Waging a Living

From the series POV (Point of View) comes this documentary on what it means to work and still be close to homelessness.     ""Waging a Living," puts a human face on the growing economic squeeze that is forcing millions of workers into the ranks of the poor. Shot in the Northeast and California, the film profiles four very different Americans who work full-time but still can't make ends meet. Despite their hard work and determination, these four find themselves, as one of them observes, "hustling backwards."    One in four American workers — more than 30 million people — are stuck in jobs that pay less than the federal poverty level for a family of four. Housing costs, to name just one of several essential living expenses, have tripled since 1979,  while real wages for male low-wage workers are actually less than they were 30 years ago. But the new face of the working poor is overwhelmingly that of a woman struggling to support her children. Only 37 percent of single mothers receive child support, and that support averages just $1,331 per year. Nearly a quarter of the country's children now live below the poverty line." (PBS)

Publication Date: 
2005