Gans wrote an essay on the uses of poverty (Gans, 1971). He came to the conclusion that our society needs the poor to function. Gans gave thirteen different reasons for why we need the poor and what their functions are. The first is that we need poverty to ensure that the “dirty work” gets done. By dirty work, he means dangerous, underpaid, menial, temporary, undignified and physically dirty jobs. The Neumann family and the Stanley family had to take jobs that fit Gans' first point. They took jobs that paid them almost no money and were physically dirty, like basement waterproofing by Claude Stanley. The second function is that the poor subsidize economic activities for the benefit of the rich by working at low wages. This apparently makes life easier for their employers because they have to pay them less. The two families in the documentary received very low salaries. They knew exactly what it felt like. The third function is that the poor create jobs for the rest of society to serve or protect those living in poverty. Welfare, food stamps, and homeless shelters are examples of services that help protect the poor. Without the poor, these jobs would not be needed. Both families could have benefited from the help of these services to escape this difficult period of poverty. The fourth function is that the poor extend the economic usefulness of products like day-old bread and old fruits and vegetables. They buy things that other people don't want to buy. Second-hand clothing and deteriorating buildings are also included. The Stanley family went to thrift stores to buy their clothes. They could not afford to buy the clothes in the usual stores. The fifth function is that the poor constitute a deviant subculture that helps maintain the legitimacy of societal norms. Gans says the rest of society can use the poor to be punished for their laziness, promiscuity, and dishonesty. They are very likely to be arrested for this. A few