Nickled and Dimed: On (not) getting by in America Barbara Ehrenreich

About the Selection Published in 2001 Began by exploring the ramifications of the 1996 welfare reform programs, including the welfare to work incentive Her motivation was to show that a job is not necessarily the answer to being able to survive Combats the “too lazy to work” attitude by introducing readers to the “working poor” Questions a society that continuously rewards the richest members of society and ignores the poorest

American Economics A recent study indicates that nearly 30% of Americans get by on poverty wages 72% of “poor” Americans hold a job, and statistically work the equivalent of a one and one quarter full time job Contrary to stereotypes the majority of those living in poverty are neither immigrants, minorities or single parent families The top 1% of US households account for 21.8%of the income

1990’s welfare reform Limits for time on welfare Author leaves her middle-class life as a journalist to see how hard it is to enter workforce Book published in 2001

Undercover journalism Undercover journalism is a form of journalism in which the writer tries to infiltrate a social group by posing as someone friendly to that particular community. Often this takes months and years to do effectively.

Rules (pg.4) Don’t fall back on skills derived from education or work experience Take highest paying job and do best to keep it Find cheapest accommodations (“hazy . . .”prone to deterioration time”

Boundaries Always have a car No Homelessness No hunger Paid for outside of wage experiment No Homelessness End project No hunger Backup ATM Comes home to “real “ life Laptop – 2 hours each night

Privileges Always a visitor Race Native English speaker Car Childless Health De facto ways she employs education, etc.

Additionally . . . (7-8) No performance of stereotypical poor Usual clothes Usual hair and makeup Talked about real relationships/family Did modify vocabulary . . . No cursing

Passing to the “educated” (8) No one called her out as “above” her newfound class Low-wage workers are as heterogeneous as any class

To afford a one-bedroom apartment, it is estimated that you need to earn $8.89 an hour Odds of a welfare recipient landing that job – 97 to 1 30% of the workforce earns less than $8.00 an hour

The Hearthside $2.43 an hour plus tips Less what you share with busboys and bartenders

Causes author to wonder what survival strategies workers have Roommates Crowded living Live with parents Dry-docked boat In vehicles

Author only got her apartment by using resources from “previous life”

Expenses for gas, food Too much She takes second job housekeeping Can’t do both, quits

Earned $1040 in one month Would have had $22 left over after all expenses After dipping into emergency cash from prior life

Imagine if she had child care expenses

Social Issues in the Book Attacks the following notions: Low-wage workers are “too lazy to get real jobs”. Employment will defeat poverty. Low-wage jobs require “unskilled labor”. Help Wanted ads mean an employer is hiring. Low-wage jobs offer enough income to support a single person without children or a spouse.

She points out what many of us sense, but few dare articulate, namely that we are willing to accept a form of labor exploitation in our midst while at the same time decrying it in other parts of the world

The ordinary worker is paid a pittance, subjected to drug tests, assumed "to steal time," watched for theft, allowed to suffer major physical and emotional damage,

silenced politically or otherwise by corporate employers, unable to eat regular food on a regular basis, forced to live in substandard housing, and worst of all, can be fired at will for no cause.

We accept all of this at the same time that we pay corporate executives and sports figures millions of dollars a year.

Unlike most workers, in each locale she allowed herself startup capital of about $1300 and a car. Her hourly wage tended to range from $6 to $7 hourly. This is a monthly income of about $960, or about $11,520 per annum.

Importantly, this amount does not include health insurance and vacations, benefits that most civilized societies consider part of their obligations to all citizens. This salary, together with the lack of benefits, poses problems about which most middle- and upper- class Americans never dream.

According to Ehrenreich, in urban areas, fewer and fewer housing options are available for less than $500 per month. Again, one need only compare rent ($500) against income ($950) to gain an immediate reality check. If rent is a serious problem, then the required deposit is often insurmountable. So, to cut expenses, Ehrenreich found that many workers live with other workers.

But the problem remains serious because after rent, the average unskilled worker is left with only $1020 a month. If he or she were to buy health insurance, that expense alone would be in the range of $300 a month; so most do not buy this insurance, nor are they able to save for the so-called rainy day and retirement.

Due to the lack of health insurance, they tend to "work through" minor illnesses and accidents so when they become ill, they become seriously ill; one three-day hospital stay ruins any hope of ever emerging from their debt load.

Someone will, of course, argue that anyone can make it easily on $1020 a month.

Using Ehrenreich's experiences here is another reality check; first, $1020 is $255 per week and, second, this amount must cover food, transportation, clothes, and incidentals. Even at $15 a day for meals, almost half of the funds would be spent for food.

Add transportation costs, and the remaining amount disappears. Transportation is a serious problem for U.S. workers because the United States, unlike other industrialized countries, has a profoundly underdeveloped public transportation system and thus, most people must buy cars. It is impossible to own and maintain a car on a budget of $100 per week, leaving only $50 to cover clothes and incidentals, such as haircuts or lipstick.

In Nickel and Dimed, Ehrenreich paints the picture of millions of American workers who serve our tables, clean our houses, restock our stores, and take care of our parents.

They are paid salaries with which no person can live in dignity, let alone with the hope of ever moving out of the low-class status in which they find themselves.

She points out what many of us sense, but few dare articulate, namely that we are willing to accept a form of labor exploitation in our midst while at the same time decrying it in other parts of the world.