Has the Left Lost Faith in Upward Mobility?
Dear Deborah,
Earlier this week you wrote that you were "stunned" that I'd suggest a simple rule for our young people: "Don't have babies until you can afford them." Stunned was a much kinder word than many commenters used to describe their reaction--or their thoughts about me!
But let me admit to being stunned by your statement, "The odds that young women in poverty will find ways out of poverty are not great (above all in today's economy and wage scale)."
This strikes me as incredibly defeatist and fatalistic, not to mention depressing. But it also strikes me as incorrect.
Let's do the math.
Today the federal income poverty threshold for a single person is $11,490. If that person works a minimum-wage job for 40 hours a week and for 50 weeks a year, she earns $14,500 per year. Ergo, she's not poor, at least according to the official definition. (To be sure, she's not living the high life either--and is almost surely sharing a home with family or friends to make ends meet.)
What if this worker has a baby? Now things get much more challenging. The poverty threshold for a family of two is $15,510; a minimum-wage job is no longer enough. Furthermore, working 40 hours a week is tough when you've got a baby to care for. On the other hand, additional
