Chapter 5 and 6

Shipler discussed a topic in chapter 5 that in my opinion is quite significant in the U.S.; the rampant unemployment of felons and people who live in the projects.  Personally, I think it is a sad, never-ending cycle for these people.  Whether it be from lack of understanding on the employer level, or self-esteem issues among these people themselves, this is beginning to become a crippling issue in the United States.  One would think that due to the high level of incarceration in the U.S., we would at least invest a little time in helping them get back on their feet, especially those who were detained for drug problems.  It seems useless to spend money starting up 12 step programs, just to have the people they cure fail as soon as they leave, unable to get a job and support themselves.  The project programs aren't much better.  With such high crime rates in these areas, those who can't find a job (which, let's be realistic, is damn near all of them) find themselves falling back into the lives of addiction they struggled so hard to get out of.  As far as the work-place goes, I think that we need to invest more in training the managerial level to be more effective with people who have had rough pasts.  Shipler explains that most of these people who aren't used to the environment of the workplace find it hostile due to managerial misunderstanding.
Chapter 6 was horrible.  As if the poor aren't part of enough depressing statistics, child molestation and abuse in the foster system have to be part of it too.  Not gonna lie, it was really hard to read.