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Working Poor Writing Assignment

Turned into "Final Presentation and Paper"
Course

First-Year Seminar (FYRS 1105)

41 Documents
Students shared 41 documents in this course
Academic year: 2018/2019
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Brianna Walker
Columbus State University
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FYRS 1105

Dana Larkin December 5, 2018 The Working Poor A little over a year ago, I worked at Piggly Wiggly. I worked for $7 per hour as a cashier and I absolutely hated it. Some customers were rude and inappropriate and management lacked concern for their employees. One thing I absolutely hated working with was when customers paid with any type of welfare. EBT (food stamp) cards were unreliable and when customers did not have enough on their card, we were forced to put all the product back. WIC transactions would take so long to complete. Not only did I hate the whole process, but I blamed the person/people involved with the transaction. Growing up in a mostly conservative household, welfare was mostly frowned upon because there was always this idea that people on welfare were “stealing our tax dollars” or they would load their groceries that they bought with food stamps into a Mercedes. I felt robbed. When I read the Working Poor, I wanted to learn more about welfare. I wanted to hear stories about people on welfare and what laws were involved. I of course already knew that most people on welfare need the resources and aid so that they can support themselves and/or their family. I found the story about Christie (pg. 39-45) and how she had slowly “slipped back onto welfare.” She felt it was boring to just sit at home and collect welfare and renew her food stamps, so luckily the welfare reform act forced her to get a job in under a year and a half. Another story similar to Christie’s was Marquita Barnes. Marquita was previously a drug addict and currently a mother of five. She was forced to get a job because of the 1996 welfare reform law. This required her to get her G.E., which she did not achieve.

I also learned that some people do not even get enough food stamps when they receive them. When Christie was on food stamps, she was given $136 every month. “Poor families typically find that food stamps cover only one-half to three-quarters of their grocery costs,” Shipler states on page 40. I always used to think that food stamps would cover a very large portion of/ all grocery expenses. Even when people on welfare are buying groceries, sometimes they can only get specific items. I of course already knew this from my retail experience of customers using WIC vouchers on certain items. I always used to think, “Well beggars can’t be choosers,” but little did I know the disadvantage it would have on some welfare recipients. Jequan Oliver-Bigby was a very malnourished child. The only way he could receive supplements were through Enfamil baby formula, which could be purchased through WIC. Unfortunately, Jequan had a food allergy to Enfamil. Luckily, the Grow Clinic that Jequan was staying in was able to give him a high-calorie formula and other free food. I learned a lot from the Working Poor. I liked reading it with an open mind and reading these interesting yet devastating stories about those who strive for financial success to provide for themselves and their families. Even though they might have to use some aid along the way, most of them managed to land themselves in decent jobs, which is way better than the poor situations they were in before. This was a very inspiring book and I hope that I too will reach a point where I am financially successful.

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Working Poor Writing Assignment

Course: First-Year Seminar (FYRS 1105)

41 Documents
Students shared 41 documents in this course

University: Columbus State University

Was this document helpful?
FYRS 1105
Dana Larkin
December 5, 2018
The Working Poor
A little over a year ago, I worked at Piggly Wiggly. I worked for $7.25 per hour as a
cashier and I absolutely hated it. Some customers were rude and inappropriate and management
lacked concern for their employees. One thing I absolutely hated working with was when
customers paid with any type of welfare. EBT (food stamp) cards were unreliable and when
customers did not have enough on their card, we were forced to put all the product back. WIC
transactions would take so long to complete. Not only did I hate the whole process, but I blamed
the person/people involved with the transaction. Growing up in a mostly conservative household,
welfare was mostly frowned upon because there was always this idea that people on welfare
were “stealing our tax dollars” or they would load their groceries that they bought with food
stamps into a Mercedes. I felt robbed.
When I read the Working Poor, I wanted to learn more about welfare. I wanted to hear
stories about people on welfare and what laws were involved. I of course already knew that most
people on welfare need the resources and aid so that they can support themselves and/or their
family. I found the story about Christie (pg. 39-45) and how she had slowly “slipped back onto
welfare.” She felt it was boring to just sit at home and collect welfare and renew her food stamps,
so luckily the welfare reform act forced her to get a job in under a year and a half. Another story
similar to Christie’s was Marquita Barnes. Marquita was previously a drug addict and currently a
mother of five. She was forced to get a job because of the 1996 welfare reform law. This required
her to get her G.E.D., which she did not achieve.

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