Working poor is a term used to describe individuals and families who maintain regular employment but remain in relative poverty due to low levels of pay and dependent expenses. Officially, in the United States, the working poor are defined as individuals who spent at least 27 weeks in the labor force (working or looking for work), but whose incomes fell below the official poverty level. Often, those defined as "working poor" have negative net worth and lack the ability to escape personal and economic contingencies. As commonly used, individual refers to a person or to any specific object in a collection. ... a family of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in 1997 Family is a Western term used to denote a domestic group of people, or a number of domestic groups linked through descent (demonstrated or stipulated) from a common ancestor, marriage or adoption. ... A boy from an East Cipinang trash dump slum in Jakarta, Indonesia shows what he found. ... Net worth (sometimes net assets) is the total assets minus total liabilities of an individual or company. ...

The working poor are often distinguished from paupers, poor who are supported by government aid or charity. A boy from an East Cipinang trash dump slum in Jakarta, Indonesia shows his find. ...

The extent and causes of "working poor" conditions

There are various issues to consider when studying the extent, cause and definition of "working poor" and "working poor" conditions. One such issue is the definition of poverty. Given on a global scale, the definition and requisites to be considered impoverished or in poverty may sharply contrast the conditions of any one specific country. When viewed at a high level, the global definitions of poverty are typically much lower than that of more prosperous countries. In areas such as the United States, England, France and other more prosperous nations, the poverty line is much higher than that of countries with typically lower or even negative economic conditions. When considering localized differences, such as in the United States, differences in market rates of goods and services may impact the effects of poverty. A boy from an East Cipinang trash dump slum in Jakarta, Indonesia shows what he found. ... A boy from an East Cipinang trash dump slum in Jakarta, Indonesia shows what he found. ...

Yet another consideration to be made with a global view is data collection and reporting methods. With no globally accepted standards on data recording and reporting, variances may be obscured, omit or inflate specific factors considered in determining poverty levels or measures of the working poor. A boy from an East Cipinang trash dump slum in Jakarta, Indonesia shows what he found. ...

The "working poor" In the United States

The nature and extent of the working poor in the United States is a contested subject; while both sides of the political spectrum acknowledge that there are non-negligible numbers of working people living near or below the poverty line, there is disagreement as to whether or not this reflects a genuine flaw with current economic policy, and what the response should be. Map of countries showing percentage of population who have an income below the national poverty line The poverty line is the level of income below which one cannot afford to purchase all the resources one requires to live. ...

In the United States, according to the government Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 6.4 million working poor in 2000 [1]; by 2003 the number had grown [2]. In 2004, Business Week suggested [3] that "the share of the workforce earning subpoverty pay [is] 24% [in 2003]". The Bureau of Labor Statistics was founded in 1884 by President Chester A. Arthur. ... BusinessWeek is a business magazine published by McGraw-Hill. ...

The question of the working poor, how many there are and the reasons for their situation, remains controversial. For example, the Business Week magazine article cited above, which was generally critical of the political response to the problem of the working poor, itself received criticism from Townhall.com columnist Thomas Sowell, who claimed that the magazine had, among other sins, inflated statistics. Townhall. ... Thomas Sowell (born June 30, 1930), is an American economist, political writer, and commentator. ...

Sowell claimed that "census data show that most people who are working are not poor and most people who are poor are not working", and that workers who were part-time or under the age of 25 should not be counted as working poor [4]. Citing the author Horatio Alger, Sowell suggested that the intelligentsia had dismissed words such as moxie and gumption, and that the working poor themselves, and not larger socioeconomic factors such as the lack of labor unions and the changing nature of employment, as suggested by Business Week, were to blame for the situation. Horatio Alger, Jr. ... The notion of an intellectual elite as a distinguished social stratum can be traced far back in history. ... Socioeconomics or Socio-economics is the study of the relationship between economic activity and social life. ... A union (labor union in American English; trade union, sometimes trades union, in British English; either labour union or trade union in Canadian English) is a legal entity consisting of employees or workers having a common interest, such as all the assembly workers for one employer, or all the workers...

Possible problems faced by the working poor

Workers without marketable skills may face low wages, potential economic exploitation, unpleasant working conditions, and few opportunities to attain skills that would allow them to escape their personal and economic situations. Unexpected costs (such as medical or repair costs) can substantially decrease the economic ability of the working poor to manage their lives. A wage is a compensation which workers receive in exchange for their labor. ... Exploitation means many different things. ...

In some cases, members of the working poor work at multiple part-time jobs, which require nearly full-time commitment but are classified as "part time". In this situation some benefits, like medical insurance, are not paid by employers [5]. This situation is sometimes referred to as precarious employment. Health Insurance is a type of insurance whereby the insurer pays the medical costs of the insured if the insured becomes sick due to covered causes, or due to accidents. ...

A common expression of working poor conditions states that such individuals often live from "paycheck to paycheck".

Policy responses

Many governments have initiated programs with the proclaimed intention of assisting those who may be considered impoverished or working poor. Much debate is centered upon the efficacy of such programs. In the United States, fiscal conservatives tend to argue in favor of the approaches recommended by Trickle-down economics, in which stimulation of the investment sector is assumed to lead to increased job opportunities and a better economy. Examples of conservative measures include lowering taxes and reducing governmental regulation of business and trade. Fiscal progressives tend toward a more direct approach, usually with increased taxes and regulation. The government funds social welfare programs like food stamps and vouchers, subsidized housing, meal plans, and healthcare, and regulating wages, or by helping the working poor become more competitive in the labor market, through such measures as job training programs, low-interest student loans, and small business loans. Trickle-down economics and trickle-down theory, in political rhetoric, are characterizations by opponents of the policy of lowering taxes on high incomes and business activity. ... “Taxes” redirects here. ... The Food Stamp Program serves as the first line of defense against hunger. ... Labour economics seeks to understand the functioning of the market for labour. ...

See also

• Minimum wage
• Labor law
• Living wage
• Income disparity
• Wage slavery
• Poverty
• Welfare trap
• Wealth condensation
• Lucky duckies
• Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich

The minimum wage is the minimum rate a worker can legally be paid (usually per hour) as opposed to wages that are determined by the forces of supply and demand in a free market. ... This article is in need of attention. ... Living wage refers to the minimum hourly wage necessary for a person to achieve a basic standard of living. ... Income disparity is an inequality in pay or salary for equal labor. ... Wage slavery is a term used to refer to a condition in which a person chooses a job but only within a coerced set of choices (e. ... A boy from an East Cipinang trash dump slum in Jakarta, Indonesia shows what he found. ... The welfare trap is a name for a situation in which taxation and welfare systems create strong incentives for people to stay on social welfare payments. ... Wealth condensation is a theoretical process by which, in certain conditions, newly-created wealth tends to become concentrated in the possession of already-wealthy individuals or entities. ... Lucky Duckies is a term that was used in Wall Street Journal editorials starting on 20 November 2002 to refer to Americans who pay no federal income tax because they are at an income that is below the tax line (after deductions and credits). ... Cover of the 2001 Metropolitan Books edition Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America is a book authored by Barbara Ehrenreich. ... Barbara Ehrenreich (born August 26, 1941, in Butte, Montana) is a prominent liberal American writer, columnist, feminist, socialist and political activist. ...

Sources

• David Shipler, The Working Poor: Invisible in America, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2004.
• Precarious Employment literature review by New Zealand government agency
• Precarious Employment in Australia