Wednesday, February 12, 2003
Nickel and Dimed
by Barbara Ehrenreich
Between this book and the January-February issue of Atlantic Monthly, I'm not feeling too good about myself these days. You see, I have a prejudice against the wealthy and for the working class. It's a dumb prejudice, like most. Anyway, as I was reading these works (and working on my income tax forms) I could not escape the fact that I am nowhere near living in poverty. But enough of my shortcomings. This is a very good book--well written in an amusing and engaging style. In order to test the American belief that hard work will lead to success, and to get a first hand report on how well one can survive on minimum wage, Ms. Ehrenreich left her home and attempted to live as an "unskilled" worker. On three different occasions she went out, got some entry level jobs and tried to make ends meet. If she managed to save enough for the next month's rent, she would consider herself "successful." The results weren't a total surprise. I won't spoil anything by mentioning specifics, but I think most people are aware that minimum wage is not enough to escape poverty. But the book was good in that it put a human face on the statistics and perhaps even reveals some aspects of the reality of the working poor of which us rich folk aren't aware. I know that I will definitely be tipping better in the days to come and hopefully will be reminded to show more respect to those who serve me in the stores and restaurants I frequent. Anyway, I advise you all to check it out.
LibraryThing link
Between this book and the January-February issue of Atlantic Monthly, I'm not feeling too good about myself these days. You see, I have a prejudice against the wealthy and for the working class. It's a dumb prejudice, like most. Anyway, as I was reading these works (and working on my income tax forms) I could not escape the fact that I am nowhere near living in poverty. But enough of my shortcomings. This is a very good book--well written in an amusing and engaging style. In order to test the American belief that hard work will lead to success, and to get a first hand report on how well one can survive on minimum wage, Ms. Ehrenreich left her home and attempted to live as an "unskilled" worker. On three different occasions she went out, got some entry level jobs and tried to make ends meet. If she managed to save enough for the next month's rent, she would consider herself "successful." The results weren't a total surprise. I won't spoil anything by mentioning specifics, but I think most people are aware that minimum wage is not enough to escape poverty. But the book was good in that it put a human face on the statistics and perhaps even reveals some aspects of the reality of the working poor of which us rich folk aren't aware. I know that I will definitely be tipping better in the days to come and hopefully will be reminded to show more respect to those who serve me in the stores and restaurants I frequent. Anyway, I advise you all to check it out.
LibraryThing link
Labels: BarbaraEhrenreich, CheckItOut
// posted by John @ 9:23 PM 
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