Working and Poor in the USA - Essay Example

Working and Poor in the USA The article under review is d ‘Working and Poor in the USA’ was written by Beth Shulman in The Nation and it was first published in 2004. The basic discussion of the article is on the state of the working poor in America who are finding it difficult to make ends meet as they try to engage in the social fabric of our country. It also discusses the issues our government and social as well as business organizations which have been dealing with this segment of society.

While this topic is not an easy one to discuss since poverty in America is a rather complicated issue, the writer has raised some very interesting points which are certainly insightful.For example, the idea of working hard to get rich no longer seems to be applicable to a fourth of all working Americans. Low wage jobs are simply unable to provide the means of living an acceptably good life since the gap between the rich and the poor is increasing. The case of Cynthia Porter is given who is a nursing assistant and works hard yet is barely able to make ends meet in her current position working with the elderly.

Her case is certainly not unique since there are many regions and pockets of populations which are cut off from the mainstream economic engine of society.The writer certainly seems to support the case of the poor since the accusations come out quite clearly when she suggests that the misery of the poor and the deprived translates nicely into executive benefits and bonuses for the board members of various companies. Mobility and education do not seem to help their problems since they are affected by the same problems that plague middle income workers in the country.

The absence of childcare, health benefits, quality education are issues which need to be addressed for the economically lower strata of society.The writer certainly has a political message to pass on since the article addresses the Democratic Party to action in terms of what they should do to remedy the situation. As the issue concerns the very heart of what the democrats stand for it is certainly their responsibility to help in improving the minimum wage standards and to look for situations where the unions can be helped.

Additionally, the writer also points towards looking for opportunities where the liberals and others groups can help this social segment.There is a negative aspect to the article that it does not make any concrete recommendations as to how the situation can be improved. Simply raising the minimum wage is not the best economic idea since it can lead to inflation in the economy which will mean that the desired effect of the wage increase will be nullified. Even if the raise is tied to the inflation index, it could have severe economic consequences which must be understood before a decision such as this is taken.

However, the positives of the article far outweigh the negative points since the situation does demand action from the democrats in particular and from Americans in general. Works CitedShulman, B. 2004, ‘Working and Poor in the USA’, The Nation, [Online] Available at: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20040209/shulman