Blog #8

There are many problems that “urban poverty” creates for poor working mothers. For example, many mothers are afraid for their children’s safety because of where they live. Jessica, from the video “7 Days at Minimum Wage,” said that she will not allow her children to play outside because she is afraid they will get shot or killed. She also said that while she refuses to live in Section 8 housing, she lives in an apartment that has holes that need to be fixed and lives where drugs are being sold next door. When people in general are afraid to spend time outdoors where they live, it begins to sever community ties and any meaningful exchanges that were once had. The deterioration of inner cities and middle class citizens moving away creates many of these problems. Along with the middle class moving out comes the deterioration in real estate and an increase in abandoned buildings. According to William Julius Wilson, the deterioration of inner cities is caused by the decline in the labor markets and “brain drain,” meaning that more men are going to jail leaving mothers to care for their children alone. “Urban poverty” also makes it very difficult to get out of poverty regardless of how hard you work or how much education you have. Jessica says that she has been working at minimum wage her whole life and currently only makes a little more than minimum wage. She is upset by the fact that every educational step she completes, she finds herself in the same position as before. She wants her children to focus on staying out of trouble and getting an education and moving out of poverty. Jessica can see the vicious cycle of working low-income jobs and having children and not being able to get out, and does not want her children stuck in it. These problems differ from that of poor women working in mixed income neighborhoods because their children have other examples to look to.