 Waging a Living, a sobering view of the elusive American dream…
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Borderline poverty is a term many Americans are all too familiar with. In a statement about his documentary, Waging a Living, Filmmaker Roger Weisberg states that “one in four workers earns less than the federal poverty level for a family of four.” This is backed with statistics form the Economic Policy Institute and the Census Bureau which note that thirty million Americans make less than $8.70 an hour. Living paycheck to paycheck is frustrating for many families across the nation. Hard working individuals, often single parents struggle to make ends meet. Sometimes there is financial assistance available, sometimes these families only make wages marginally above the cut off point. This struggle puts bills like groceries against important medicine, raises credit card debt, and makes things like saving for college or retirement impossible. 
Low paying jobs combined with a lack of child support can also pose difficulties for households, especially those headed by a single mother. Waging a Living provides information showing that in a year following a divorce, a man’s standard of living increases 10 percent, while a woman’s decreases 27 percent. Paying for school supplies, rent, clothes, food and child care can be extremely difficult on $2.18 plus tips and even more arduous when child support is absent. There are many factors which force individuals into low paying jobs. Supply of jobs, demand for workers, education, experience, mounting debt, and time constraints are all reasons that people get stuck in jobs which cannot pay all their bills. Additional problems such as a lack of health insurance make life even more challenging. There is governmental assistance for those who fail to meet certain income brackets. There are charity and federal programs which help to find insurance, scholarships, and other monetary donations for children and needy families. Sometimes rent waivers or food stamp programs are available for people needing those options. It is essential for these programs to be both accessible and comprehensible to those who need them most. Is the “American Dream” tangible in this modern world? Waging a Living asks this question through the intimate exploration into the lives of four everyday American citizens. Bibliography and Additional Links |
