The Forgotten Americans [Paperback]

John E Schwarz (Author), Thomas J Volgy (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 17, 1993

Does the American Dream still exist when nearly 30 million Americans live in families in which workers find a paycheck and poverty in the same envelope? Just as Michael Harrington's The Other America shocked the nation with its disclosure of poverty in the 1960s, John E. Schwarz and Thomas J. Volgy's The Forgotten Americans exposes the breadth of poverty that exists today among responsible, hardworking Americans. At the end of the prosperous 1980s, the number of Americans living in working-poor families equaled the combined populations of the nation's 25 largest cities. Contrary to conventional wisdom, this situation is not largely confined to minorities, women, the undereducated, or young adults. It is commonplace for workers from nearly all segments of society to be employed in low-paying jobs even during good economic times. The Forgotten Americans reveals the betrayal of the hopes and expectations of these industrious people through broad-based factual evidence and the real-life stories of individual families. Their hardship has been ignored at enormous cost to them and the country. Numerous problems at the forefront of national debate - welfare dependency, crime, and the inadequate performance of many American school children - are closely connected to the existence of working poverty on a large scale. Unless corrective action is taken, the country risks the creation of a deeply fractured society arising from the despair of millions of employed people who have discovered that practicing the work ethic yields little reward. The problem is staggering and often misunderstood by politicians, the media, and the public. Once Schwarz and Volgy have outlined the implications of this socialand economic tragedy, they propose effective solutions that require simple changes to existing policies - solutions that are politically feasible and can be accomplished without new taxes. Enactment of the solutions proposed in The Forgotten Americans will go a long way toward r

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In a concise exploration of the problems of the working poor, two political scientists from the University of Arizona provide just enough statistics to prove their point: hard work, a good education, an unblemished employment history and/or a full-time job will not necessarily prevent a person from falling below the poverty line in the United States. In fact, Schwarz and Volgy challenge the government's very definition of poverty, stating (and backing up their contention with the budgets of actual households) that a family must make at least 50% more than the amount that constitutes the official "poverty line" in order to meet its basic needs. They recommend raising the minimum wage and providing substantial tax credits to people with low-paying full-time jobs. They dismiss such proposed solutions as "enterprise zones" and the infusion of foreign capital. The book recalls the classic work of Malthus--not in its conclusions, but in its terse, trenchant analysis of grim facts. ( Sept.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

One of the problems emerging in the recent welfare reform debate is the dilemma facing those leaving public assistance for low-wage employment. Losing such noncash benefits as food stamps and Medicaid, these new workers join the ranks of the "working poor" and become "the forgotten Americans." In this persuasive book, political scientists Schwarz and Volgy (who is also mayor of Tucson, Arizona) combine anecdotal material on the struggles of low-income families with a review of government poverty calculations and their plans for reform. The authors contend that the real size of this group is masked by the fact that the official "poverty line" lies far below actual economic insufficiency. The result is that millions of Americans who in fact are poor are not counted as such. To raise their standard of living, Schwarz and Volgy propose an increase in the minimum wage combined with an extension of the Earned Income Tax Credit, which would bridge the gap between wages and a decent life. Recommended for all libraries.
- Mary Jane Ballou, Ford Fdn. Lib., New York
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Foul Play Press (September 17, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393310744
• ISBN-13: 978-0393310740
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,026,865 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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