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 as to 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 work. Both the Neumann family and the Stanley family had to take jobs that fit Gans' first point. They took on jobs that barely made them any money and were physically dirty, such as waterproofing Claude Stanley's basement. The second function is that the poor subsidize economic activities that benefit the rich by working at low wages. Apparently it makes life easier for their employers because they have to pay them less. The two families in the documentary received very low wages. They knew exactly how it felt. The third function is for the poor to create jobs for the rest of society to serve or protect those in poverty. Welfare, food stamps, and homeless shelters are examples of services that help protect the poor. Without the poor, those jobs wouldn't be necessary. Both families could have availed themselves of the help of these services to overcome the difficult period of poverty. The fourth function is that the poor prolong the economic usefulness of goods such as stale bread and old fruits and vegetables. They buy the things that others don't want to buy. Second-hand clothing and decaying buildings are also included. The Stanley family went to thrift stores to buy their clothes. They couldn't afford to buy clothes in regular stores. The fifth function is that the poor are a deviant subculture that helps support the legitimacy of social norms. Gans says the rest of society can use the poor to punish them because they are lazy, promiscuous and dishonest. They are very likely to get caught for this. Some