as hauling garbage from homes that are being remodeled. Some of these homes are in location that is filled with poverty, so they lack utilities which puts the people working in a hostile environment. This will cause people to get sick or get contaminated with a disease that can lead to potential death. These families are literally putting their lives in danger to make less than $2 a day.
People have to understand that in today’s world and economy specially in the United States a family of three in which both parents are working full time at a minimum wage job cannot afford to rent a home. That is a problem if two grown adults have no means of renting a home with the minimum-wage earnings, the system is broken, setting people up to fail and live in poverty. Families are able to rent the home, but they cannot afford for it to be a part of the budget in their lives or else they would not be able to buy groceries and other basic needs. In today’s economy parents have to rely on multiple jobs and sometimes even loans from banks to make ends meet. The harsh reality check that even our states minimum wage laws are flawed and do not justify the amount of expenditure a family goes through every month. Seeing how minimum wage families are struggling, imagine families that are living in the $2 a day basis. The extreme measures parents take to feed their family when they are put in the situation of poverty is dumbfounding. Edin and Shaefer explain in their book that when the government no longer is able to help, parents resort to committing sexual acts for exchange of money. They also state that parents will sell their children’s social security numbers to whomever needs it. These families sometimes end up in shelters which are always filled and backed up. Families are in high risk of being homeless living in that state of life. Parents do their best to get food and shelter to their children even though they are hungry and cold themselves. Here in Florida we have a crowd of great people that work at the Salvation Army which help homeless people and families that are living in poverty, those who are more fortunate give to those who are less fortunate.
Edin and Sheafer also mention the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in their book and all its benefits. A large amount of the population in the United States qualify for the program which is shocking how many people are struggling to buy food. The program is a slight help but not nearly enough to maintain a healthy adult well fed for the month. Some families who qualify will resort to selling their food stamps at half cost to pay for other necessities. The penalty for getting caught selling food stamps is insane, you have to pay a $250, 000 fine and at risk of landing 20 years in prison, the risk is out of the ordinary but when your child is freezing cold there is not even a second thought about the decision. Families also have to resort to giving blood, sperm, and eggs for money. That will help pay the heating bill or make sure there is dinner on the table for the night. The amount of people that cannot afford to buy food has been increasing during the past three decades and even children are homeless. Programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance are really making a difference, but it seems like similar services are a dying breed and if they are still around, the benefits and amount of people they can help is declining. Politicians who do not vote for social welfare benefits believe that families who are in poverty remain there due to decisions and the consequences of their choices.
Some politicians believe that people are opting out for the easy ride of their lives and prefer the government to pay for their needs instead of working hard for it. Edin and Shaefers data and analysis prove that statement wrong because the people studied which were picked from major different cities around our country. These people were normal citizens that are out each and every day looking for a job or an opportunity with strong initiative. Middle and upper-class Americans like to believe that people in poverty are there by decision and that they are dirty people living on the streets. These citizens are like any other, as normal as me and you but without the ability to escape poverty. People can contemplate how others in poverty got to that low point in life and write hundreds of books about it but what Americans need to understand is that it is real. There are people out there that did not choose to be in the situation there in, they are not criminals, and they only got the short end of the stick.
I wish Edin and Shaefer were only speaking about a hundred people or so, a problem which with some time and effort could be fixed but they are talking about millions of people. Millions of families and homes that are struggling each and every day looking for work eagerly and hoping that they will be able to abandon the life of poverty. Ultimately, Edin and Shaefer have created a masterpiece of a novel that brings awareness and teaches us about the lives of people in poverty with factual statistics and concrete data.
I believe every American should read “$2 A Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America” because it will inspire them to help make a change. The extensive research which was put in this book proves that millions of Americans are suffering, and children are growing up in an unstable household. Time for Americans to stop neglecting and look closely at their surroundings because if we don’t take actions, this problem will continue to grow.
