Shipler Chapter 1

I found the beginning chapter of The Working Poor to be very well done.  I can see why we read Massey's book first, as it perfectly ties into what Shipler is summarizing in this chapter.  I found the idea of the American Anti-Myth very interesting.  We always hear about the American Dream, but never the paradox that is poverty in America.  What was particularly astounding to me was the fact that the U.S. still uses a system developed in 1964 to determine what the poverty line should be.  It astonishes me that no president since, especially those who claimed they would fight to help the poor, have not seen the obvious issue here.  Although, I do believe that Shipler summed it up perfectly when he said, "The first step is to see the problems, and the first problem is the failure to see the people." (page 11)  Chapter 2 showed the worse, human side of this truth.  We are introduced to a number of people who find themselves, like so many other Americans, members of the working poor.  Reading chapter 2 was painful.  Hearing their  extremely depressing stories would hopefully make anyone strive for change.  It certainly lit a fire under me.