Living on $2 per day

I recently had some work done. Just a tuck here, some stubble there. It's subtle, but I think it looks pretty good.
I recently had some work done. Just a tuck here, some stubble there. It’s subtle, but I think it looks pretty good.

Katheryn Edin and H. Luke Shaefer are attracting huge attention with their new book, $2.00 a Day: Living on almost nothing in America.

Writing about this book in the New York Times, William Julius Wilson concludes:

This essential book is a call to action, and one hopes it will accomplish what ­Michael Harrington’s “The Other America” achieved in the 1960s — arousing both the nation’s consciousness and conscience about the plight of a growing number of invisible citizens. The rise of such absolute poverty since the passage of welfare reform belies all the categorical talk about opportunity and the American dream.

Shaefer and I sat down for a long converation about the book at healthinsurance.org. It was a special pleasure to speak with him, since he is a friend, co-author, and one of my very first doctoral students at the University of Chicago. Much more here.

Yeah, that’s Luke above.

Author: Harold Pollack

Harold Pollack is Helen Ross Professor of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago. He has served on three expert committees of the National Academies of Science. His recent research appears in such journals as Addiction, Journal of the American Medical Association, and American Journal of Public Health. He writes regularly on HIV prevention, crime and drug policy, health reform, and disability policy for American Prospect, tnr.com, and other news outlets. His essay, "Lessons from an Emergency Room Nightmare" was selected for the collection The Best American Medical Writing, 2009. He recently participated, with zero critical acclaim, in the University of Chicago's annual Latke-Hamentaschen debate.