David K. Shipler's The Working Poor: Invisible In America

One of the main barriers that inmates face when they are released from prison is limited cognitive skills, limited education and work experience, and substance abuse or other mental health problems. Substance abuse and other mental health problems limit employability because it limits the job readiness that is required for employment (Holzer, Raphael & Stoll, 2003). Another issue that is faced when inmates are released into society is that any skills that they did have prior to conviction has diminished greatly and they face lower pay due to their diminished or lack of skills, and the attitudes that have been developed during their time in prison deeply affects their attitude during their search for employment. Offenders also face another barrier when searching for employment. Many businesses can be held legally liable for any criminal action that their employees may cause (Holzer, Raphael & Stoll, 2003). These barriers that offenders face upon release is why solid solutions and planning must be implemented when considering the integration of ex-felons into society and preparation for reentry must begin well before the scheduled release date in order to successfully reintegrate an inmate into society and reduce the rate of recidivism.

Barbara Ehrenreich 's showed that she didn't have the mind set or worries of a working class person by reminding us as readers the fine line between the kind of performance she is doing and the kind her fellow coworkers do every day on the job. Time and again she lets us sink into her new world of a low-wage worker, only to pull us back with a reminder of the act. 1 She does this experiment to determine whether or not she could both live off the money earned and have enough money at the end of the month to pay the next month's rent. Working class people depend on the money they make on these jobs to survive and provide for their families. She could drop all these jobs she experimented with and go back to her real life without a worry in the

One of the primary problems in Kentucky is the unemployment rate of people with criminal backgrounds that caused the use of 'ban the box’ by employers in all but one city in Kentucky and among many other states. Former inmates often face restrictions in different situations that may include housing, voting and employment (Hoskins, 2014). The problem does not affect only those people in Kentucky, but also other states in the United States and even in other countries. The majority of the employers show reluctance to absorb people who have criminal records. Some of the studies show that more than half of the employers will discriminate an individual due to their incarceration records (NIJ, 2013). Even in a situation that they find employment,

In a absorbing way that made me cringe at times, Shipler allows these ‘invisible’ poor to narrate in their personal stories the structural, social, economic and cultural barriers that impact the families. Although I tend to disagree, Shipler admits that one

"Local faith-based and community organizations (FBCO) reentry programs can provide ex-prisoners with the compassion and services they need to thrive in the communities they are returning to. Placing ex-prisoners in steady employment that matches their abilities and needs is an important effort that helps ensure the safety of America’s streets and the successful integration of ex-prisoners into America’s communities. Recidivism is a vicious cycle of crime, prison, more crime, re-imprisonment, and so on. Statistics show that more than two-thirds of released prisoners will be charged with new crimes within three years following their release, and over half will be reincarcerated. According to criminal justice experts, an attachment to the labor force through stable employment, in concert with family and community

Only forty percent of employers in one study reported that they would be willing to hire an applicant with a criminal record and applicants with a criminal record are only half as likely to receive a call back from an employer where they have submitted an application. Other analysis shows that only thirty to forty percent of those previously convicted of a crime are employed and earn an average of only $667 a month, with these numbers surprisingly decreasing as time since release increases. While juveniles adjudicated in juvenile court can expect a decrease in future earnings of nine percent, similar juveniles adjudicated in an adult court will see future reductions in earnings of fourteen percent. A more recent study conducted by Pew confirms such results and shows that incarceration leads to a reduction of eleven percent in subsequent wages, nine weeks of annual employment, and forty percent of yearly earnings. All of this data displays the barriers to employment created by placing juveniles in the adult correctional system. The longstanding classification of seventeen-year-olds in Texas as adults prohibits these young people from becoming hard-working members of society upon

Regardless if we are aware of it or not, not many Americans live the supposed American Dream of having a nice car, big house, well paying job, and have a secure family. In the renowned novel The Working Poor: Invisible in America by David K. Shipler he captures those Americans who live invisible in America that work so hard to suffer from the psychological effects of poverty. Not only does Shipler do that but he also indirectly talks about the “American Myth” and the “American Anti Myth through the lives on these individuals.”

A second key argument advanced for the abolition of prisons is the failure to rehabilitate with imprisonment. Rehabilitation is supposed to permit the individual to be restored to a law-abiding citizen, contributing to society. However, abolitionists argue that prisons do not permit this. First, schooling and work within prisons is supposed to allow individuals to become productive citizens in society. However, “In many prisons, especially the old ones, the work which is offered is to a large extent meaningless (placing advertisement material in envelopes, folding tobacco packets), or simply non-existent”. (Mathiesen, 2008, p. 34). This work experience is therefore without benefit to the prisoner upon his release.

The collateral consequences of mass incarceration are effects in an inmate’s community, social life, employment, wages, and family life. The separation of an inmate from their family causes many struggles to occur in the household such as the inability to become financially stable for their partners, a loss of connection with their partner and children, living with a social stigma, and divorce or separation. Even after an inmate gets out of prison, their life is still impacted from being incarcerated. Because of the stigma that comes with being incarcerated, “ex-offenders” find it hard to either find a job, maintain a job, or get a job with a decent amount of pay. These consequences contribute to inequality through establishing a type of status on an individual. By becoming an inmate or even before they are imprisoned, inmates’ deal with Lower-class family issues and stigmas that stick with them for life.

Reading the last paragraph of Dreams, a chapter from The Working Poor by David Shipler, I came to the realization that all of the assigned readings were like many of Shakespeare's tragedies. Each one of the handouts and books wrote about a similar subject which is impoverished children in the educational system. For Example, in Ordinary Resurrections by Jonathan Kozol, he writes "Most of the children here, no matter how hard they may work and how well they may do in elementary school, will have no chance, or almost none, to win admission to the city's more selective high schools, which prepare their students for good universities and colleges." It is true that in Carger's book Of Borders and Dreams, Alejandro's struggle to succeed

In the life of previously incarcerated African Americans includes the involvement with old forms of discrimination such as: “employment discrimination, housing discrimination, denial of the right to vote, denial of educational opportunity, denial of food stamps, and other public benefits, and exclusion from jury service---suddenly are legal” (Alexander, 24). It is obvious that race plays a pivotal role in mass incarceration. African American ex-prisoners have a lower chance or not even a chance at all to obtain a job in comparison of a citizen who has proper education and experience. The opportunity of equal education as a prisoner compared to someone outside of prison, is nearly impossible. Due to the lack of education fundings in the prison system, prisoners can not receive the proper knowledge needed when released. Thus, leading to problems obtaining a job. Along with the refusal from landlords to accept or rather consider the chance of renting out housing to those previously incarcerated. Within public benefits, those who are incarcerated can no longer receive most public benefits which included but not limited to: social security, federal financial aid, food stamps, and healthcare. “As a ‘criminal’ you have scarcely more rights, and arguably less respect, than a black man living in Alabama at the height of Jim Crow” (Alexander, 24). Meaning a black man living in

Employment is always an issue when it comes to an ex-offender. Not only is it hard for the everyday person in society to find employment due to a poor economy, but it is much harder for an ex-offender. While in prison, prisoners are usually made to work. Unlike other programs such as counseling, prison work programs can be justified for reasons other than rehabilitation of the individual offender. From the perspective of the policy maker in the criminal justice system, they can help manage the population by occupying the time of the prisoners, aid in the operation of the prison, create revenue (maybe), and provide a

It has been found that “when fully-trained…inmate workers leave prison, they carry with them credentials of achievement in job skills that meet requirements of today’s business.” In addition, the money that they earn carries several benefits; it can be used to buy daily amenities which will make their life in prison a little more pleasurable, they can also save money that will be extremely useful when they are released. Thus, not only are prisoners kept out of trouble by working, the money they earn benefits them in the present, as it will in the future and eases the burden on society that comes with housing prison inmates.

The Working Poor: Invisible in America gives an accurate depiction of the social problems and social policies that are designed to keep the poor, poorer. Shipler uses a variety of stories to depict social welfare programs like the minimum wage act, immigration, Social Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability (SSD), healthcare act, Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), drug addiction, sexual abuse, Individual Education Plans (IEP), and the gender pay gap along with many others. The overarching theme throughout the book was that the working poor never make enough money to cover their expenses and the wage never goes up enough over the span of their lifetime.

According to Duwe (2014), the rationale for work release programs lies in the claim that they can help reduce recidivism and promote post-release employment. The achievement of a smoother transition into mainstream society would help explain the aforementioned reductions in recidivism. Whereas the merits of