A review by deecue2
The Working Poor: Invisible in America by David K. Shipler

4.0

Although there weren't any astonishing revelations (and I'm not sure that's even possible with this subject matter) the author did an excellent job of conveying the fragile interrelationships between education, housing, health, upbringing, transportation, health insurance (etc.) and how one problem can trigger a devastating financial setback. He writes, "For practically every family, then, the ingredients of poverty are part financial and part psychological, part personal and part social, part past and part present. Every problem magnifies the impact of the others, and with results far distant from the original cause. A run-down apartment can exacerbate a child's asthma, which leads to a call for an ambulance, which generates a medical bill which cannot be paid, which ruins a credit record, which hikes the interest rate on an auto loan, which forces the purchase of an unreliable used car, which jeopardizes a mother's punctuality at work, which limits her promotions and earning capacity, which confines her to poor housing." He then proceeds to write about real people in such circumstances. And the people he writes about, for the most part, are hard working people struggling to stay off welfare.

The writing is fair and balanced and the author doesn't assign blame. One of the reviews said it was a book every American should read and read now. I wouldn't go that far but I do think it's an important book and to the extent someone is in any way interested in the subject matter I recommend it highly. It is a book I will want my children to read when they approach adulthood.