or, some work two jobs just to pay the bills. Furthermore, Newman's demographic and field research demonstrates that America's largest group of impoverished citizens is not the unemployed, but the working poor, who receive little political attention or credit for their struggles. Both traditional liberals and conservatives will find a great deal to take issue with in Newman's book. Liberals who defend the current welfare system may be angry at Newman's assertion that this overlooked segment of the working poor population unambiguously states that it finds dignity in earning a paycheck rather than a welfare check, and is relieved and that even low-paying jobs give order to desperate lives in desperate circumstances. Conservatives may be angry however, when Newman shows that hard work is not enough to pull one's self up by one's bootstraps and survive. Instead, Newman believes that some government intervention is necessary, such as extending more Earned Income Tax Credits to the working poor, as well...

If these programs teach skills, they might be able funnel more high-paying work private industry to the inner city
The interviews with the workers are often poignant. But this book is not without some notes of humor. Some of the most unintentionally funny parts of the book are when the Harvard anthropological research assistants are forced to stand behind the counters of the fast-food restaurants with Newman's 'real' subjects. But unlike episodes of reality TV that ask, what happens when 'worlds collide,' these anecdotes also show that the toil of these struggling workers is financially dispiriting, physically draining, and also psychologically hurtful in terms of customer and social attitudes. If nothing else, the next time one deals with a low-wage worker, one will treat the individual with newfound respect after reading this text.

Works Cited

Newman, Katherine. No Shame in My Game. New York: Vintage, 2000.