1. By: Barbara Ehrenreich

3.  June 1998  Key West, Florida Expensive housing market Not even in a urban city where you would assume poverty. Exists in a tourist market.  Economy in good shape

4.  Topic: day to day life on minimum wage  Focus: surviving on minimum wage versus welfare in Key West  Methods: ethnography; or field study and observation  Target: upper class who is oblivious to these issues  Goals: to find out if someone could actually live off of minimum wage and to observe how others (her coworkers) lived off this lifestyle.  Theme: Emotions evoked.

5.  Surviving on Minimum Wage:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVhT QEXSFf4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVhT QEXSFf4

6.  “In that business, you don’t just sit at a desk and theorize; you plunge into the everyday chaos of nature, where surprises lurk in the most mundane measurements” (Ehrenreich 2001, 38).

7.  “So this is not the perfect experiment, just a test of the best possible case: an unencumbered woman, smart, and even strong, attempting to live more or less off the land” (Ehrenreich 2001, 38)  Left life at home, to move to Key West and try and live like a woman trying to get out of poverty.  Can’t use skills she got from education or work.

8.  “I had been vain enough to worry about coming across as too educated for the jobs I sought, but no one even seems interested in finding out how over qualified I am”(Ehrenreich 2001, 40).  Applies to many hotels, restaurants, and supermarkets but no one seems interested, and salaries are very low.

9.  Hotel restaurant waitress  $2.43 an hour plus tips  2PM to 10PM shift  “From the first day on, I find that all of the things I have left behind, such as home and identity, what I miss the most is competence” (Ehrenreich 2001, 40-41).  Attachment to the customers and her coworkers

10.  No one is homeless  Mutual support group at work  George from Czech Republic; goal is to teach him English  $2.15 an hour and shared tips with the busboys and dishwashers (average of $7.50 an hour)  Workers without marital help work 2 jobs

11.  Is her dream minimum wage job  $6.10 an hour  No health insurance  9am till done  One week of vacation a year

12.  First - $500 a month, 45 minute drive from work. Gas was $4-5 a day. Back cabin behind trailer.  Second- closer to work. Can work another job because of location. Trailer about 8 feet in width and shaped like a barbell. “Overseas park is a nest of crime and crack” (Ehrenreich 2001, 49).

14.  “There are no secret economies that nourish the poor; on the contrary, there are a host of special costs” (Ehrenreich 2001, 44).  We talk about the usual girl things-men, children, and the sinister peanut-butter cream pie- though no one, I notice, ever brings up anything potentially expensive, like shopping or movies” (Ehrenreich 2001, 48).

15.  How much do you spend on average each month?  What do you spend money on?

16.  30% ($634) Housing  10% ($211) Utilities and other housing expenditures (including renters insurance)  15% ($317) Food (at home and away)  10% ($211) Transportation (including car loan)  10% ($211) Debt repayment (student loans and credit cards)  10% ($211) Saving  5% ($106) Clothing  5% ($106) Entertainment  5% ($106) Car insurance and miscellaneous personal expenses

17.  $7.67 an hour is minimum wage  Work for 40 hours a week  $1227 per month  $845 average on housing and utilities  $382 left for food, insurance, phone, child care, car, clothing etc. for the month  Is this possible?

18.  “I had gone into this venture in the spirit of science, to test a mathematical proposition, but somewhere along the line, in the tunnel vision imposed by long shifts and relentless concentration, it had become a test of myself, and I clearly had failed” (Ehrenreich 2001, 52).

19.  Earned $1,040  Spent $517 on food, gas, toiletries, phone, and utilities  If she had stayed within $500 budget then she would have been able to pay for rent and have $22 dollar left. That is $78 less then the cash she started with

20.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pex9 Xv17ukg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pex9 Xv17ukg

22.  Food could be more economical but doesn’t have more time or money Fast food versus cheap food at the grocery store Costs of getting cooking supplies and starting up cooking