The Working Poor Characters

Wendy Waxler

- Did not trust banks, because she believed they withheld money.

- She paid under the table (kept finances and wages secret from the government)

- Moved off of welfare to a job

Ann Brash (chapter 1)

- She took over a lease on a jeep with unfavorable terms

- there was a balloon payment (one large payment at end) at the end of the jeeps lease

- she was too broke to pay for the jeep no matter the deal

- she had to take out a high interest loan for the car because she already had $30,000 in debt, making the payments higher and higher

- bad credit, ended up filing for bankruptcy

Ann Brash (chapter 7)

- Two children, sally and sandy.

- Fell into deeper poverty after divorce; chose poverty in order to take better care and focus on her children

- Her biggest fear was not having a place to live

- She "chooses poverty" because she chose not to work multiple jobs and sacrifice the relationship between her and her children.

- Both her children ended up being successful

- Kept her focus on her children's long term goals

Lisa Books

- Took out a high interest loan when she needed a new car but didn't read the fine print, couldn't pay off her loans

- Worked a low wage job putting her below the poverty line

- Had four children

- Lived in apartment with terrible conditions, leading to all her children getting sick.

- The medical bills caused her to go into debt

Tom and Kara

- Kara's father, mother, and two husbands were alcoholics

- Her first alcoholic husband was abusive; Tom was alcoholic but not abusive

- Two sons Matt and Zach

- Kara Prioritized love within her family

- Lost incomes and savings due to Kara's lymphoma, Tom broke his back in a car accident, and Tom didn't qualify Social Security Assistance

- Kara died of lymphoma (cancer)

- After Kara's death, Tom struggled with depression, alcoholism, and joblessness.

- Their sons ended up graduating high school and working on their passions such as cars and houses.

Miss V

- Young white teacher who experienced verbal and physical abuse from the parents of her students.

- Underestimated and threatened by parents who disrespected her

- She noticed a lack of parental involvement had a direct impact on the education of her students

- Blamed for not showing enough discipline

- Some parents thought she was too involved, others though she was not enough

Debra Hall

- Got scammed by the phone company and got charged $89 dollars a month

- Didn't read the fine print

- Had a long career of welfare checks, but then the PRWO Act of 1996 disqualified her from welfare, so she had to get a job with little to no skill

- Went to Cleveland Center for Employment Training and got hired at a bakery.

- Black women, had to perform work she was not trained to do

- Impacted by PRWO Act because she had received welfare for 21 years

Christie

- Ironic that she couldn't afford to out her kids in the daycre that she worked at

- Previously in jail

- The schedule of her paychecks prevented her from being able to pay her bills

- She had to take out a bunch of loans to cover bills

- College dropout