Hardships in America: The Real Story of Working Families [Paperback]

Chauna Brocht (Author), Jared Bernstein (Author), Bethney Gundersen (Author), Heather Boushey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 24, 2001

Across the country, millions of full-time, full-year workers are unable to draw a paycheck large enough to afford their families' most basic needs. Yet the antiquated federal poverty measurement is inadequate to reflect this reality. Hardships in America: The Real Story of Working Families establishes a "basic family budget" - the amount of income a family requires to afford a safe and decent standard of living - for families in every community nationwide. It then examines the hardships faced by families that fail to reach these budget levels and finds that decent food, safe housing, and access to adequate health and child care frequently elude them. These problems exist on such a large scale that they require universal solutions that go beyond boosting incomes to include universal health coverage and child care, as well as other supports for working families.

Editorial Reviews

Review

[Authors] offer a new perspective on the problems of economic deprivation in the U.S. -- Robert Pollin, Eastern Economic Journal

About the Author

Heather Boushey is an economist at the Economic Policy Institute. She has previously conducted research on wages and employment, gender and racial wage inequalities, and social policy. Her current research is on welfare reform.

Chauna Brocht is a policy analyst at the Economic Policy Institute. Her research focuses on poverty measurement, low-wage labor markets, and living wage and minimum wage analysis. She coordinates EPI's outreach program and provides technical assistance to state and local advocates on living standards issues.

Bethney Gundersen is a research fellow at the Economic Policy Institute. Her current research interests include the effect of labor unions and union organizing on the working poor. She has also conducted research on the impact of welfare reform on rural areas and American Indian communities.

Jared Bernstein is a labor economist at the Economic Policy Institute. His areas of research include income and wage inequality, technology's impact on wages and employment, low-wage labor markets and poverty, minimum wage analysis, and international comparisons.

Product Details

• Paperback: 114 pages
• Publisher: Economic Policy Institute (July 24, 2001)
• ISBN-10: 0944826954
• ISBN-13: 978-0944826959
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,897,488 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)