$2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America

“Two dollars is less than the cost of a gallon of gas, roughly equivalent to that of a half gallon of milk. Many Americans have spent more than that before they get to work or school in the morning. Yet in 2011, more than 4 percent of all households with children in the world’s wealthiest nation were living in a poverty so deep that most Americans don’t believe it even exists in this country.” 

Edin and Shaefer provide some context for readers to understand just how poor these families are. Many Americans spend $2 without even thinking about it—it is an almost inconsequential amount of money for them. Not only is having to live on $2 per person, per day hard to imagine for many people, but they don’t realize it is a level of destitution that actually exists in the US. $2-a-day poverty is far removed from the everyday comforts that many Americans take for granted.

“Susan is sick of going hungry, sick of eating instant noodles morning, noon, and night. She’s tired of falling further and further behind on her bills, tired of being a freeloader in her own home.” 

Being so poor you can barely survive doesn’t just leave people with barely enough to eat, it also leaves them demoralized and emotionally exhausted. Poverty is difficult to escape and can leave people feeling trapped. Susan’s stories in particular exemplify the emotional baggage that comes with being destitute.

“Asked if she plans to apply for welfare, Susan recoils a bit, shaking her head emphatically, as if to say, Of course not. When pressed to explain her reluctance, she explains, ‘I just don’t want to get rejected again.’ Every time she gets turned down by a prospective employer, she cries uncontrollably. Why open herself up to certain failure by applying for welfare?” 

All the families in this book have experienced failure—including failing to pull themselves out of poverty despite their best efforts. In Susan’s case, this has made her reluctant to seek help from the government when she is already so shattered by the countless rejections she has experienced. Living in poverty and experiencing so much failure can easily cause a person to become hopeless.

“Welfare pre-1996 style might have provided a lifeline for Modonna as she frantically searched for another job. A welfare check might have kept her and her daughter in their little studio apartment, where they could keep their things, sleep in their own beds, take showers, and prepare meals. It might have made looking for a job easier—paying for a bus pass or a new outfit or hairdo that could help her compete with the many others applying for the same job.” 

While some government benefits are widely used by the poor, such as SNAP and Medicaid, there is virtually no cash assistance given out anymore. The authors show here the importance cash aid, not just in-kind benefits like food or healthcare. Cash could have allowed Modonna to keep her apartment, and it could have provided more stability while she looked for another job. It could have saved her from falling to a much deeper level of poverty than she had previously been at, which is something in-kind assistance cannot provide.

“Although there is little evidence to support such a claim, welfare is widely believed to engender dependency. Providing more aid to poor single mothers during the 1960s and 1970s likely reduced their work effort somewhat. But it didn’t lead to the mass exodus from the workforce that the rhetoric of the time often suggested. Sometimes evidence, however, doesn’t stand a chance against a compelling narrative.” 

The hatred of welfare in the late 20th century was, by and large, not based on actual facts. It was based on narratives that people spread about “welfare queens” abusing the system and having children out of wedlock. Even though the welfare system may have not encouraged indolence for the most part, it was doomed to fail simply because Americans had such strong feelings against it.

“Her plan was to work hard and get ahead. With extraordinary luck, maybe she really could be self-sufficient in a year’s time, when her rent subsidy lapsed.” 

Jennifer was lucky to get any rent subsidy at all, but the assistance only lasted for one year. After that, she would have to pay the entirety of her rent herself, which she could not come close to doing with a job paying $8.75 an hour—not without “extraordinary luck.” Although there are some sources of aid offered to the poor, they tend to be very hard to come by and very insufficient. The aid is often not enough to get people fully on their feet, which results in them falling back down and returning to the cycle of poverty.

“Many communities within our country are caught in a downward spiral of bad jobs that don’t allow families to meet their basic needs or even ensure against extreme destitution. To eradicate $2-a-day poverty, or at least reverse its upward trend, the low-wage labor market has to change.” 

A key reason why people become caught in $2-a-day poverty is the fact that the jobs available to them do not allow them to make ends meet. Their employers pay too little and demand too much. The authors argue that many of the problems examined in this book could be improved if workers received a higher minimum wage and more consistent hours.

“If they could just make $12 or $13 per hour, they say, they could make it; $15 per hour is really shooting the moon. Safe working conditions, and some sick or personal days, would be a real plus. The other “extras” that once came routinely with a full-time job—health insurance, vacation days, and retirement benefits—don’t often come up in conversations with the $2-a-day poor. These perks are so uncommon among the jobs available to low-wage workers that they seem all but outside the bounds of reality.” 

Rae and Jennifer have very modest aspirations, yet the things they hope for are things that others take for granted. They want jobs that pay them enough to survive, and it would be nice if their jobs didn’t put them at risk of illness or injury. They don’t even entertain the idea of receiving more than that. Their low expectations stand in contrast to what most middle-class Americans would expect from a job, which highlights just how bad Rae and Jennifer’s present working conditions are.

“If Rae McCormick ever filled out an ACE questionnaire, she would blow a hole through the top of the scale. ‘I’ve been beat. I’ve been raped,’ she reports matter-of-factly. […] One of the items on the ACE survey that she may never have seen in her childhood home is “mother treated violently.” But that’s probably only because Rae’s mother abandoned her at age eleven.” 

Rae’s experiences show how the poor are more vulnerable to abuse and other traumatic events. Much of this vulnerability stems from being forced to depend on and live with other people. The authors spend a significant part of the chapter giving a detailed account of Rae’s tragically difficult life thus far, which makes it easier to see why she has emotional and physical problems in the present day.

“She views herself as a worker. Going on disability would be a disappointment to her father up in heaven. That’s something she just couldn’t bear.” 

Rae enjoys working because it gives her a place where she can escape the chaos of her personal life. In contrast to the narrative of welfare recipients lazily taking money they don’t deserve, Rae has just as strong of a work ethic as other Americans. She hates the idea of taking money that she feels she hasn’t earned, and so she refuses to apply for disability even though she would likely qualify for it.

“But what is clear right now is that Rae, in her current circumstances (and in the circumstances faced by families all across the United States), basically has no shot at achieving this dream. She has virtually no shot at getting Azara that room decked out in Dora gear in their own little place. Housing is too expensive, the jobs she might get pay far too little, and there’s too little help.” 

Although Rae and others hope for a better future, their modest dreams are out of reach. At present, the jobs available to Rae will never pay her enough to secure her own home and a modicum of comfort. Nor is the government giving out sufficient help. Unless significant changes are made to the welfare system, it does not matter how hard Rae works, since hard work is not enough to escape poverty.

“‘I can’t ever look at it. I never look at it when they do it. They do it right here,’ she says, pointing to the obvious indentation at the crease in her arm, which looks somewhat like a drug track line. Many among the $2-a-day poor bear these small scars from repeated plasma donations.” 

Selling plasma is a strategy that most poor people don’t have to resort to, but it is relatively common among the $2-a-day poor. Jessica’s routine “donations” have taken their toll on her, leaving her body scarred and fatigued each time she has the procedure done. The authors describe the procedure she goes through in detail to show readers the cost of selling plasma twice a week.

“The panoply of survival strategies used by today’s $2-a-day poor are variations on the same tactics poor families used a generation ago to get by: private charity, a variety of small-time under-the-table income-generating schemes, and plain old scrimping. […] But the degree to which people must resort to the riskiest strategies—those that can exact a sharp psychological, legal, and even physical toll—appears to be an order of magnitude greater for the virtually cashless poor than it is for poor families with some cash on hand. "

Poverty has always existed in the US, but not all poverty is created equal. The recent rise in $2-a-day poverty requires a level of self-sacrifice that most would consider inhumane. To get cash, people are forced to compromise their morals and harm themselves. This shows how dire their circumstances are and exposes how essential cash is in modern American society.

“At the conclusion of the interview, the researchers gave the young mother the standard interview stipend of $50 in cash. When they returned to do a follow-up interview just twenty-four hours later, they found that not only was there formula on the shelf, but Ashley had permed and styled her hair and gone to the thrift store for a new outfit. Leaving the baby with her mother, Ashley was now on her way out the door in her new pantsuit to apply for jobs. The little bit of autonomy that $50 had afforded Ashley had apparently sparked enough confidence in her to begin looking for work.” 

The authors share a brief anecdote about a woman named Ashley to illustrate the difference even a small amount of cash can make. The government and private charities usually give aid in the form of goods and services, but Ashley needed cash to get baby formula and some clothes for job interviews. In-kind services cannot meet all of a person’s needs—they need cash that they have the freedom to spend on what they need most. It is also apparent that having cash made a big difference by simply bringing some hope back into her life.

“Survival takes more. It requires a stubborn optimism in the face of very tough circumstances. It requires a spirit of determination that can propel someone forward in his or her effort to make do on next to nothing.” 

Surviving is about the resources available to a person as well as their attitude. It takes incredible perseverance to live in such conditions. Edin and Shaefer demonstrate this point in Chapter 4 by listing Paul’s myriad strategies to provide for his large family with a seemingly endless amount of energy.

“What is true about each of the families in this book is that they would all rather have a real job than engage in any of the alternative forms of ‘work’ described in this chapter. Yet the more employment in the formal labor market proves perilous—with low pay, too few hours, and crazy schedules—the more untenable it is for a parent trying to raise kids.” 

The survival strategies explored in this chapter stem from problems with the formal labor market that were discussed in Chapter 2. When people can’t find work or can’t fully support themselves by working, then they turn to other ways to survive. The authors argue that to make it so parents are not forced to sell their bodies or their principles, we must improve the quantity and the quality of jobs.

“The legacy of slavery, Jim Crow, and segregation remains thick in places like Jefferson. There are nearly always two sides to these small communities, one white and one black. One is marked by stately redbrick structures shaded by old-growth oaks and outfitted with manicured lawns, sprawling magnolia trees, and the omnipresent crape myrtle. The other side of town teeters. Its tiny wood-frame shotgun-style houses and decrepit trailers sit askew or have imploded altogether. Yards are choked with sunken-in garages, derelict appliances, and junk cars. […] The stark contrast between the two sides of town isn’t new—it’s always been like this.” 

Black populations experience poverty at a higher rate than white populations, and this is exceptionally apparent in the Mississippi Delta. When poverty is inherited from one generation to the next, then the effects of racist systems and policies like slavery, Jim Crow laws, and segregation can be felt long after they are abolished. The lack of an adequate social safety net thus has a disproportionate impact on black Mississippians.

“This shadow economy springs forth in living rooms, in parking lots, in the checkout line at Kroger, and even inside the legitimate businesses that have managed to survive. At its best, it forges bonds of interdependence that inspire the slightly better-off to aid those who are struggling in ways that speak to the marvel of human goodness. But at its worst, when the new poverty meets the old, it warps human relationships and puts those at the very bottom of society in a position that is ripe for exploitation.” 

Jobs are hard to come by in the rural Mississippi Delta, as are plasma clinics, charities, food pantries, and other resources that are available to the urban poor. People earn cash by setting up an illegal business in their apartment, by running an informal taxi service without a driver’s license, or by illegally selling SNAP benefits and Social Security numbers. The shadow economy thrives when there is a lack of legitimate ways to earn money.

“What does it feel like to be that hungry? Tabitha pauses, then says, ‘Well, actually, it feel like you want to be dead. Because it’s peaceful being dead. Going through seeing your little brother and them, you know, wake up crying, and then [them saying] they don’t want to go through this anymore … And then my mom, she saying she don’t want to go through this anymore.’” 

In the latter half of Chapter 5 the authors extensively quote Tabitha. She talks at length about the many difficult experiences she had growing up, including what it felt like to be deprived of so many basic necessities. Here she provides an emotional account of what it was like to go hungry and watch her family lose their hope and will to live.

“With so many of their citizens cut off from any legitimate access to a cash income, these places may seem unrecognizable as part of ‘America.’ And yet they are America, as much as any other place in the country.” 

The authors recognize that it may be tempting to discount the Mississippi Delta as an outlier, yet there are thousands of other cities and towns experiencing a similar level of destitution. Many of them are hidden from view and forgotten about by other Americans. With virtually no work and no cash safety net, these communities experience $2-a-day poverty on a wider scale than other places. Just because they aren’t a part of America that most Americans are familiar with, that doesn’t make them any less a part of the country.

“At this writing, three of the parents who appear in this book have a child who has attempted suicide. Another—Tabitha’s older brother Mike—may have successfully ended his life. Yet another, only age nine, is being treated with antipsychotic drugs because he threatened his sister with a knife. Two of the girls whose families we describe have ended up selling their bodies in exchange for food and money. One had to be treated for multiple sexually transmitted diseases at age fifteen. Certainly, this is too high a price for children to pay.” 

Growing up in a destitute family has shaped Tabitha’s life, but the final paragraph of Chapter 5 emphasizes that her experiences are not unusual. Many of the children from the other families in this book have suffered as well. As their final statement before they move on to make policy recommendations in the Conclusion, this quote serves as a poignant reminder of why $2-a-day poverty needs to be eradicated and what is at stake.

“The primary reason to strive relentlessly for approaches that line up with what most Americans believe is moral and fair is that government programs that are out of sync with these values serve to separate the poor from the rest of society, not integrate them into society. The old welfare system had the virtue of providing a floor of cash income for those in need, but it exacted a heavy price. To be a welfare recipient was to wear a scarlet letter in the eyes of your fellow Americans.” 

Although the old welfare system was effective at providing a cash safety net for millions of Americans, the authors argue that returning to the past is not a viable way forward. If we were to reinstate to the old welfare system, we would still face all the same problems that accompanied it. We need reform that can be broadly supported by the American public, because if it isn’t, the poor are the ones who will suffer. There needs to be a new system that the poor can use without feeling ashamed or ostracized.

“Too often, America has gone down the road of trying to shame those in need. We’ve put up barriers. We’ve made people jump through hoop after hoop—all based on the not-so-subtle presumption that they are lazy and immoral, intent on trying to put something over on the system. […] Shame may act as a barrier to claiming that little bit of cash that might stop a downward spiral.” 

To become eligible for TANF, people must go through a time-consuming application process and meet a long checklist of requirements. The states give it out in a begrudging manner. This has a number of consequences that keeps TANF from fulfilling its intended role. Families cannot get aid quickly when they have an emergency, the lengthy application process discourages people from applying at all, and people who genuinely need welfare feel even more ashamed because they are treated with such mistrust.