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Looking Up At The Bottom Line: The Struggle For the Living Wage [Paperback]

Richard R. Troxell
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)

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Book Description

September 16, 2010
Remarkable! An energizing, engaging book that can lead to the end of homelessness for over 1,000,000 minimum wage workers. This book takes off where all the other minimum wage, living wage books end.
Michael Stoops, National Civil Rights Organizer for the National Coalition for the Homeless

"... the only book on the subject that combines in such depth both personal stories of low wage workers and their families, on the one hand, and analytic arguments about the costs and benefits of living wages, on the other. The idea of indexing wages to housing costs just may be the right way to think about this."
Robert Pollin, author of The Living Wage: Building a Fair Economy

Troxell's accounts of the homeless point to a profound break down in our culture - a society that grows more rootless and disconnected with each passing year. After reading this book your next experience at a highway intersection will be radically changed. The bedraggled figure holding a cardboard sign will not be a complete stranger. You won't be looking at a bum; you'll be seeing another human being and into the brokenness of our culture.
Tom Spencer, CEO Austin Area Interreligious Ministries

Compassion means to suffer (pati) with (com) another. To suffer with! Unfortunately in today's world the idea of compassion is confused with the liberal notion of charity as opposed to a genuine call to justice. Richard Troxell has shared and taken on the pain of others and battled like a great warrior the institutional mindset that prevents humans from simply doing what is right.
Alan Graham, President Mobile Loaves & Fishes

Finally, someone with some common sense! Troxell lays out a plan that will end homelessness for over 1,000,000 minimum wage workers- without costing tax payers a dime. Plus, this is a great read - a compelling activist's tell.
Jim Hightower, radio commentator and editor of The Hightower Lowdown

... the inspiration and key to Bringing America Home for millions of people through the Universal Living Wage - by indexing employment income to housing costs.
Sue Watlov Phillips, M.A., C.S.P., executive director of Elim Transitional Housing, founder Minnesota and National Coalition for the Homeless

Troxell's outstanding advocacy and efforts on behalf of the homeless are legend and truly appreciated by those he helps and those who admire his selfless work.
Texas State Senator Kirk Watson, District 14


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Editorial Reviews

Review

Looking Up is more than facts and figures. The author shows us the homeless through actual case studies & photographs. He puts a face to the problem, one we shouldn't ignore.
--blogcritics.org/books/article/book-review-looking-up-at-the/

Part memoir, part call to action, Looking Up provides a compelling case on how we ... could attempt to end homelessness as we know it.

--kazibookreview.wordpress.com/2010/11/16/review-of-looking-up-at-the-bottom-line-the-struggle-for-the-living-wage/

Go read the book.  Troxell's an excellent writer and Looking Up... cuts a wide swatch through the problems facing those of us who must endure poverty. --stonesoupstation.blogspot.com/2010/11/looking-through-looking-up-at-bottom.html

I highly recommend the revolutionary and must read book Looking Up... to anyone seeking a workable and common sense solution to homelessness in America.

--blogbusinessworld.blogspot.com/2010/12/looking-up-at-bottom-line-by-richard-r.html

Troxell brings new life to discussions of wage labor and unemployment. If the goal is to produce healthy, vibrant and self-sustaining communities, his campaign makes a great deal of sense. --forewordreviews.com/reviews/looking-up-at-the-bottom-line/

I fully agree with Troxell that a living wage—properly understood—would remedy much of the economy’s chronic inclination toward crisis.

--libertarianalliance.wordpress.com/2011/04/27/richard-troxell-looking-up-at-the-bottom-line-the-struggle-for-the-living-wage/


"... voices from American homeless advocates are rising, calling for a mandatory wage rate that would allow a person to earn enough money to pay for rent.... a Universal Living Wage." -- Joel John Roberts, CEO, People Assisting the Homeless, Huffingtonpost.com

From the Author

Continuing to increase the Minimum Wage by an amount less than
that necessary to reach a Living Wage only assures minimum wage workers eternal poverty.


Richard R. Troxell
National Chairman Universal Living Wage Campaign

Product Details

  • Paperback: 308 pages
  • Publisher: Plain View Press (September 16, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1935514997
  • ISBN-13: 978-1935514992
  • Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 0.6 x 6.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,564,289 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Richard has been striving to end homelessness since he first saw it come into existence as a mortgage foreclosure preventionist in Philadelphia in the 1980s.
Today, he is the creator and Director of Legal Aid for the Homeless where he has daily interaction with the disabled homeless citizens of Austin, Texas. He is President and founder of House the Homeless, Inc. which he established in 1989. HtH is comprised of homeless and formerly homeless citizens struggling to protect their civil rights and find solutions that will end homelessness in their lifetime.
His work has been recognized by the Pennsylvania Senate, the Philadelphia Bar Association, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, La Salle University, Texas Governor-Ann Richards, and the United Nations during the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless 1987. He has received the National Jefferson Service Award and been honored by the Texas Civil Rights Commission. He has also received the Five Who Care Award, the JC Penny Golden Rule Award, and the TX Homeless Network among many others.
Having designed a paradigm change for homeless service delivery he secured a $100,000 grant from former Texas Governor George Bush for the jobs component of Project Fresh Start. This is now the basis of the Caritas Re-Entry program and the premier case management blue print for homeless citizens in the City of Austin.

He created Jobs Plus which is now been taken over by Front Steps and provides the economic basis for homeless people transitioning out of homelessness. Providing first and last month's rent and rental deposit.
He created the "Blue Grey Task Force" which proposed the use of retired police officers to solve "cold cases".
He created the Mobile Mini Police Station designed as an emergency impact mobile police station created to quickly establish a "beach-head" in areas of the city where violence (usually gang in nature) has occurred. The First of these police-equipped way stations was funded by Senator John Heinz. Rather than create mini-police stations that have limited range and drain police/city budgets this program stretches scarce resources. Now in multiple cities.

He created "the Philadelphia Stabilization Plan designed to first stabilize abandoned housing stock in Philadelphia and created a mechanism for banks to bring them back into the market.
Currently, he sits on the Board of the National Coalition for the Homeless. As a member of the Executive Committee, he is the Coordinator of the Livable Incomes Committee. His work is culminating in his drive to "fix the Federal Minimum Wage" as the National Chairman of the Universal Living Wage Campaign. Using existing government guidelines, he has designed a single National formula that ensures that if a person works 40 hours in a week they will be able to afford basic food, clothing, and shelter (utilities included), no matter where that work is done throughout the United States. This year he again organized homeless advocates from all 50 states to carry out two National Days of Action to promote the concept of the Universal Living Wage
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/08/prweb2789804.htm
He has also devised a national formula to Fix the National Supplemental Security (SSI) program.
Richard is also the TX Civil Rights Coordinator for the National Coalition for the Homeless.
In 2009, due to the extreme heat, Richard responded to the needs of Austin's Homeless by creating Hats for the Homeless where he raised the funds to purchase and then distribute over 1,000 hats to protect people experiencing homelessness from over 65 days of 100 degree + heat F.
Also in 2009, recognizing that our Cities Continuum of Care formats are unable to act as designed, with people leaving the streets, entering shelters and getting stuck in transitional housing being unable to re-enter the workforce or leave financially supported housing because neither the Federal minimum Wage nor the SSI stipend will sustain them, he mobilized the city of Austin and held a best practices Forum. Focusing on the work and education components, he involved House the Homeless, Mobile Loaves and Fishes, Ending Community Homeless Organization, ECHO and the Texas Homeless Network. He involved scores of other organizations, for Mayors and educators from out of state. He now Co-Chairs a City-Wide Task Force to create the Pathway for homeless men and women to obtain education and enter Living Wage Jobs known as the Let's Get to work Initiative.
As a social engineer and with his B.A. in sociology from St. Edward's University where he graduated with honors, Richard has created scores of programs to address dozens of social problems. He has written the Homeless Protected Class Resolution. Recently, he has devised and pressed for legislation to be introduced in the Texas Legislature to prevent Hate Crimes against people experiencing homelessness. Currently, he is promoting his book, Looking Up at the Bottom Line. He authored the booklet "Striking A Balance" while in Leadership Austin that identified and offered solutions to gentrification of East Austin BEFORE it took place.
In 2009, Richard received the Outstanding Community Service Award from the Texas Homeless Network along with the Fred Butler Community Leadership Award from the Austin, Texas Community Action Network and was second only to the mayor of the city of Westlake Hills for Citizen of the Year.


Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars
(22)
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It's the story of a homeless person who found a way to help other homeless people. Eugene L. Stickley  |  4 reviewers made a similar statement
This book is a must read for anyone who cares about the issue of homelessness. Aspen Dunaway, Dunaway Law Firm  |  7 reviewers made a similar statement
An excelent book on an important issue. Andrew Bucknall  |  1 reviewer made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Homelessness - Book tells what it is and how to end it October 1, 2010
Format:Paperback
This great book presents a practical solution based on an ingenious formula that yields a minimum wage based on the local cost of housing. It is also extremely inspirational as is its author Richard Troxell -- homeless himself after returning from Viet Nam then recognized by the United Nations and for the past 20+ years has been our nation's leading homeless advocate. Buy this book and support this important work.Looking Up At The Bottom Line: The Struggle For the Living Wage
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Thoughtful Path Towards Ending Homelessness October 1, 2010
Format:Paperback
Richard Troxell's new book, Looking Up At the Bottom Line, is both an interesting read and a thought provoking discussion-starter for students, teachers, nonprofits, economists and employers. The best books are written by individuals who can dig deep and access new ideas from their past experiences. Troxell's past history as an unhoused worker provides a unique first-person pespective to an economic condition, homelessness and persistnet-poverty, that troubles us now more than ever.
Neil Donovan, Executive Director, National Coalition for the Homeless
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Looking Up at the Bottom Line provides working people with a sense of empowerment and hope. This remarkable tale of Richard's struggle to create a Universal Living Wage and the sense of security it offers, illuminates his life long efforts to ensure that all people, homeless or otherwise, are treated with dignity and fairness. I identified a great deal with Richard's experiences in the book -- many of which are emotionally compelling.

Bill Lamar, MBA, former Corporate Sales VP
Currently experiencing homelessness in Austin, Texas
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars A cogent look at homelessness
This book is a must read for anyone who cares about the issue of homelessness. Looking Up At The Bottom Line puts a human face on the struggles of the working poor. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Aspen Dunaway, Dunaway Law Firm
5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling real life story
Richard Troxell compels us with his life's journey and his accurate account on today's status of the poor and economically challenged. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Regnier
5.0 out of 5 stars A case for a level playing field
Review written by Pat O'Rourke, U.S. Department of Agriculture - Ret.

Mr. Richard Troxell, President of House the Homeless, Inc. Read more
Published 12 months ago by guenhevir
5.0 out of 5 stars A Journey to a Simple, Affordable Solution
Anyone and everyone who wants to better their community, our economy and our country should read this book. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Zane Safrit
5.0 out of 5 stars A real chance
This communication has authenticity. It takes us on a real journey to the wisdom it offers. I have worked with the population the author writes about for over 20 years. Read more
Published 12 months ago by DG3
5.0 out of 5 stars view from the street by this writer
Looking up At The Bottom Line by Richard Troxill,soft back. Richard, (I know him well) writes giving you a view from the eyes of those who are homeless and the world they have to... Read more
Published 12 months ago by philip
5.0 out of 5 stars Looking up from the bottom line
What can and must be done to solve the problem of homelessness? This is question Richard Troxell answers. Read more
Published 12 months ago by alan pogue
5.0 out of 5 stars A thorough solution by a man that truly knows and cares about the...
Richard Troxell is inspirational, intelligent, and not afraid to get his hands dirty. The ULW (Universal Living Wage) is no text book solution. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Damon Fiske
5.0 out of 5 stars Excelent
An excelent book on an important issue. Richard's dedication and ability to draw a picture of the human condition with words combine in this book to drive us forward in hope that... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Andrew Bucknall
5.0 out of 5 stars A Warrior's Solution
This provocative and relevant book combines data, analysis and personal experience, to chronicle the plight of the homeless ---- while providing solid solutions to this epidemic... Read more
Published 12 months ago by K.Armenta
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