Working Hard is Hardly Working
Shipler shows that no matter one’s dedication to their job or earning their degree, the average person struggles to stay atop of their financial issues and crippling debts. Parents used to torture children with the same old story about working hard and staying in school so they can be they fire chief or veterinarian they dreamed to be opposed to living in a box on a street corner. Sadly, with the financial struggle of the average American, this bit of advice is becoming sparse talk in modern homes because it has developed into a fairytale. Shipler calls upon those who work and fail such as, “The man who washes cars but does not own one.”(Shipler) The world is changing rapidly and money is the energy behind it but the common people will never see the money they should throughout their extraneous labor. Bob Herbert, a columnist for the New York Times, puts things into persepctive using lame mans terms simply stating,"America will never get its act together until we recognize how much trouble were really in (570). That is the cold hard truth on America and one day Americans will wake up and relaize our fragile state.
Sweatshop Struggles
America was once the land of opportunity. People all over the world could look to the US for support and security. But when the economy collapses on American citizens, it bites immigrants, legal and otherwise twice as hard. Traps are set forcing immigrants to work in sweatshop being payed scantily they can barely hold themselves afloat, let alone an entire family. The big picture is that America is collapsing upon itself financially. No one dreams of seeking a new life in America anymore, not when there is evil schemes such as cheap labor and sweatshops. We have become the land of trickery and deceit rather than a land of opportunity.
America was once the land of opportunity. People all over the world could look to the US for support and security. But when the economy collapses on American citizens, it bites immigrants, legal and otherwise twice as hard. Traps are set forcing immigrants to work in sweatshop being payed scantily they can barely hold themselves afloat, let alone an entire family. The big picture is that America is collapsing upon itself financially. No one dreams of seeking a new life in America anymore, not when there is evil schemes such as cheap labor and sweatshops. We have become the land of trickery and deceit rather than a land of opportunity.
College Dreams
One of the most sad issues in modern America is the stride that many people still have regardless of the failure that proceeds it. College dreams seem to be so distant now. So many people are still under the impression that if one works hard to obtain their degree, that they are guaranteed a paying job afterwords. In "The Working Poor" Shipler says, "People who work hard and make the right decisions in life can achieve anything."(5) As hopeful as that sounds, Shipler later claims that that idea is a myth and is unobtainable. Because the economy, many young adults fear the gamble in paying so much for college. Many have looked to ditching their dreams, and trying to climb the ladder at a minimum wage job to support them the rest of their lives. People are scared of what America has to hold now. Clearly the American dream is slipping through the grasp of everyone chasing it.
One of the most sad issues in modern America is the stride that many people still have regardless of the failure that proceeds it. College dreams seem to be so distant now. So many people are still under the impression that if one works hard to obtain their degree, that they are guaranteed a paying job afterwords. In "The Working Poor" Shipler says, "People who work hard and make the right decisions in life can achieve anything."(5) As hopeful as that sounds, Shipler later claims that that idea is a myth and is unobtainable. Because the economy, many young adults fear the gamble in paying so much for college. Many have looked to ditching their dreams, and trying to climb the ladder at a minimum wage job to support them the rest of their lives. People are scared of what America has to hold now. Clearly the American dream is slipping through the grasp of everyone chasing it.
Being The Victim
As if living in modern America with the financial crisis was not hard enough those leading the average life, victims of sexual and mental abuse feel the dream fading away twice as fast. People who deal with the pain and agony of such terror find themselves crushed by the weight of the economy every second of their lives. Shipler tells a story of a woman who was sexual abused by her foster brother and in turn, gives up on her college bound dreams to deliver a child that she never asked for. Later on the child dies at birth and she is stuck with no schooling and no child. The woman then leaves the remark that, "Things are hard when you don't have money."(173) The remark is obvious but strikingly haunting when the reader realizes the plight of her situation and how the American dream is only but a dream for so many Americans.
As if living in modern America with the financial crisis was not hard enough those leading the average life, victims of sexual and mental abuse feel the dream fading away twice as fast. People who deal with the pain and agony of such terror find themselves crushed by the weight of the economy every second of their lives. Shipler tells a story of a woman who was sexual abused by her foster brother and in turn, gives up on her college bound dreams to deliver a child that she never asked for. Later on the child dies at birth and she is stuck with no schooling and no child. The woman then leaves the remark that, "Things are hard when you don't have money."(173) The remark is obvious but strikingly haunting when the reader realizes the plight of her situation and how the American dream is only but a dream for so many Americans.
All in all, no matter ones ethnic background, social status, or dark back story, Americans nationwide are feeling the pain that cold hard cash is associated with. The world is not what people think it to be anymore and it will forevermore be a dog eat dog world where no one will stand around to help someone else because of the fear of their own financial struggle. It is a bitter topic and it is very eye opening that so many people have to struggle through their lives over debt and other financial issues. But Shipler is an author that does not mind exposing the truth. He exposes that so many Americans are chasing a dream that is clearly dead. He exposes that so many Americans are, "The Working poor."
Work Cited
Graff, Gerald, and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic
Writing. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2010. Print.
Shipler, David K. The Working Poor: Invisible in America. New York: Knopf, 2004. Print.
