In her introduction, Ehrenreich admits that she has many advantages over actual minimum-wage workers, not the least of which is the knowledge that even should she fail in this endeavor, she has a nice home and a "real" job to return to, and that she is not in any danger of going hungry or cold (Ehrenreich, 2001).. This presents the major limitation to her mode of study; no matter what, she is bringing an incredibly subjective and judgmental eye to her research. This shows up as a strength in hr writing, making the stories far more human and interesting, not to mention intentionally provocative, but is an immense detriment to her scholarship. The main issue Ehrenreich touches on is, the immense unfairness of the minimum-wage situation. Clearly, life is not truly sustainable for an individual on a minimum-wage income unless two jobs are held. Ehrenreich is unable to work a twelve hour day for more than a few days...
But the fact is, we believe in this country that no one should have to do such a thing. Many people do it, however, and manage to pull themselves out of poverty. Though there is definite unfairness to the situation, there is not the hopelessness that Ehrenreich insinuates. In general, however, the economic landscape always seems to remain bleak and monotonous to low-wage worker. The jobs they work are always available, so they are somewhat more insulated from economic crises, but rising prices hurt them more. Basically, when all you're doing is just scraping by, one day seems very much like the next, and major economic tides seem like far-off events. it's hard to care about bank failures when you can't even afford to put food on your plate.
Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed Barbara Ehrenreich is a writer and journalist who decided to conduct an experiment and find out for herself what it is like to live on the minimum wage. For one month at a time she entered various communities, taking on minimum wage positions and trying to stay ahead. Ehrenreich detailed her experience in the book Nickel and Dimed. This books offers insight into the real
Nickeled and Dimed In an attempt to prevent families from living below the poverty line in the United States, the government ensures that people are paid a minimum-wage. Through this minimum-wage, the government believes that people can afford to pay their rents and bills, and cover the costs of their groceries, etc. However, this is not true, as the minimum-wage is indeed too little for the average family to survive on.
Ehrenreich Nickeled and Dimed In Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed, the workers trapped in dead-end service sector jobs have virtually no chance at all of escaping poverty or obtaining any meaningful quality of life. That is one of the main themes of the book, a constant struggle for mere subsistence with a high cost of living and a very poor quality of life. These jobs are all the same in that
However, I did not feel in any way degraded by the position in the way that Ehrenreich did, and I believe that to be the case because many of Ehrenreich's positions were by their very nature problematic. For example, she worked as a waitress and a house cleaner. Both of those positions place the individual in a position of subservience. Working at Blockbuster is different because we are around
Rent, gas, utilities, food, and clothing become a burden because the market is not set up for those who make the least but those who make more than that and it really does not matter how much more because at a certain level, it is all too much and the low earners are simply left out of the system altogether. Nickel and Dimed also taught me that social responsibility
Nickel and Dream People who are born or raised in the United States share unique character traits because of the American culture. Because this is considered a land of freedom and opportunity there are rights and gifts that are promised to each citizen. The American Dream is the unique idea that anyone who is willing to work hard can come from nothing and achieve their life's goals and ambitions so long
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