Ending Poverty as We Know It: Guaranteeing a Right to a Job at a Living Wage [Library Binding]

William P. Quigley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2003

Across the United States tens of millions of people are working forty or more hours a week...and living in poverty. This is surprising in a country where politicians promise that anyone who does their share, and works hard, will get ahead. In "Ending Poverty As We Know It", William Quigley argues that it is time to make good on that promise by adding to the Constitution language that insures those who want to work can do so and at a wage that enables them to afford reasonable shelter, clothing, and food. Author note: William P. Quigley is the Janet Mary Riley Distinguished Professor of Law and Director of the Law Clinic and the Gillis Long Poverty Law Center at Loyola University, New Orleans. He has been an active public interest lawyer for over 20 years, and served as counsel for a wide range of public interest organizations on issues including public housing, voting rights, death penalty, living wage, civil liberties, civil disobedience, educational reform and constitutional rights. Quigley has litigated numerous cases with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc., and served as General Counsel for the ACLU of Louisiana for 15 years. He has served as Chair of the Louisiana Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and with many other local, state, and national legal and civil rights organizations. He has been counsel for ACORN and other community groups in the effort to enact a one-dollar an hour raise in the minimum wage for every worker in New Orleans.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Bill Quigley draws on the common sense of Thomas Paine, the moral inspiration of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the political wisdom of Franklin Delano Roosevelt to issue a bold challenge for our society: to guarantee people who want to work the right to a job at a living wage. In a brave and witty book that is both visionary and practical, Quigley reminds us that if once radical ideas like social security and the abolition of slavery can become realities, then the current partnership between poverty and work can be upended too." --Lani Guinier, Professor of Law and co-author of The Miner's Canary "Bill Quigley's book makes us believe that America can really change for the better and provide a decent job and a fair wage to hard-working families. This is a very important book. Bill brings a lifetime of knowledge and commitment to this; and he really shows us, step by step, how it can be done." --Sister Helen Prejean, social activist and author of Dead Man Walking "Quigley, an active public interest lawyer and law professor, makes a good case for a constitutional amendment that requires a living wage job for everyone. The living wage is currently about double the level of the current minimum wage, and would, with full-time employment, provide enough income for a family's basic needs. The living wage would thereby lift the working poor above the poverty level. Quigley discusses both the present poverty definition and his proposal for revising it to a higher level. While eliminating poverty is a utopian ideal, he believes it is possible. The author thoroughly discusses why his plan is needed and reports on public support for the living wage and for guaranteed employment opportunities. He does not discuss how political opposition to his plans can be overcome, however. While he believes that the US economy can be redirected to produce a maximum number of jobs, this reviewer is skeptical that the political will to implement the plan exists. Liberals will applaud the plan, while conservatives will oppose it because it expands government's role in the economy and reduces the need for personal responsibility. Nevertheless, a timely and interesting topic that makes for good reading. Summing Up: Highly recommended." --Choice "While it will not solve America's poverty crisis, Quigley's book stands as a call to arms to the American public to act, to think, and to consider his proposal not just for the sake of charity, but for the sake of the country." --Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law

From the Publisher

Why every American should have the right to a job at a living wage --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Library Binding: 248 pages
• Publisher: Temple University Press (June 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592130321
• ISBN-13: 978-1592130320
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,840,929 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Noble Cause, Arguments Insufficient, August 31, 2003

By 

goosefish (Durham, NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ending Poverty As We Know It: Guaranteeing A Right To A Job (Paperback)

It's an enticing proposition: eliminate poverty as we know it, simply by giving everyone the right to a job and a living wage. But is it valid? This is the question I kept asking as I made my way from chapter to chapter.

A key problem Quigley doesn't even address: the globalization of labor. It's not just low-skilled manufacturing jobs that American companies outsource to China et al. nowadays. It's white collar desk jobs too; highly educated Indians gladly take $5,000/year for a job that would cost $50,000 in the US. It's a king's ransom for them, but for us, it's illegally below minimum wage. This is a problematic anomaly which stands as a major threat to America's economy. If we implemented Quigley's constitutional amendment, the threat might loom closer still. The author's utter silence here was most disappointing.

Despite that lapse, I recommend a reading. Its diverse facts and figures, while often repetitive, can be eye-opening. The numbers suggest we pay for poverty one way or another. At present, we subsidize parasitic employers and grant wealthy corporations obscenely generous loopholes. Redeploying our public assets to help the less fortunate into dignified employment might be a good idea. I smile at the simple beauty of it.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Note from Author, August 25, 2003

By 

Duprestars (New Orleans, LA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ending Poverty As We Know It: Guaranteeing A Right To A Job (Paperback)

Two people that I respect very much have this to say about this book.
Lani Guinier, Harvard Law Prof and co-author of Miner's Canary says:
Bill Quigley draws on the common sense of Thomas Paine, the moral inspiration of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the political wisdom of Franklin Delano Roosevelt to issue a bold challenge for our society: to guarantee people who want to work the right to a job at a living wage. In a brave and witty book that is both visionary and practical, Quigley reminds us that if once-radical ideas like social security and the abolition of slavery can become realities, then the current partnership between poverty and work can be upended too.
Sr. Helen Prejean, social activist and author of Dead Man Walking says: "Bill Quigley's book makes us believe that America can really change for the better and provide a decent job and a fair wage to hard-working families. This is a very important book. Bill brings a lifeteim of knowledge and commitment to this; and he really shows us, step by step, how it can be done."
This book points out that over 45 million people in the US live in poverty. Over 30 million work and earn less than $8.20 an hour and another 15 million people are either out of work or working part-time and would like to be working full-time. I review the real facts and stories about poverty in the US today, especially among the working poor. After reviewing our history and surprising public and religious support for the right to a job and the right to a living wage, I call for a constitutional amendment guaranteeing every person the right to a job at a living wage.
Hope this helps explain what it is about. Peace!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ending Poverty as we Know It, August 27, 2003

By 

john skelly (Gainesville, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ending Poverty As We Know It: Guaranteeing A Right To A Job (Paperback)

The book is a unique compilation of information that cogently makes the case that poverty is largely misunderstood by the non-poor, mis-diagnosed by politicians and pundits, and the remedies usually prescribed are nearly always nostrums and panaceas which only add misery to the miserable.

The book lists commonly held but untrue myths about poverty and poor people, and gives evidence that such attitudes are the heritage of English law established nearly 500 years ago and carried forward into the colonies and later states. Think of "Oliver Twist" and the social norms and attitudes toward poor people of that time - that's out heritage.

The book is a comprehensive deflation of the overwrought fear mongering, character assination, and easy dismissal of the poor. It proposes a down to earth, realistic focus on and admission thatlow wages are the root cause of most poverty in America today. The author, Bill Quigley proposes adoption of a constitutional amendment to establish a right to a job that pays a living wage to all Americans who can work. Polly Anna? That's what was said about Child labor laws, minimum wage, mandatory overtime pay, social security and many other rights and protections we now take for granted. Additionally, the book details the cost of poverty to Americans, who in truth are now subsidizing commercial enterprises. That subsidy comes by way of their taxes, used to supplement the income and the survival of workers paid so little that they and their children cannot live without "public assistance". Most poor work!

If you are opposed to the concept, I urge you to read the book nonetheless, if only to know more about how history has shaped our views, prejudices and laws dealing with poverty issues and the poor. If you have a better answer to reducing poverty and its costs - go for it!! But learn a little reality before you define the problem. Read this book.