The struggling class: Celine-Marie Pascale on determining if people can meet their basic living needs

Over 44% of Americans work low-wage jobs, which can trap people in a precarious cycle marked by limited job security, stagnant wages, unreliable hours, and few opportunities for promotion. Those who are working multiple low-wage jobs struggle to cover their basic living expenses. Celine-Marie Pascale, a professor of sociology at American University, illustrates this complex problem in her November 2021 essay. She contends that the federal poverty line is “an outdated measure of poverty,” and argues that policymakers should use other measures to design safety-net programs based on the real cost of living, which varies across the country.

Celine-Marie Pascale, "The Federal Poverty Line Struggles to Capture the Economic Hardship That Half of Americans Face," The Conversation, 10 November 2021.

 

1. Pascale argues that policymakers should use “measures of self-sufficiency” to create programs that address poverty. Explain what it means for a person to be “economically self-sufficient.” What basic living expenses are included in calculating self-sufficiency? What is an important difference between the federal poverty line and these measures of economic self-sufficiency?
   
2. Near the end of her essay, Pascale acknowledges, “Self-sufficiency measures are not perfect.” What are two problems she cites with current economic self-sufficiency measures? Note how Pascale introduces, explains, and responds to these naysayer arguments. Trace where you see her making these moves, which are described in Chapter 6. Why do you think she places these naysayer arguments here, and how would moving them earlier in her essay affect her argument?
3. Use the Economic Policy Institute’s family budget calculator to determine the cost of living for your family where you live. Compare that to the U.S. federal poverty line guidelines. What differences do you see between these two calculations? Why might it be difficult for policymakers to use measures of economic self-sufficiency to develop safety net programs that address poverty?
4. The people Pascale profiles don’t refer to themselves as poor. Rather, they identify as part of the “struggling class.” Why do you think that distinction is important? Many people in the struggling class work low-wage jobs. Why is it so difficult for people to move out of low-wage work? Explore the data on the UC Berkeley Labor Center’s website, “Low-Wage Work in California.” What did you find surprising in this data, and why?