Title: $2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America
Author: Kathryn J. Edin and H. Luke Shaefer
Page Count: 210 pages
Genre: Nonfiction, Social Justice, Call-to-Action
Tone: Eye-Opening, Anecdotal, Sobering
Summary:
A revelatory assessment of poverty in America examines the survival methods employed by households with virtually no income to illuminate disturbing trends in low-wage labor and income inequality.
SPOILER WARNING:
These book discussion questions are highly detailed and will ruin plot points if you have not read the book.
The Library is happy to share these original questions for your use. If reproducing, please credit with the following statement: 2018 Mount Prospect Public Library. All rights reserved. Used with Permission.
- 1. Think back to when you first picked up this book. What kind of book did you expect to read? Is that the book you read? How was it different?
2. In what ways did this passage from the introduction strike a chord: “Recent public discussions of rising inequality in the United States have largely focused on the biggest winners of the past decade, the top one percent. But there is a different inequality at work at the other end of the income scale” (xxiii)?
3. As you think back over the experience of reading the book, what made the biggest impression? Are there stories or issues or feelings that will stay with you months later?
4. How accessible was the book? Did you feel you understood what the authors were trying to communicate?
5. Would you describe this as a heavy read? A depressing one? An inspiring one? What words would you use?
6. Several of the illustrative narratives are set in Chicago. Do you think that affected your experience of them? In which way(s)?
7. “[Representative surveys] have consistently shown that between 60 and 70 percent of the American public believes that the government is ‘spending too little on assistance for the poor.’ However, if Americans are asked about programs labeled ‘welfare’ in particular, their support for assistance drops considerably.” (14) Is this understandable? Fair? What might be done?
8. After reading about the mischaracterization of welfare recipients (e.g., the ‘welfare queen’) and ongoing perceptions, how does this compare to our the current buzz phrase of ‘fake news’?
9. “How is it that a solid work ethic is not an adequate defense against extreme poverty?”(45) How might you answer this question based on what you’ve read?
10. Have any of you ever applied for a job via an online application? Did the scenario described in the book (pp. 50-51) seem reasonable?
11. How is lack of schedule flexibility a complicating factor once employment is found?
12. Were you surprised to read how extensive the selling of food stamps can be? If you were in that position, what would you do?
13. What roles can the library play in the lives of families who struggle? Give examples from the book – or from those you know.
14. Contrast the situations of the extreme poor in cities with those in rural communities such as the Appalachian regions. Did this surprise you? How accurate is the chapter title, “A World Apart”? Are there commonalities?
15. How do the families portrayed in the book find the will to keep going? Do they have hope? Are they happy? What does this tell us?
16. According to the authors, what has gone terribly wrong in welfare reform? Has anything gone right?
17. What role might the government play in creating and supporting job opportunities?
18. What issues were raised about housing? Are there viable solutions?
19. Several sources take issue with the premise and statistics cited in this book, and one is included in the resources below. What is the counter-position? How convincing are these arguments? Is there truth on each side?
20. Does the book have potential to bring about real change?
21. Does this book have potential to spark real empathy? What good does that do?
22. How did you respond to this statement: “Yet despite all they’ve been through, despite the abuse and trauma, the hunger and fear, despite the anger they carry with them at what they have endured, many of the everyday experiences of the $2-a-day poor are – truly—American to the core”?
23. Were you confronted with any personal preconceptions and/or misperceptions? Are you different for reading this book? Did it change your mind about anything?
24. What, if anything, can we do? Do you see opportunities? How do we not forget?
25. What did you learn from this book?
26. Are you glad you read this book? That it was chosen for discussion?
Want help with your book discussion group? Check out tips, advice, and all the ways the Library can help support your group!
OTHER RESOURCES:
Detailed Group Discussion Guide from official book website
Video: Author Kathryn J. Edin on PBS NewsHour
Counterpoint: “The Number of Americans Living on $2.00 a Day Is Zero” via Forbes
Interview with Edin and Shaefer via The Atlantic
The Washington Post reports “What It’s Like to Live on $2 a Day in the United States”
Reviews from The New York Times, Kirkus, and The Boston Globe
READALIKES:
fiction:
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