Sociology Now, Census Update

wealthier. Because of the post–World War II economic boom, many working-class
families found themselves enjoying middle-class incomes. Similar structural mobility
occurred during the Industrial Revolution, when the labor force shifted from
farming/agriculture to manufacturing.
More recently, the pattern has been downward mobility, caused by the decline in
manufacturing jobs (40 percent disappeared between 1970 and 2000), coupled with
the growth of service jobs. Service jobs tend to pay low wages (averaging about half
the wages of manufacturing jobs) and offer few or no benefits (averaging 60 percent
less than manufacturing jobs). As a result, many people who grew up or spent most
of their lives in the middle class find themselves working class or even working poor
(Uchitelle, 2006).
Many Americans are underemployed—highly educated and qualified for positions
higher than the ones they occupy. On The Simpsons, the proprietor of the comic book
store defends his bitter outlook on life by saying, “I have a master’s degree in Folk-
lore and Mythology.” Millions of Americans have had similar experiences. They
acquire college degrees, with dreams of a white-collar job and a middle-class lifestyle,
only to find that the jobs simply aren’t there. So they take jobs for which they
are vastly overqualified in the service industry or as clerical workers, with low
salaries, no benefits, and no possibility of career advancement, and join the ranks of
the working poor.

SOCIAL MOBILITY 227

OBJECTIVE: While no activity can truly help you totally

understand what it is like to live in poverty, this activity

will give you a sense of what it might be like to be poor

in the United States and also what it might be like to be

poor in a developing country in the world.

STEP 1: Research

Review the following two scenarios before moving to Step 2.

3 Scenario 1:Single mother with one child in the United

States. Go to the Economic Policy Institute website

(www.epi.org) and search for “family budget calculator.”

Note what a livable family budget would look like for this

family in your geographic location. Assume that this

mother is earning minimum wage in your state and works

35 hours a week as a part-time worker with no benefits.

Assume her child is 4 years old and that this mother must

pay for child care when she works. Next assume that there

is no other financial support.

3 Scenario 2:Single mother with one child in Haiti.

Go to globalissues.org and read about global poverty and

what it means to live on less than $2.00 a day. Using

Google.com as your search engine, type in the words

“Poverty” and “Haiti.” Review some of the websites that

deal with Haitian poverty. Assume that this mother is

currently unemployed and that she is unable to find a regu-

lar job. She is able to find periodic day labor and makes the

equivalent of $1.00 a day. Assume that her child is

4 years old and that there are relatives who help with

child care. Next assume that there is no other financial

support.

STEP 2: Plan

Using the information provided in Step 1, prepare a monthly

budget for each scenario. When in doubt about information,

estimate your figures and explain the reasons for your

estimation.

STEP 3: Explain

After looking at the budgets for each scenario, briefly

explain what life would be for families in both Scenario

1 and Scenario 2.

STEP 4: Theories

Examine what theories in this chapter offer the best expla-

nations for poverty in the two scenarios and provide an ex-

planation of your responses.

STEP 5: Discuss

Be prepared to discuss your responses and to turn in your

budgets for each scenario, your explanations of what life

would be like, and your theoretical explanations.

Living on an Impoverished Salary

Contributed by Jeff Dixon, Indiana University.