It is really easy to get stuck in retail or foodservice, and these jobs aren't known for paying a lot. Children need childcare. This has a major impact on your

It is really easy to get stuck in retail or foodservice, and these jobs aren't known for paying a lot. Children need childcare. This has a major impact on your finances if you are poor. You might need to have a reduced availability and might not find full time - or any - work because of it. If your child is prone to being sick and you make less money, it becomes easier to lose your job when you have to stay home with them. And childcare is expensive: I've known plenty of folks that stayed home or have worked little simply because they didn't actually make money by working, once they factored in child care and transportation costs. And that's not even getting into something mentioned in the article: Sometimes, when you make more, you are actually worse off. People refuse full time hours, raises, and promotions because the increased pay won't cover the government help they'll lose, let alone make them better off. Being articulate and well spoken doesn't really grant you anything when you are working bad jobs (and many 'decent), depending on the job. I worked a couple of days in a food factory back in the late 90's. It was barely over minimum wage. Being articulate didn't matter: You just needed to do the work fast enough and follow the health guidelines fast enough. Oh, and work mandatory OT on short notice.