From one piece Nickel and Dimed (2011 Version) (TomDispatch essay, from the 10th-anniversary afterword; republished by History News Network) 6 beliefs · historynewsnetwork.org
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In defiance of all reason and compassion, the criminalization of poverty has actually intensified as the weakened economy generates ever more poverty.
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The ostensible goal is to prevent welfare fraud, but the psychological impact is to turn poverty itself into a kind of crime.
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the brunt of the recession has been borne by the blue-collar working class, which had already been sliding downwards since de-industrialization began in the 1980s.
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the official definition of poverty was way off the mark, since it defined an individual earning $7 an hour, as I did on average, as well out of poverty.
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It would have been impossible to repeat my Nickel and Dimed “experiment,” had I had been so inclined, because I would probably never have found a job.
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The short answer is that things have gotten much worse, especially since the economic downturn that began in 2008.