Blog Nine
President Elect Obama,
First I think it’s important to address the stereotype that the poor are “lazy�. This stereotype only does one thing; it stops any progress from being made in helping the working poor better themselves. So first we must admit that there are real systems holding back the working poor, and specifically working poor mothers. By doing this we are able to look past stereotypes and actually start helping people.
Once we get past that first step we can start to look at what actions we should be taking. The availability of resources is extremely important. The working poor need to have access to things like transportation, birth control and child care. Many working mothers work full time jobs and they have trouble affording child care for their children. When child care is so expensive other things get cut out of the budget. And when there isn’t enough money for the necessities families suffer.
According to Arlie Hochschild and Anne Machung in “The Second Shift: Working Parents and the Revolution at Home� there are many factors that work together to keep the poor, poor. Race, class and location all play a role as systems that keep the poor where they are. This reminds me of the birdcage metaphor. All of the different bars work together to keep the poor in their cage. We must create ways for the bars to be removed and dismantled.