Living on a Thin Line: The Struggle of the Working Poor

[AquaHarmony]

There are indeed some shady bums in this world, some people who have dropped out of society who don't care to help themselves, but that's not everyone! I keep telling people this. My husband and I both work, and any major illness or the loss of income, for either of us, can be a major occurrence. We both finished High school and have college degrees. Apparently, that doesn't matter anymore. We try hard and don't look for handouts. We have one son, but thank God, we continue to make it!

[MultiSmartass1]

This strikes at the heart of the problem. Wages do not keep up with the prices and costs in consumer society.

When you consider that many jobs in the country are low wage jobs but that price rise far above wages, you look at the struggle that working and poor people go through on a daily basis.

[AnarchoSyndicalistt]

Totally agree if your working fulltime you should get a livable wage.

[nowayjose470]

Fifty years ago a high school education was as good as a four year college degree. College requirements are one of the biggest limiting factors to getting beyond poverty. In my field, we still have a number of workers who were hired before the requirements of a college degree. They far outperform the college graduate superstars who are painfully clueless. In most colleges, you can coast to a B average.

[simpsonic0421]

@nowayjose470

well obviously they far outperform new college graduates... they've been working for a long time and have countless of hours of experience. Education is nothing without experience and to judge the abilities of a 20 year old vs a 45 year old is ridiculous. Although u are right about the college being dumbed down... more and more institutions are just becoming paper mills.

[Cinj216]

@simpsonic0421 The problem with college is that it's unfairly punishing those without the financial resources to afford it. Many college graduates did so simply because they had the luxury of being born priviledged. Unfortunately, money and social status doesn't buy common sense and intelligence. That said, there are plenty of poor people doing dead-end work that are highly intelligent, they just never had the resources to spend tens of thousands for a piece of paper that proves it.

[nowayjose470]

The opportunities to move beyond the class of working poor are rapidly diminishing. Small businesses are being crushed and regulated out of existence. Education is becoming unaffordable and the quality worse. Even professional jobs are being outsourced. Our manufacturing and production infrastructure has all but disappeared, replaced with a service economy: Strip malls, restaurants and Walmarts. America is rapidly becoming a society of serfs governed by a few selected elites.

[saffirejuiliet]

Excellent video!!!

[verbusen]

I wish I had the low drive to be satisfied to be poor. Unfortunately I don't maybe because I grew up dirt poor with crap adults and I refuse to feel and live that way again. Now I'm stuck trying to achieve all the time and sometimes it drives me crazy. I know a lot of very happy poor people believe me. Sometimes freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose, and sometimes I dream to just be freaking free. I've taken jobs that paid shit and you know what? I moved on. Smarts.