Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel And Dimed

"Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America."

by: Barbara Ehrenreich

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. Achieving the American Dream can be difficult, if not impossible for many people with stumbling blocks and obstacles along the way as portrayed in Nickel and Dimed, due to the cost of living in contrast to the wage of low or middle class earners.

Nickel and Dimed is essentially a journal of the time spent by the author, with her identity and PhD concealed, working in order to discover whether she could support a basic life style from earning minimum wage. This book shows how things such as stress
With the majority of the people being white, she suspected that it would be easier for her to assimilate into the working poor. She becomes a dietary aid at a nearby Residential Facility and also a maid for a large corporation. With her days starting at around 4:45 am and her unexceptional pay, her days are filled with no more than work and little sleep. Unable to find cheap enough housing, she has to lodge in nearby hotels that end up being overpriced and many times unacceptable. During her employment at The Maids, Ehrenreich soon becomes taken advantage of when her breaks are even taken from her. "In my interview I has been promised a thirty-minute lunch break, but this turns out to be a five-minute pit stop at a convenience store" (77). With such an inadequate amount of nourishment, many of the other employees found it hard to carry out a nine hour day full of strenuous activity. Many of these minimum wage jobs do not include proper benefits such as health care. During her work here, many of Ehrenreichs fellow co-workers are hurt on the job, yet are disregarded by the boss. With help from Ehrenreich, one employee was actually able to go home after hurting her ankle on the job. "Ted sent me home" as if this were some arbitrary injustice" (114). Although sent home, any compensation for this injury would be not be given. Many of the employees receive inadequate treatment and are taken advantage of
It was almost impossible for her to find an affordable residence. Even with the help of an Apartment Search, no explanation or further help was given to Ehrenreich. She was merely told that she should be aware of an affordable housing "crisis." There needs to be further assistance in helping the working poor find affordable residencies. Research states that in the last few years we have seen a steady decline in the number of affordable apartments nationwide. She lands a job at a nearby Wal-Mart and Menards. She soon discovers how hard these employees work for their money and how dedicated they are. With an initial pay of $7 an hour and the lure that in two years it might be raised to $7.75, the options are not optimistic. During this job, no one is allowed to be caught talking to one another, or "stealing time." Ehrenreich is surprised to see hard-working women of mature years "dodging behind a clothing rack to avoid a twenty-six-year-old management twerp" (181). Many bosses in these kinds of jobs, love to hold power over others and feed off the authority. In one instance an employee was denied the use of her discount in order to buy a clearance t-shirt with a stain on it. Ehrenreich goes on to explain that "you know you're not paid enough when you can't afford to buy a clearance Wal-Mart shirt with a stain on it" (181). Employees are also not receiving pay for overtime hours they are pressured to work. This along