Photo credit: Wikimedia, Library of Congress
Dumpster Social Work
By accident, or through some serendipitous variables in the universe, which, by the way, the James Webb Space Telescope seems to be turning on their head, at least in some ways, I met a man outside of a sneaker store in western Massachusetts. He was an older guy, and I can’t recall much about him besides our brief conversation. He wore a baseball cap, and I can’t remember its specific logo. Just behind this man was a small pile of aluminum drink cans and a set of stereo speakers, small ones. The speakers were just beyond the pile of cans and the wall of the side of the shop, one of those unremarkable retail outlets that make up the millions of strip malls across the country. These shops were going out of business at a remarkable rate because of the economic forces such as the online behemoth Amazon. He remarked about the speakers and said that they were among the many things of value that could be found in such places. There was some garbage amid his small pile, but the cans were the predominant feature of his collection.
I planned to write an article about the genocide in Gaza, antisemitism in the US, especially coming from Trump and his administration, and how antisemitism had expressed itself during the Israel/Gaza war, its newest iteration that began with the attack by Hamas forces on October 7, 2023, but that article would have to wait for another day.
There are wildly differing statistics on the number of those workers in the US living paycheck to paycheck, and these figures would not involve the man in front of the dumpster because he does not appear to be working, and our conversation did not last long enough to figure out what supports he had. He looked down and out, but to what degree was impossible to tell with any accuracy.
“While one survey by LendingClub found that more than 60% of Americans reported living paycheck to paycheck, others recorded lower numbers. LendingClub asked 3,252 U.S. consumers if they needed their next paycheck to cover their monthly spending; 62% answered yes.”
“In contrast, the Federal Reserve found that 54% of Americans have emergency savings to cover three months of expenses. Bankrate found that while 59% of Americans are uncomfortable with their level of emergency savings, 34% are living paycheck to paycheck” (Ecofact, February 26, 2025).
How many people, including children, in the US live in poverty is an issue for debate because the poverty baseline was set many years ago and is low. The poverty figures don’t reflect the current economy in the US. Supports, as the average wage earner knows, can be eaten up by inflation to some degree. This is what data shows about poverty:
“In 2023, the official poverty rate fell 0.4 percentage points to 11.1 percent. There were 36.8 million people in poverty in 2023, not statistically different from 2022…
Between 2022 and 2023, the official poverty rate decreased for White and non-Hispanic White individuals; women; 18 to 64-year-olds; unrelated individuals; all workers; less than full-time, year-round workers; and those with some college. The only group to experience a statistically significant increase in their official poverty rate was the Two [sic] or More [sic] Races [sic] population” (US Census Data, January 2025).
Whatever statistics, however imperfect, say about poverty, the man with whom I spoke was poor. I gave him a few dollars while he continued to pick among the garbage in the dumpster, and he thanked me along with a “God bless you.” I don’t give people who are down and out a few dollar bills when I see them for God’s blessing, or think that their situations will be helped by small amounts of cash. I realize that I cannot change the way people in poverty are treated in the economy or what they will use the money for. The man appeared in better condition than many I see on roadside medians or at the entry/exit islands of malls. Some may say that these folks need to get jobs flipping burgers, making coffee, or some other employment, but that is not my judgement to make.