The Low Wage of a Single Parent

The Low Wage Life of a Single Parent
As children, Bianca and I never realized how distinct her life was from others who were not living her low wage lifestyle. Although I knew Bianca to have only one parent, throughout our childhood, we appeared to be living the same lifestyle. Her mother Juana did all she could to conceal Bianca’s “flaw”. However, as we grew older and reminisced on our childhood, the traces of poverty began to materialize.
Bianca Jimenez appears to be a normal second grader living the lifestyle of a middle class child. She attends a catholic elementary school, has a roof over her head, eats meals regularly, and gets new outfits at the beginning of each new school year. However, at second glance, Bianca is a child who is living a life of relative poverty. Bianca obtains financial aid that is crucial to her attendance at the catholic elementary school, a school that in fact is centered in an urban area that is notorious for gang violence and low wage residents. She lives in a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom house with 4 people; her mother, brother and sister, also in a neighborhood that is well known for its criminal activity. Her lunch is bought at the school, a more expensive option than bringing her own, but because her mother is too busy to make one she must pay the more expensive price. For dinner her mother will often make a hot meal that will last for a couple of days; a hearty soup, some meat with rice, or spaghetti. Eating out is a rare luxury. The new outfits that Bianca and her sibling receive at the beginning of the school year are courtesy of second hand stores and for Bianca especially, hand me downs from the older sister. Their house is also furnished by second hand retailers, any visible signs of worn being covered by dollies and other cheap decorative devices used to conceal the appearance of poverty. All of this comes as a result of her mother being a single parent with a low wage job.
Bianca’s mother, Juana, is a divorced immigrant from Mexico who did not receive a four year college degree. When Juana was 6 she moved to California with her family of 11 and also lived a life of relative poverty. Fortunately, Juana learned English as a second language early on and was able to obtain low paying jobs in order to help support herself through adolescence. When she married at 22, Juana and her then 2 children were supported by her construction worker husband, a time when she lived an easier life at the middle class status. However, in 1986 Juana divorced and was left to support 3 children without a house to live in, a car to drive, and no job. Juana applied to welfare, and after filling out the wearisome paperwork and being verified to qualify, received the help. Every month Juana received food stamps for some basic groceries such as cheese, milk, and cereal. After gaining experience in the work force and applying to many jobs, Juana slowly began to rebuild her life. Today, Juana works at an insurance company as a claims adjuster and receives $30,000 a year to support 4 children; a paycheck that results in a lifestyle similar to that when she qualified for welfare. With her once a month paycheck of $2,500, Juana puts $1,000 to the rent of her house. She then puts another $1000 to the tuition of her 2 children, Bianca and her older sister, who attend catholic elementary school. With the $500 that is left over, she must pay her car payment, the utilities, and make the rest stretch for groceries and other necessary expenses. Every month, Juana runs $200 short and in turn accumulates $200 worth of credit card debt.
The low wage lifestyle of a single parent mother without a college degree is one of great difficulty; difficulty that is spread to both the provider as well as those being provided for. Poverty can have the appearance of a normal lifestyle, and this is often the goal for parents who are living a life of relative poverty; to appear to live as normal so that their children are unaware of the hardship.