The poor in America today consist of the working poor, some 30 million Americans who make less than $8.70 per hour and who are marginally able to provide the necessities of life for themselves and their families. Unlike the poor identified in 1960 by Michael Harrington, the poor described by Shulman work at menial, low-wage jobs with limited benefits. Their labor makes their employers wealthy.
Shulman's argument is that the working poor are largely ignored by government and in public policies. These workers contribute significantly to the domestic economy, but they are often forgotten. The problem that this causes is that it facilitates intergenerational poverty. There are few programs for such workers and they have little hope of improving their situations.
Shulman's analysis illustrates the fact that while the face of poverty may have changed in the last 50 years, poverty itself is still very much with us. Hard working Americans are marginalized and made invisible by a government and society that seems indifferent to them. This is America's great national tragedy.
Shulman, Beth. The Betrayal of Work.
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