The Working Poor Reading

I was surprisingly intrigued by what I've read so far.  Unfortunately, I found myself being able to relate to a lot of topics that Shipler mentions.  Growing up the youngest of five, my parents definitely did not have a lot of money and have always lived paycheck to paycheck.  Some of the stories in the book are heartbreaking and some parts stood out more than others. On page 10, Shipler wrote about the way poor people define poverty.  A fifteen year old girl from New Hampshire used the word "hopelessness" to describe it.  A quote on the next page really put their situations into perspective.  It reads, "A run-down apartment can exacerbate a child's asthma, which leads to a call for an ambulance, which generates a medical bill that cannot be paid, which ruins a credit record, which hikes the interest rate on an auto loan, which forces the purchase of an unreliable used car, which jeopardizes a mother's punctuality at work, which limits her promotions and earning capacity, which confines her to poor housing."  That shows the true struggle that people suffering from poverty go through on a normal day.  It is nearly impossible to move past debts when one leads to another.  It is absolutely heartbreaking to read.  I've already learned some valuable pieces of information that could help me in my own future.  The book went into a lot of good detail about W2's and other tax forms.  I hope that the more I read, the more I will continue to learn about this issue and maybe even help my family and others.