The Working Poor Summary

Working Poor Test In “The Working Poor” Shipler gives an example of a poor grandmother named Leetha Butler who lived in Washington, D.C. and how even though she has very little in terms of finances her spirit and wits are exceedingly high considering her situation of poverty and how she takes care of her daughters orphaned children ages three, eight and sixteen (Shipler 29). After her daughter Diane was murdered in a drive-by-shooting, she did not collapse under the weight of grief because she understood somebody needed to be there and be strong for her grandchildren and support them after her daughter’s death. Furthermore, she used her expertise in saving expenses and spending when local deals were present to accommodate having the new responsibility of her grandchildren.
Where I grew up in Bellwood, Illinois, there are many grandmothers similar to Leetha and many children who would be destitute without grandparents like Leetha due to the not so essential nature of the decision making of the parents, whether concerning their method of supporting their children or seeking out selfish goals that are not necessarily beneficial to their children.
Where I grew up in most cases, it’s neglect do to drug use by the parents, resulting in the grandparents having to intervene and take the children because they do not want them to be put into the system of child services due to losing that family connection or any abuse they may encounter within the system. “Death of an adjunct” basically tells the plight of an adjunct professor named Margaret Mary Vojtko that led to her stress related death and how she was upset about being under-payed and undervalued by the people and community she worked for during her life. “Death of an adjunct” is in alignment with the entire point of Shiplers book which is there are people in society who work hard to achieve success their entire lives and they endure and struggle just to realize how nobody really cares and in some cases want more out of them even if it kills them. Shipler stated most Americans seem to be of the persuasion that “the poor are supposed to suffer and sacrifice” (Shipler 27). The more I read
through the article the more I started picking up that the university Margaret worked for was very much aware of her financial issues and they seemed to compound on them and humiliate her for wanting to survive, possibly an attempt at forcing her to retire. I think the shameless behavior regarding this woman’s death and the overall nonchalant willingness to just “not care” by her faculty reminds me of a line from “The Working Poor” when Shipler said “When it comes to benevolence we are a moody society” (Shipler 228). How could her community let her be buried in a cardboard casket? She worked for Duquense College for 25 years and none of her co-workers chipped in or the president who is making over 700,000 annually could not even donate to give Margaret a respectable burial? The blatant disregard of life from someone who put in the work and lived their life the “right” way is disturbing. Moreover, how appalling does the mind of someone in a position of great authority matched with an even greater salary have to be to allow an 83 year old hardworking and dedicated individual to be buried in a cardboard box? I think the article agreed with the message “The Working Poor” delivered on how insignificant the less wealthy are to our society and the overall lack of concern for fair treatment. Moreover, the article on her situation showed just how insanely far some are willing to go in order to pretend they have no idea of the problem and everything is fine.