This text was adapted by The Saylor Foundation under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 0 License without attribution as requested by the work’s original creator or licensee. Preface

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• 
  Although people of color have higher poverty rates than non-Latino whites, the most typical poor person in the United States is non-Latino white.
  
• 
  The US childhood poverty rate is the highest of all Western democracies.
  
• 
  Labor force participation data indicate that the belief that poor people lack motivation to work is in fact a myth.
  

FOR YOUR REVIEW

1. 
   Why do you think the majority of Americans assume poor people lack the motivation to work?
   
2. 
   Explain to a friend how labor force participation data indicate that it is inaccurate to think that poor people lack the motivation to work.
   

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[2] White, J. A. (2007). The hollow and the ghetto: Space, race, and the politics of poverty. Politics & Gender, 3, 271–280.

[3] Lin, A. C., & Harris, D. R. (Eds.). (2008). The colors of poverty: Why racial and ethnic disparities persist. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

[4] Iceland, J. (2006). Poverty in America: A handbook. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

[5] Ratcliffe, C., & McKernan, S.-M. (2010). Childhood poverty persistence: Facts and consequences. Washington, DC: Urban Institute Press.

[6] Mishel, L., Bernstein, J., & Shierholz, H. (2009). The state of working America 2008/2009. Ithaca, NY: ILR Press.

[7] Addy, S., & Wright, V. R. (2012). Basic facts about low-income children, 2010. New York, NY: National Center for Children in Poverty.

[8] Ramshaw, E. (2011, July 10). Major health problems linked to poverty. New York Times, p. A21.

[9] US Census Bureau . (2012). Poverty. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/cpstables/032011/pov/new02_100.htm.

[10] US Census Bureau. (2012). Current population survey. 2012 annual social and economic supplement. Washington, DC: Author.

[11] Toner, K. (2011, March 24). Making sure “motel kids” don’t go hungry. CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/03/24/cnnheroes.serato.motel.kids/index.html.