What is Unemployment and Poverty in America?

Long-term unemployment and poverty are nothing new in America.

Long-term unemployment and poverty have always been with us in America, this great USA, but they are usually seen as a "life style" on the fringes of society; tucked away in the "bad" neighborhoods of the inner cities or in trailer parks and ramshackle homes in ex-urban and rural areas. 

People who have struggled with long-term unemployment, poverty, and/or homelessness in our country are usually seen as the same people who have struggled with drugs, alcohol, criminal records, mental health, disability, or lack of education and skills, perhaps, according to some,  "lack of self-control", "poor choices", not "working hard" or having too many kids.

The Stereotype of the Long-Term Unemployed:

This is the vision of poverty and unemployment that has plagued our country and has often kept poor people from getting the help and support that they need:

The belief that poor people have created their own fate and have refused to do whatever it might take to escape poverty.

My sense is that people who work with the poor have always known that that image of the poor is a gross generalization and not accurate for many millions. They probably have also known that many poor and marginal people work harder than most in the middle and upper classes.  But the belief that the poor have  "created their own destinies" is so set in the American soul and spirit that it is hard for the following alternate image of the poor to get any traction:  Struggling, hard-working people, beset at every turn, taking one step forward and often two steps back. 

The media picture of the poor is dominated by people who are criminals, druggies, addicts, alcoholics, or those who have too many kids while they do nothing but watch TV.  Think of the show "COPS".  Racism, of course, underlies much of the prejudice against the poor, but "poor white trash" has become part of our vernacular as well.

Lazy loafers or illegals taking American jobs?

It does seem as though the poor can't win:  On one hand, they are described and rejected as "lazy" and "irresponsible", on the other hand, if they are of Hispanic ethnicity, they are decried as "illegals who are taking American jobs".

I don't think we know how many poor people fit the stereotypes and how many are busy wheeler-dealers just trying to keep their heads above water.  However, this recession has allowed me to come closer and closer to the face of poverty as our family and as many of our friends struggle. 

Continue below..

******************************************************

America's Poor: Lazy? Irresponsible? Dependent? 

*****************************************************

The real face of the New Poor (and some of the Old Poor):

I've written profiles of some of these people and some of these families.  As I said, I don't know how many of these people now fit the government's poverty guidelines, but all of them are relying on or have relied on government programs to get by either now or in the recent past.

Before you cast aspersions on the "Poor", the New Poor or the Old Poor, please read through these profiles:

Introduction:  America's Poor:  Lazy?  Irresponsible?  Dependent?  

Lazy Sponger Number 1:  Pizzas Don't Pay

Lazy Sponger Number 2:  Busy with Businesses

Lazy Sponger Number 3:  She Left her Bootstraps on the Bus

Lazy Sponger Number 4:  Grandpa Cuts Grass

Lazy Sponger Number 5:  Wounded Vet Wants Work

Lazy Sponger Number 6:  Disabled Wheeler Dealer 

I welcome stories from others:  People who have experienced both a "poor" life and a middle-class life and who will attest to the fact that people may well work harder when they are poor.

The Poor: Lazy Loafers or Hard-Working Wheeler Dealers?

Continued from America's Poor: People who have made "bad choices" and "didn't work hard". 

Some say that the "New Poor", not to mention the "Old Poor", need to learn "personal responsibility" and stop sponging off of those rich "job creators". The rich job creators threaten to move all of the jobs offshore unless the poor start pulling themselves up by their bootstraps and stop sucking on the gub'mint's teat and asking for higher taxes.... 

We've been introducing some of the "New Poor" (and some of the "Old Poor" as well). We have been watching them as they suck on the government's teat while they laze on the couch.

There is nothing unusual about these stories. I personally have met all of these people, and I know enough about them to trust that their stories are basically true. There are millions of people like these people, people who came from middle class backgrounds, or people who worked themselves up from poor backgrounds, who worked, sometimes for decades, who have found themselves on the sidelines, empty and depleted, in this economy. 

Many have bright, cheery profiles on LinkedIn highlighting their current mini-business endeavors. You can't see their struggles on LinkedIn or even Facebook.

I don't know how many of these people would now fall under the official poverty level, but all of them have needed government assistance; many of them have had to move, a few have been in foreclosure, some have not had health insurance or health care, others have had utilities turned off. 

Some have had cars either break down or been booted due to parking tickets that couldn't be paid. Some with kids have qualified for the earned interest credit and/or Pell grants to get through college.

These people are of all races and ethnic backgrounds, though most of them are white. I'm not going to say which person is of what ethnicity.

I know the defenders of the rich will say that these people are exceptions; that most of the poor are content to laze around on the couch, eschew "personal responsibility", let the government take care of them, and have more kids than they can afford.

I'm sure there are poor people lazing around on the couch, but I wouldn't be surprised if they are a minority of the poor.. except for those who are seriously disabled and really can't move from that couch.

Since our family has started struggling in this recession, I have paid more attention to how the "poor" live, and, quite simply, many of them are more resourcefu­l and work harder than the still-midd­le class or the upper classes. They sell things they don't need, they scour garage sales and thrift stores, they do odd jobs, they do temp jobs, they barter, they learn how to fix things. Some seem to be constantly wheeling and dealing.

And here's a final story about someone I didn't know:

Lazy Sponger Number 6:  Disabled Wheeler Dealer

"My brother, who passed away 2 years ago, was disabled and received about 10K in Social Security a year. He did all of the above (selling stuff he didn't need, doing odd jobs, fixing stuff up, etc.). Wheeling and dealing was a way of life. Possession­s came and went with necessity. He did odd jobs as his health allowed. He cultivated friendship­s and would always help a neighbor because he knew at some point he may well need that neighbor's help. He searched thrift shops for hidden treasures, frequented yard sales, and ran many of his own yard sales.

Many of my friends and family either are poor or live right on that edge, not quite poor but not doing much more than barely getting by. This is a way of life for a large subsection of people and most others are completely unaware.”

And yet the rich will insist that they don't want to pay a dime more in taxes to support these lazy, useless deadbeats and welfare slobs.


Shame.

The Poor: Lazy Loafers? or Hard-Working Wheeler Dealers?

Continued from America's Poor: People who have made "bad choices" and "didn't work hard". 

Some say that the "New Poor", not to mention the "Old Poor", need to learn "personal responsibility" and stop sponging off of those rich "job creators".  The rich job creators threaten to move all of the jobs offshore unless the poor start pulling themselves up by their bootstraps and stop sucking on the gub'mint's teat and asking for higher taxes.... 

We're introducing some of the "New Poor" (and some of the "Old Poor" as well).  We're watching them as they suck on the government's teat while they laze on the couch:

Lazy sponger Number 4:  Grandpa Cuts Grass

The young man grew up in a dirt poor neighborhood on the "wrong side of the tracks". He was very bright, did well in school, went to college on a scholarship, and graduated with honors. Vietnam started up just as he was finishing school and he was drafted. When he left the Army and came home, he struggled to "find" himself, which was the story of so many vets who returned from Vietnam in the 60's and early 70's. 

After a series of odd jobs, a broken marriage, and a stint in graduate school, he got a job as a computer programmer trainee, and quickly rose through the ranks. Back in the early 90's, he was making a six figure salary, owned property, was married and had children. But he was 50; his company was preparing to sell itself, and he was pushed out the door. 

He decided to use his savings and some of his pension fund to start a business, as he had always wanted to work for himself. It just didn't go well for a number of reasons, and he poured good money after bad into it..

He became more and more depressed, things weren't going well with his wife, who was working while he was often sleeping night and day, letting his employees run his business. Not a good idea. 

He tried to find a "regular" job, but with qualifications as a business owner and a corporate manager (not to mention being over 50), he was "overqualified". He did get a real estate license, and was able to make a little money doing that. He finally closed down his business; taking major losses, and he and his wife sold a property.  But they did wind up in divorce court.  He still did not have any regular income; they had been living off of equity from the property they sold, and that didn't last that long.

During the divorce, he lived in several places, each one smaller than the last, and was homeless for a few nights here and there.  There was little left for his wife and he to split. After he divorced, he moved in with his new girlfriend; she basically supported him while he tried to find steady work... for two years. He did make a little money selling real estate.  He "tried out" for a job selling insurance but was let go. He did the training for preparing income taxes and did that for a couple of springs. It was not a lot of money, however, and clients were few and far between as more and more people were using online programs to do their taxes.

Finally, through a friend, he got a lead on a job in another state.  He got the job, initially on a temp basis, and he moved there.  His girlfriend (now his wife) followed and got a job. Both of their jobs were in construction-related fields, and things were going well for a couple of years. But we know how that ended. He lost his job, then her job was cut back to part-time, then she lost it altogether. They had bought a home for cheap after the real estate crash, but they didn't expect that prices would continue to decline so acutely. A year later the house was worth only a fraction of what they paid for it; the entire subdivision was empty; they were both out of work and couldn't pay the mortgage. They walked away from their home.

They had started selling stuff on eBay during the early 2000's; they decided to ramp that up. They both have worked odds and ends, done "projects" for pay; they've bartered, they've "wheeled and dealed". He took early Social Security; but her unemployment ran out, and they are working an incredible number of hours a week just to keep their heads above water with the eBay business. They are up at dawn a few days a week to get to the garage sales and the thrift stores early.

He's now in his mid 60's but he mows grass for a few neighbors, some younger than he is, to make a few bucks. He is grateful that he finally qualifies for Medicare and can again see a doctor regularly. His wife won't be eligible for early Social Security for 5 or 6 years. 

Lazy Sponger Number 5:  Wounded Vet Wanting Work    

  

Another bright young man, from an upper middle class background found himself alienated and not doing well in high school. He barely got through high school, and, as Vietnam was calling, he enlisted before being drafted.  He thought he might have more options.  He did go to Vietnam and was wounded, though not seriously. 

After getting out of the service, he struggled, worked odd jobs, tried to get himself back together; again, the story of so many who were in Vietnam in the 60's and 70's. Finally, after living here and there, after a marriage that didn't work out, he went back to school and got a nursing degree.

Lazy Sponger 5: Wounded Vet Wants Work