Question

The PEW Hispanic Center estimates that there are millions of undocumented workers living in the United States. Without this source of "cheap labor," fruits and vegetables would rot in the fields, toddlers in Manhattan would be without nannies, towels in hotels would go unlaundered, and bedpans and trays would go uncollected. This situation illustrates ___________.

Answer 1

The functions of poverty

Step-by-step explanation:

According to Herbert Gans, poverty has some positive functions in society.

We'll enumerate some of these functions:

1. The existence of poverty ensures that society's "dirty work" will be done. Society pays low wages to people who have no other choice but to do the dirty work others wouldn't do (because it's physically dirty, dangerous, undignified)
2. Poor people subsidize economic activities that benefit upper classes (for example, nannies)
3. Poverty maintains the status of those who are not poor, because we live in a hierarchical society.

In this example, undocumented workers are a source of "cheap labor", without them fruits would rot in the fields, toddlers wouldn't have nannies, towels would go unlaundered and trays would go uncollected.

This is an example of one of the functions of poverty where the poor people have no other choice than to do the "dirty work" that other people would not want to do and also, these activities benefit upper classes who do not have to worry about those things.

Thus, this is an example of the functions of poverty.