Saving Capitalism, by Robert Reich: on Jobs

Robert Reich: Falling wages created "working poor" even with two jobs

Until quite recently, poverty was largely confined to those who did not work--widows and children, the elderly, the disabled and seriously ill, and those who had lost their jobs. Public safety nets and private charities were created to help them. It was rare for a full-time worker to be in poverty because, the economy generated a plethora of middle-class jobs that paid reasonably well and were inherently secure. This is no longer the case.

There are several reasons for the growth of America's working poor. First, wages at the bottom have continued to drop, adjusted for inflation. By 2013, the ranks of the working poor had swelled to forty-seven million people in the United States, one out of every seven Americans. One-fourth of all American workers were in jobs paying below what a full-time, full-year worker needed in order to support a family of four above the federally defined poverty line.

Source: Saving Capitalism, by Robert Reich, p.133-4 May 3, 2016

The above quotations are from Saving Capitalism For the Many, Not the Few by Robert B. Reich. Click here for definitions & background information on Jobs. Click here for other issues (main summary page). Click here for more quotes by Robert Reich on Jobs. Click here for more quotes by John Boehner on Jobs.
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