Blog #5 - Identifying the Working Poor

Both the book and the videos discuss how there is a cycle that seems impossible to get out of. This cycle happens because the working poor people are working pay check to pay check to try and get by and when something unexpected happens such as a vehicle breaking down, or a sick child, these things put the working poor families further and further behind. This cycle is where those who are least fortunate are the ones that have to work harder. Many people in poverty and in the working poor class struggle to make ends meet because they work minimum wage jobs and many minimum wage jobs are not full time or offer benefits. Many people in these situations have two or three minimum wage jobs instead of one good job which forces them to work harder than the people who work for big corporations or have high salary jobs. The working poor people work harder because they have to constantly juggle childcare, food, clothing, and just basic necessities in general. During the video, the people generally define the working poor as those who are working minimum wage jobs, who are living pay check to pay check but are still struggling to meet their basic needs.

In the video that defines the poverty lines, it states there is one in eight Americans who is below the poverty line. These people who are considered poverty can receive aid from the government however the aid is never enough to help people out of poverty. The aid that is provided is only enough to keep them in their state of poverty. Also, another video in our course material describes a class between the middle class and working poor. This class is called the near poor which can be considered one of the largest classes in our nation. In this class, the video explains how debt is a big problem because many people in this class are not poor enough to receive government aid, but they do not make enough on their own to get by. This forces people to apply for credit cards or loans, which can get people into more and more debt.

I work for a debt settlement company and this near poor class is where most of our clients are. These clients struggle to meet ends meet, so they apply for a credit card to by gas or food, then they make the minimum payment and with interest and fee’s the balances double. Then because that card is at the max, they are forced to open another card, and the whole thing snowballs. Then when they are out of options, something else goes wrong and they can no longer even make minimum payments. Within this class, debt is not the only problem, but healthcare as well. Many of the people in this class make to much money to qualify for free healthcare, but they do not work good enough jobs that have benefits for them or their families. Insurance can be a huge expense that forces people to go without it in order to afford other necessities such as food, rent, or clothing.

These three classes are definitely a big amount of Americans however there seems to be solution for helping these classes reach a higher status.