Poverty Case – Paycheck-To-Paycheck – Eric Miller
Mr. Clark, Comp. 1
Formal Essay #1 (Final Draft)
02.09.11
Paycheck-to-Paycheck
A popular phrase when out with friends is “Im so broke.” However, its just a figure of speech, right? Most of us are fortunate enough to be well off with finances and have the luxury to have a little shopping spree here and there occasionally. But for the Millers thats not the case at all. They have to live paycheck-to-paycheck and barely make ends meet. The town of Wanaque, New Jersey is very small, three miles long to be exact. But in this small town there are all types of social and economic classes from very poor to very wealthy. A family with a set of twins and another child just hitting elementary school would certainly be affected by this economy, yet the Millers still fight to keep their family functional.
People take many things for granted like food, water, and shelter. Most of us can simply pay our utilities bills, sleep under a safe roof, and go grocery shopping when your refrigerator is empty. For the Millers its a different story. Anna Miller, mother of three, works part-time as a nanny for two homes and in retail. Eric Miller has been working at the same job for the past six years, and although he gets a holiday bonus every Christmas, he has never gotten a raise. Their three kids, twins Jason and Justin, and third child Jared are all attending the middle school in town. The family lives on the outskirts of our town in a neighborhood thats not so great. They live in a tiny two-bedroom apartment above a post office and are supplied with food stamps so they are able to provide their family with food. And with their low income, their utilities have been shut off a few times. In times like these when they are so frustrated Anna sometimes breaks down to Eric: ” I dont think I can take having our power shut off; its destroying good food and we cant afford to keep buying new food 4 times a week.” Eric would comfort her by saying “Its tough now, but we have three children that we have to be strong for and we cant let them see were weak because then they might think something is wrong and theyre too young to understand whats going on. And pretty soon this will pass and well be able to get on with our lives. You have to look at what were doing here from another perspective. Were making our situation work, and were battling it out when most people would just drop and give up. You are a strong woman and together, you and I can do this.”