$2.00 A Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America

Kathryn J. Edin · H. Luke Shaefer

Sep 2015 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this ebook

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year
The story of a kind of poverty in America so deep that we, as a country, don't even think exists—from a leading national poverty expert who “defies convention.” (The New York Times)
Jessica Compton’s family of four would have no income if she didn’t donate plasma twice a week at her local donation center in Tennessee. Modonna Harris and her teenage daughter, Brianna, in Chicago, often have no food but spoiled milk on weekends.
After two decades of brilliant research on American poverty, Kathryn Edin noticed something she hadn’t seen before—households surviving on virtually no cash income. Edin teamed with Luke Shaefer, an expert on calculating incomes of the poor, to discover that the number of American families living on $2.00 per person, per day, was one and a half million households, including about three million children. Where do these families live? How did they get so desperately poor?
Through this book’s eye-opening analysis and many compelling profiles, moving and startling answers emerge. $2.00 a Day delivers provocative ideas to our national debate on income inequality.
“Powerful . . . Presents a deeply moving human face that brings the stunning numbers to life. It is an explosive book . . . The stories will make you angry and break your heart.”—American Prospect
“Harrowing . . . [An] important and heart-rending book, in the tradition of Michael Harrington’s The Other America.”—Los Angeles Times

Ratings and reviews

Maybe im baised actually being from a family living in government owned home with only one parent and three siblings. But alot of people who do make "2.00" a day do it by choice. Poverty can hit anyone and its not a pretty sight. But in my own personal experiance the people who stay at the "2.00" are usually bogged down by addictions or poor mental health. I ask you, if you give someone $500 a month (typical unemployment/welfare in my state) and then they spend half of it on alcohol or non essential items. Is it anyone but their own fault for thier situation? Even with the stimulus check majority of america got. I watched people who i knew made less income in two monthes then the value of the check go spend it on a tv or console, instead of paying for bills or just even saving it. There's alot more I could get into being around poverty my whole life. Fyi. A drive thru has over $2 in change on the ground. Being a kid id get over $10 walking around and gathering this every other day.

Best way to effect change is to educate yourself first. This book is a good educational tool for young persons who are not yet aware of the struggle of low income life.

Heartbreaking....unexcusable in 2021 america

About the author

KATHRYN J. EDIN is the William Church Osborne Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at Princeton University. The author of nine books, Edin is widely recognized for using both quantitative research and direct, in-depth observation to illuminate key mysteries about poverty: “In a field of poverty experts who rarely meet the poor, Edin usefully defies convention” (New York Times).

H. LUKE SHAEFER, Ph.D. is the Hermann and Amalie Kohn Professor of Social Justice and Social Policy and Associate Dean for Research and Policy Engagement at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. He is also a professor of social work and the inaugural director of Poverty Solutions, an interdisciplinary, presidential initiative that partners with communities and policymakers to find new ways to prevent and alleviate poverty.