According to a joint research on concentrated poverty in America, social dynamics play a significant role in creating the current concentrated poverty levels in America. The community affairs within a society are directly connected to the economy of the community. Therefore, “there exists a relationship between private investments and public services” (Shipler 20). According to Alan and Boyle (34), “the working poor in America come from areas with a high poverty concentration, in this regard poverty and accountability emerge as interconnected issues in these societies”, similarly Shipler (22), “acknowledges that, the high poverty levels indicate that there are lower the accountability levels within the region”.
The book “The working poor: invisible in America”, written by Shipler, refers to the working poor as people who work and earn wages that fall below the poverty line. Sometimes people connect poverty with joblessness but this is not always the case. According to social scientists, changes in the economy have changed this perception. In this regard, the shift from a manufacturing based economy to the service based economy is a major contributing factor. “The phenomena of being at work whilst being among the poor working people is one that arises due to low accountability” (Shipler 28). The shift in the economic distribution means that there is a shift in the job distribution. In this perspective, there are more jobs in the extreme positions, which are the high income, and low-income jobs. However, in the middle very few jobs exist.
Lack of accountability comes into play by the fact that the employed individuals do not channel their resources towards wealth creation. Therefore, the redistribution of wealth becomes impossible. “Initially, the balance in workers within the manufacturing and service sector played a significant role in wealth redistribution” (Alan, and Boyle 34). However, the thought that earning a low salary hinders wealth redistribution further locks out workers from being accountable for their earnings. In this regard, “the workers do not participate in the redistribution of wealth and creation of new jobs” (Shipler 40). The lack of accountability appears in the perspective that the individuals who are under employment cannot provide opportunities for the unemployed individuals to join the labor market by leaving their jobs.
The idea of concentrated poverty comes from poor people who live in very poor regions. The challenge of concentrated poverty presents some of the “greatest economic as well as social as social challenges that face America today” (Shipler 37). Most of these challenges have emerged due to the poor economic growth since the Hurricane Katrina, which was closely followed by the economic depression. It reminds the social researchers that the isolation of poor people in poor communities can be quite challenging and may lead to disaster. “The phenomena of high poverty societies in America has multiplied rapidly from the 1970`s to the 1990`s” (Alan, and Boyle 34). The recovery from the high poverty periods continues to be impossible because of the isolation of poor working families in the residential areas. In these communities, the public safety has highly deteriorated and the access to employment has narrowed. Poverty and accountability in this perspective “are seen to appear together because the higher the poverty levels the more the isolation of these communities” (Shipler 45). Consequently, members from these communities play a significant role in the problems that arise in these areas such as the Hurricane Katrina. Additionally, as other regions embark on the “recovery process from the situation experienced during the economic meltdown, these societies are left out” (Alan, and Boyle 34). In this regard, the aspect of concentrated poverty continues to affect the poor working communities because of an unequal distribution in the resources and opportunities.
As legislators and economists continue to discuss about the alleviation of working poverty, some of the challenges associated with concentrated poverty continue to exist. The challenges include poor health care services, housing, and food access. These are significant issues, “which contribute to the increase in the working poor populations” (Shipler 32). However, liberal scholars hold that having job training programs in these regions and increased government transfers will present an opportunity to overcome the challenges of the working poor. “The government should ensure that the concentrated poverty centers have higher minimum wages ” (Wing para. 2-5). Higher minimum wages for the working poor in the concentrated poverty regions means that more individuals will have the incentives to work. Additionally, the poor families that consist of the concentrated poverty families in America and the working poor families should receive aid from the government. However, the government should ensure that the individuals who receive aid are accountable.
Conclusion
The working poor in America are a population that earns less than the poverty level. These populations occupy the concentrated poverty centers in America. Factors that lead to an increase in the working poor families include natural and economic disasters that have a negative effect on the economy. From this perspective, when the economy changes or is negatively affected by some occurrence, the same increases the number of individuals within the poor working population. The government can change the situation by offering training to these individuals and increase their minimum wage levels so that they can benefit and alleviate from poverty.
Works Cited
Berube, Alan, and Jeremiah Boyle. "The enduring challenge of concentrated poverty in America." Metropolitan Policy Program 1.1 (2008): 1-233. Print.
Shipler, David K. The working poor: invisible in America. New York: Knopf, 2004. Print.
Wing, Nick. "Here's The Painful Truth About What It Means To Be 'Working Poor' In America." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 19 May 2014. Web. 7 Oct. 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/19/working-poor-stories_n_5297694.html>.
