In the beginning, Ehrenreich finds that applying for low wage jobs can be a daunting task. Eventually, she finds work as a waitress at a local restaurant. The author discovers that the work is physically and mentally challenging. Ehrenreich develops a distaste for management while working at the establishment. She watches management sit around and treat employees poorly.
In Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America, the author, Barbara Ehrenreich, takes on an experiment where she leaves her job as a highly acclaimed writer and decides to become part of the working class in order to better understand them and their continuous strains and worries. Throughout the novel, the author cleverly utilizes statistical data, her own personal experiences and the previously untold experiences of others to bring to light the harsh reality facing many Americans who, despite their daily hard work and effort, are shockingly close to poverty. As a way to communicate additional information to the audience, Barbara Ehrenreich provided statistical data in the footnotes of certain pages. Although these statistics are not
Within these cities, she attempts to make a living off of low-wage work and records her experiences, as well as the experiences of the true low-wage workers around her. Throughout Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich utilizes both vivid imagery and data in order to persuade the audience to agree that the low-wage lifestyle is truly un-livable. In her novel, Barbara Ehrenreich utilized
Alison Green Mr. Showley English 12 28 March 2014 Walmart the world's largest retailer is not able to provide its workers with a sustainable wage. Many of it’s current and former employees report having to use Medicaid and WIC programs to fill in the gaps the company leaves in people’s lives. It has astronomical profits but hides it’s dirty little secret that in encourages it’s associates to use welfare to get by. Walmart associates and their families as well as taxpayers are hurt by the way they do business. Associates everyday life and survival suffers from working at Walmart.
I just think that this is wrong because it is inhuman that a person works all day, seven days a week. My neighbor is so skinny, and I think he is like this because he works too much. We should have a minimum wage increase to benefit all people who work hard like him. In conclusion, I recommend a minimum wage raise because as this television reporter said, “A minimum wage in the 1960’s was enough to fill a grocery basket with a week is groceries, but with the minimum wage now you’ll have to put some of those items back.
Barbara Ehrenreich's, "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America", is a book that strives to change the way America perceives its working poor. Incorporated is a journal of the time spent by the author, with her identity and Ph.D concealed, working in order to discover whether she could support a basic life style from earning minimum wage. This book brings to light general problems such as stress in the work place, lack of proper benefits, and how what was merely an experiment for Ehrenreich, is a real detriment for many others. Documented from 1998-2000, Ehrenreich finds cheap residencies and works various employment positions paying between $6-$7 an hour all while assessing her findings. In working as a waitress in Florida, a maid in Maine, and a sales clerk in Minnesota, Ehrenreich soon discovers that even the "lowliest" of occupations require exhausting and strenuous efforts rewarded by a wage that barely covers living expenses and everyday expenditures.
Nickel and Dimed On (not) Getting By in America by Ehrenreich In the book Nickel and Dimed On (not) Getting By in America the author Ehrenreich, goes under cover as a minimum wage worker. Ehrenreich’s primary reason for seriptiously getting low paying jobs is to see if she can “match income to expenses as the truly poor attempt to do everyday.”(Ehrenreich 6) Also Ehrenreich makes it extremely clear that her work was not designed to make her “experience poverty.”(6) After completing the assignment, given to her by an editor, she had planned to write an article about her experience. Her article purpose intended to reach the community that is financially well off and give them an idea how minimum wage workers deal with everyday life. It also illustrated to the Economist of the harsh reality in the ultra-competitive job environment and how some one in a low paying career cannot survive. Ehrenreich’s motives gave her the tools to experience poverty from a statistical standpoint, but kept her from experiencing the problems poor people face everyday in life.
Her work is exhausting, especially the maids must continuously move at a fast pace. They are shuttled from house to house and clean the rooms as fast as they can. As an employee the maids are making $ 6.65 an hour per person, Dr. Ehrenreich figures out that The Maids actually charge customers $25 per hour. She then starts to wonder why does she only gets such a small fraction of that money. They have poor work conditions as well they are not allowed to eat or drink on the job.
People who work part time at Walmart can’t survive solely on Walmart wages alone because of the minimum wage pay they can’t support their families with the help from another source. Benefits at Walmart are hard to come by which means the employees can’t get insurance or health benefits to cover their medical expenses. Over the last few years Walmart has been sued by employees as well as customers. Some employees claim that they have been discriminated against for gender, race and a number of other reasons so they have filed lawsuits against the company. Walmart has claimed no wrong doing to their employees or customers maintaining that they thrive on making employees and keeping their customers satisfied.
The working poor, who Ehrenreich gets to know through work, live in hotels paying daily. These people in the book describe to Ehrenreich that that would rent an apartment, but they cannot afford the security deposit and starting costs. The working poor in the book also must buy unhealthy meals at fast-food restaurants because they cannot afford kitchen appliances or food to cook with. People suffering in poverty often believe they are stuck there and cannot get out, so they