DAVID SHIPLER'S “THE WORKING POOR”

DAVID SHIPLER'S “THE WORKING POOR”

DAVID SHIPLER'S “THE WORKING POOR”

Introduction

Poverty is a problem which has plagued almost every society in the world. Almost every country has this particular issue which is causing a lot of social fragmentation. Steps are being taken to curb this issue, but it is a gradual process and it will take collective effort in order to overcome such an issue (Kornbluh, 2010).

Discussion

The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite statistic used to rank countries by labeling them "human development" and separate "very high human development", "high human development", "medium human development", and "low human development" countries. The Human Development Index (HDI) is a comparative measure which uses the criteria which consists of life expectancy, literacy, education and standards of living for countries worldwide. It is a standard means of measuring well-being, especially child welfare. It is used to determine whether the country is a developed, a developing or an under-developed country, and also to measure the impact of economic policies on quality of life. There are also HDI for states, cities, villages, etc. by local organizations or companies.

Moreover, Originally HDI was founded by an Economist called Mahbub ul Haq of Pakistani Origins in 1990 and was developed for United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Reports. The purpose to show that how ''to shift the focus of development economics from national income accounting to people centered policies''. By using the Human Development Index we are able to determine and rank how the country is developing and socially performing. Also it allows to witness the changes and compare with the previous situation, giving us a clear picture about how the country has performed over the years and what improvements have been made (Ransby, 2006).

Therefore, HDI is used to determine how countries are doing; it has also helped in determining the poverty situation in United States of America (USA). A super power and supposedly a wealthy nation , has poverty lingering and infecting everything which comes in its way. People living in this so called “Land of Opportunity” still live under this delusion that the country is the wealthiest and will sustain its wealth for long. The recent economic conditions have forced people to become jobless and beg on streets. It is a sad situation but it is the bitter reality, and many people are suffering, whereas on the other hand, there are people who have money and are leading an amazing life, spending millions, which show the gap between the rich and poor Is increasing day by day and nothing is being done to curb the issues. According to the HDI, it was calculated that when America experienced the period of recession the dropout rate from school went from 1 out of 10, to 1 out of 3 which meant more children were dropping out of school so they could contribute at home by working dead end jobs. Also the unemployment rate alarmingly high which showed almost 70% of the employed workforce ...