--- title: "3 Low Wage Quotes By Kathryn Edin" description: "3 Low Wage quotes by Kathryn Edin. Plus more from Kathryn Edin and more Low Wage sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb2/kathryn-edin-25745_child-care_parents-like-jennifer-susan-and-rae-expr_230793.jpg" --- > [“Parents like Jennifer, Susan, and Rae express desires that are quite modest. Full-time hours come first. That is a prize that can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-edin/parents-like-jennifer-susan-and-rae-express-desires-that-are-quite/) [Kathryn Edin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-edin/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb2/kathryn-edin-25745_child-care_parents-like-jennifer-susan-and-rae-expr_230793.jpg) > [“Yet laying the blame on a lack of personal responsibility obscures the fact that there are powerful and ever-changing structural forces at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-edin/yet-laying-the-blame-on-a-lack-of-personal-responsibility-obscures/) [Kathryn Edin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-edin/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/kathryn-edin-25745_personal-responsibil_yet-laying-the-blame-on-a-lack-of-person_1662638.jpg) > [“Although the 1996 welfare reform pushed millions of low-income single moms into the workforce, it did nothing to improve the conditions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-edin/although-the-1996-welfare-reform-pushed-millions-of-low-income-single/) [Kathryn Edin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-edin/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/kathryn-edin-25745_parenting_although-the-1996-welfare-reform-pushed_2005406.jpg) ## More by Kathryn Edin > [“Of the $16.5 billion the federal government transfers to states for TANF, more than $11 billion is siphoned off for other uses, sometimes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-edin/of-the-16-5-billion-the-federal-government-transfers-to-states-for/) [Kathryn Edin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-edin/) > [“Survival strategies come in three forms. The first is taking advantage of public spaces and private charities—the nation’s libraries, food pantries, homeless shelters, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-edin/survival-strategies-come-in-three-forms-the-first-is-taking-advantage/) [Kathryn Edin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-edin/) > [“Parents like Jennifer, Susan, and Rae express desires that are quite modest. Full-time hours come first. That is a prize that can be astonishingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-edin/parents-like-jennifer-susan-and-rae-express-desires-that-are-quite/) [Kathryn Edin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-edin/) > [“Housing instability is a hallmark of life among the $2-a-day poor. Children experiencing $2-a-day poverty are far more likely to move over the course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-edin/housing-instability-is-a-hallmark-of-life-among-the-2-a-day-poor/) [Kathryn Edin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-edin/) > [“As a practical matter, it is far more difficult to traffic in SNAP than it once was. Back in the days when folks got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-edin/as-a-practical-matter-it-is-far-more-difficult-to-traffic-in-snap/) [Kathryn Edin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-edin/) > [“The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) deems a family that is spending more than 30 percent of its income on housing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-edin/the-u-s-department-of-housing-and-urban-development-hud-deems-a/) [Kathryn Edin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-edin/) > [“Government-subsidized private sector job creation is one way forward. Recently, the federal government sponsored a promising short-term subsidized jobs program through something called the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-edin/government-subsidized-private-sector-job-creation-is-one-way-forward/) [Kathryn Edin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-edin/) > [“Out of every one hundred Americans, fewer than two get aid from today’s cash welfare program. Just 27 percent of poor families with children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-edin/out-of-every-one-hundred-americans-fewer-than-two-get-aid-from-today/) [Kathryn Edin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-edin/) > [“Already in 2001, 63 percent of very low income households were putting more than half their income toward housing, leaving too little for other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-edin/already-in-2001-63-percent-of-very-low-income-households-were-putting/) [Kathryn Edin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-edin/) > [“Providing the ultimate safety net is the role that Temporary Assistance for Needy Families is supposed to play, but it hasn’t proved to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-edin/providing-the-ultimate-safety-net-is-the-role-that-temporary/) [Kathryn Edin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-edin/) > [“The most obvious manifestation of the affordable housing crisis is in rising rents. Between 1900 and 2013, rents rose faster than inflation in virtually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-edin/the-most-obvious-manifestation-of-the-affordable-housing-crisis-is-in/) [Kathryn Edin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-edin/) > [“Yet laying the blame on a lack of personal responsibility obscures the fact that there are powerful and ever-changing structural forces at play here.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-edin/yet-laying-the-blame-on-a-lack-of-personal-responsibility-obscures/) [Kathryn Edin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-edin/) > [“...child welfare officials deem it inappropriate for a brother and sister to sleep in the same bedroom once they reach a certain age. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-edin/child-welfare-officials-deem-it-inappropriate-for-a-brother-and/) [Kathryn Edin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-edin/) > [“Although the 1996 welfare reform pushed millions of low-income single moms into the workforce, it did nothing to improve the conditions of low-wage jobs.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-edin/although-the-1996-welfare-reform-pushed-millions-of-low-income-single/) [Kathryn Edin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-edin/) > [“In the fine print on a food stamp application, it is made clear that selling SNAP can result in a felony charge. And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-edin/in-the-fine-print-on-a-food-stamp-application-it-is-made-clear-that/) [Kathryn Edin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-edin/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/low-wage/kathryn-edin/#itemlist", "name": "3 Low Wage Quotes By Kathryn Edin", "numberOfItems": 3, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Parents like Jennifer, Susan, and Rae express desires that are quite modest. Full-time hours come first. That is a prize that can be astonishingly hard to wrest from a low-wage employer who wants to avoid added costs associated with full-time employment, such as health insurance and paid time off. A predictable schedule, so parents can arrange for safe, reliable child care, comes next. A few say they would be happy if they could get just those two things. Yet finding a job with even those basic attributes is something Susan Brown feels she can only dream of, not expect. Most parents, like Jennifer and Rae, hope for a little more. If they could just make $12 or $13 per hour, they say, they could make it; $15 per hour is really shooting the moon. Safe working conditions, and some sick or personal days, would be a real plus. The other “extras” that once came routinely with a full-time job—health insurance, vacation days, and retirement benefits—don’t often come up in conversations with the $2-a-day poor. 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The”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kathryn Edin" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-edin/yet-laying-the-blame-on-a-lack-of-personal-responsibility-obscures/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/kathryn-edin-25745_personal-responsibil_yet-laying-the-blame-on-a-lack-of-person_1662638.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/kathryn-edin-25745_personal-responsibil_yet-laying-the-blame-on-a-lack-of-person_1662638.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/kathryn-edin-25745_personal-responsibil_yet-laying-the-blame-on-a-lack-of-person_1662638.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Yet laying the blame on a lack of personal responsibility obscures the fact that there are powerful and…” — Kathryn Edin", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Although the 1996 welfare reform pushed millions of low-income single moms into the workforce, it did nothing to improve the conditions of low-wage jobs. 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