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Long in personal stories, deep understanding of history, but shallow in policy ideas

An excellent overview of the topic, building on work popularized by Barbara Ehrenreich and continually reported by Alternet and Mother Jones, Edin and Schaefer's work is an important and infuriating read on the conditions faced by a growing portion of American society. Knowing that you can find exceptions to the rules everywhere, this book should be required reading for anyone who says those earning far less than average are lazy.

I wanted more policy planning from the authors--one short chapter/conclusion wasn't adequate to address all the issues, especially since their ideas were far more optimistic than the current political climate would allow.

I also wanted a case study of a person struggling to survive that didn't have children. Having children is often the fastest way to enter/continue living in poverty, and I was surprised that Edin and Schaefer didn't focus on this. (But then again, I'm pretty sure they didn't want to be in the position of implying that only certain people should be allowed to have children...) There was no mention (that I remember) of advocating for increased funding and support for birth control and comprehensive sex education. Another reviewer mentions that "[h]aving children is a choice in the modern world. Always." But with the prevalence of sexual assault (as noted in this book), an embarrassing lack of comprehensive sex education in American schools, reduced funding for low-income women to access birth control, and reduced availability of places to access birth control and abortions (assuming the women have the transportation and time), not having children is not always guaranteed.

But overall, this is a great book that should spark discussion about our country's priorities.

Good quotes:

How is it that a solid work ethic is not an adequate defense against extreme poverty? ...laying the blame on a lack of personal responsibility obscures the fact that there are powerful and ever-changing structural forces at play here. Service sector employees often engage in practices that middle-class professionals would never accept. They adopt policies that, purposely or not, ensure regular turnover among their low-wage workers, thus cutting the costs that come with a more stable workforce, including guaranteed hours, benefits, raises, promotions, and the like. Whatever can be said about the characteristics of the people who work low-wage jobs, it is also true that the jobs themselves too often set workers up for failure. (45)


What low-wage employers now seem to demand are workers whose lives have infinite give and 24-7 dedication, for little in return. Only an employer who is guaranteed a steady stream of desperate job applicants could require a worker to be on call, ready to come in if needed, with no promise of hours. Labor practices such as work loading and on-call shifts are important tools for service sector employees, especially retail chains trying to offer the lowest prices. Simply put, in the face of this race to the bottom, it's hard for employers who want to do right by their workers to stay in the game. (61)


In the fine print on a food stamp application, it is made clear that selling SNAP can result in a felony charge. And the penalty can be stiff. The SNAP application in Illinois (and other states) says that you can 'be fined up to $250,000 and put in prison up to 20 years or both' for the offense. One signal of how strongly a society feels about a particular violation of the law is the maximum sentence that can be imposed on offenders. Possession of small amounts of marijuana carries little legal penalty in most jurisdictions for a first-time offense. Under the U.S. federal sentencing guidelines, a person with a 'minimal criminal history' would have to commit an offense at base level 37 to earn up to twenty years in prison. By comparison, voluntary manslaughter earns a base level 29, which could result in nine years in prison. Aggravated assault with a firearm that causes bodily injury to the victim merits only a base level 24, which could yield a five-year sentence. Abusive sexual contact with a child under age twelve also merits a base level 24. Astonishingly, at least in terms of the letter of the law, when Jennifer sells her SNAP, she risks a far longer prison term than the one Jose was subject to for molesting Kaitlin. (109–110)