The Working Poor.....
I recently went somewhere with a friend and there was a speaker. The speaker said; that $300 a month is what stands between the average family and bankruptcy. Wow. $300? That seems like such a small amount. What can $300 do?
With the recent government shutdown and the up and downswings of the economy; the title "Working Poor" has never been more prevalent. The disparity between the lower/middle class and upper class is getting bigger and bigger; with no end in sight.
When I was little, my parents were poor. My dad shot pool for money and my mom worked at an insurance company. We had government cheese, those big "bricks" of shredded wheat that looked and tasted like a Brillo pad, and powdered milk. If we ran out of milk my mom would open up a can of evaporated milk and add water so we could have cereal. My sister and I took brown paper garbage bags and went to the big field down the street from our apartment and collected dandelion greens for my mom to cook. The thing was, we never KNEW we were poor.
Fast forward to today. I never considered myself one of the "Working Poor". I went to college (never got my degree; which is a huge regret), found myself working in an industry I love, but still being able to make it. A large part of it was due to a part time job which paid for the "extras", and child support from my ex husband.
Without any warning; both were gone. My monthly income dropped by 50%. Suddenly "Working Poor" became not only a harsh reality, but a terrifying situation. I sat and did the math and realized that the math was bad. Suddenly living paycheck to paycheck was a question of survival. $500.00 a month became the magic number. That's the amount left over after paying house payment, car payment, and car insurance to pay everything else. That means groceries. Gas for the car. Utilities. Cell phone bill. Everything. You start to cut everything that isn't necessary. Cut the home phone. Cut the cable. Raise the car insurance deductible as high as it can go. Still, it isn't enough.
You swallow your pride and realize without help, there is no way to make it. You go down to Social Services and wonder if you're dressed too nicely, speak too well, and stick out like a sore thumb for help. You apply for Medicaid and Food Stamps for the first time in your life. To the left and the right of you are the eyes of the desperate. The people that are in the same, and yet worse situation than you are.
Resourcefulness kicks in. You realize that you have to do whatever you need to do to keep a roof over your head, the lights on, and food in your children's stomachs. You try to find another part time job. A better full time job. You look around your home to see what you can sell. You feel guilty for looking at things that you never considered frivolous before. That new pair of shoes, even though it was on sale. That night out a month ago when you spent too much on dinner. That video game you bought for your son. Getting your nails done. All of those purchases now go from frivolous spending, to being measured against the water bill, how much gas you can put in your car, how many groceries you can get this week. You look for free-cycle sights for necessities. You barter your time and energy for things that you need.
This is the reality for so many people out there. People who work hard and don't take advantage of government programs unless they have to. But those are the people caught in the "gap". The people that make too much money to qualify for so many things. The people that are too proud to sit at home and collect benefits because they don't consider it the right thing to do; even though they might be financially better off. These are the people that get lost in the system. These are the "Working Poor". The people that work a job just to have health benefits. The ones that after everything is deducted only have $150 a paycheck left. The single moms who know that they would be penalized by marrying. They know that practicality sometimes trumps love. They know that just that one piece of paper would affect everything their children have, and it weighs heavy on their hearts.
There has to be a better way for the middle class to stay the middle class; and not be inexorably drawn downward lower and lower by trying to do the best that they can.
With the recent government shutdown and the up and downswings of the economy; the title "Working Poor" has never been more prevalent. The disparity between the lower/middle class and upper class is getting bigger and bigger; with no end in sight.
When I was little, my parents were poor. My dad shot pool for money and my mom worked at an insurance company. We had government cheese, those big "bricks" of shredded wheat that looked and tasted like a Brillo pad, and powdered milk. If we ran out of milk my mom would open up a can of evaporated milk and add water so we could have cereal. My sister and I took brown paper garbage bags and went to the big field down the street from our apartment and collected dandelion greens for my mom to cook. The thing was, we never KNEW we were poor.
Fast forward to today. I never considered myself one of the "Working Poor". I went to college (never got my degree; which is a huge regret), found myself working in an industry I love, but still being able to make it. A large part of it was due to a part time job which paid for the "extras", and child support from my ex husband.
Without any warning; both were gone. My monthly income dropped by 50%. Suddenly "Working Poor" became not only a harsh reality, but a terrifying situation. I sat and did the math and realized that the math was bad. Suddenly living paycheck to paycheck was a question of survival. $500.00 a month became the magic number. That's the amount left over after paying house payment, car payment, and car insurance to pay everything else. That means groceries. Gas for the car. Utilities. Cell phone bill. Everything. You start to cut everything that isn't necessary. Cut the home phone. Cut the cable. Raise the car insurance deductible as high as it can go. Still, it isn't enough.
You swallow your pride and realize without help, there is no way to make it. You go down to Social Services and wonder if you're dressed too nicely, speak too well, and stick out like a sore thumb for help. You apply for Medicaid and Food Stamps for the first time in your life. To the left and the right of you are the eyes of the desperate. The people that are in the same, and yet worse situation than you are.
Resourcefulness kicks in. You realize that you have to do whatever you need to do to keep a roof over your head, the lights on, and food in your children's stomachs. You try to find another part time job. A better full time job. You look around your home to see what you can sell. You feel guilty for looking at things that you never considered frivolous before. That new pair of shoes, even though it was on sale. That night out a month ago when you spent too much on dinner. That video game you bought for your son. Getting your nails done. All of those purchases now go from frivolous spending, to being measured against the water bill, how much gas you can put in your car, how many groceries you can get this week. You look for free-cycle sights for necessities. You barter your time and energy for things that you need.
This is the reality for so many people out there. People who work hard and don't take advantage of government programs unless they have to. But those are the people caught in the "gap". The people that make too much money to qualify for so many things. The people that are too proud to sit at home and collect benefits because they don't consider it the right thing to do; even though they might be financially better off. These are the people that get lost in the system. These are the "Working Poor". The people that work a job just to have health benefits. The ones that after everything is deducted only have $150 a paycheck left. The single moms who know that they would be penalized by marrying. They know that practicality sometimes trumps love. They know that just that one piece of paper would affect everything their children have, and it weighs heavy on their hearts.
There has to be a better way for the middle class to stay the middle class; and not be inexorably drawn downward lower and lower by trying to do the best that they can.
Preach it, girlfriend.
ReplyDelete