$2.00 a Day

Starred review from June 22, 2015
This slim, searing look at extreme poverty deftly mixes policy research and heartrending narratives from a swath of the 1.5 million American households eking out an existence on cash incomes of $2 per person per day. Edin and Shaefer, respectively professors at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Michigan, trace the history of welfare in the U.S. up to the cuts enacted by President Clinton. They also explore the worlds of the desperately impoverished, profiling people who are able to find, at best, low-wage jobs with no bargaining power. Their subjects’ wrenching stories demonstrate the huge obstacles created by unstable housing and prevalent racial discrimination. Edin and Shaefer examine the many survival strategies used by the very poor to generate cash, including selling plasma, trading food stamps for discounted cash payments, and even selling their children’s Social Security numbers to people with fixed addresses, which the poorest lack. The strain of “the work of survival” has not defeated every person depicted in this book, but when a Mississippi teen is quoted saying that constant hunger can make you “feel like you want to be dead,” it’s impossible to ignore the high costs of abject poverty. Mixing academic seriousness and deft journalistic storytelling, this work may well move readers to positive action. Agent: Lisa Adams, Garamond Agency.

February 1, 2016

Edin (sociology, John Hopkins; Promises I Can Keep) and Shaefer (social work, Univ. of Michigan) here chronicle the unintended consequences of the 1996 welfare reforms meant to encourage employment and reduce reliance on government cash payments. The reforms have been modestly successful for poor people who are employed. However, for those who are unable to get in or stay in the workforce, life is harsher than ever. The number of individuals in America who survive on less than $2 per person per day, the World Bank standard for global poverty, is growing. It means being inadequately fed, inadequately housed, and underemployed or unemployed. This is compounded by the extremes companies go to in order to keep payroll costs down. For example, the use of software to build optimal schedules results in unpredictable and erratic work routines, which is especially difficult for parents who must arrange child care. Fluctuating hours lead to fluctuating paychecks, creating further difficulties for people on the margins. This work will add important information and understanding to the necessary ongoing public conversation about poverty and income distribution in America. Allyson Johnson narrates with authority. VERDICT Recommended for public libraries and those interested in economics and public policy. ["A must-read, whether you are for or against helping the poor in America": LJ 8/15 review of the Houghton Harcourt hc.]--Cynthia Jensen, Gladys Harrington Lib., Plano, TX

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 30, 2015
Edin and Shaefer’s book explores life for the millions of people in the U.S. living on less than two dollars a day. Interweaving statistics, reports, and personal accounts, they contrast daily life for the working poor around the U.S. They draw a vivid picture of the challenges, sacrifices, and no-win situations that many people are subject to on a daily basis as a means of survival. With a soft but clear delivery, Johnson captures listeners’ attention and maintains it throughout, always projecting strong conviction in the words she is narrating. She has a steady voice that provides the right amount of emphasis when needed and can smoothly transition into distinct character voices when required. She captures the sincerity and the seriousness of the authors’ words, which makes listening all the more powerful than reading. A Houghton Mifflin Harcourt hardcover.