Patricia Goldsby ENC1102 June 19‚ 2009 Professor Jenson Poverty in America Authors Lars Eighner and Barbara Ehrenreich discuss in their struggles of everyday issues with poverty in America. Barbara Ehrenreich‚ author of “Nickel-and-Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America‚ raises awareness of the lives of low-wage‚ poverty stricken people being pushed into the labor market of welfare reform by highlighting the struggles they encounter daily. Whereas Lars Eighner‚ author of “On Dumpster Diving”
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John Doe Mr. Teacher Nickel and Dimed Summary Barbara Ehrenreich‚ author of Nickel and Dimed‚ is an award winning columnist and author of twenty-one books. Although she has her doctorate in science‚ she is well known as a journalist and muckraker. She has been featured in The New York Times‚ The Washington Post‚ and many other publications. Ehrenreich pondered how unskilled‚ uneducated‚ and untrained workers can survive and thrive in the American workforce with minimum wage incomes. She was
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After reading about the travels Barbara Ehrenreich took in the book Nickel and Dimed as an attempt to “discover some hidden economies in the world of the low-wage worker” to Florida‚ Maine‚ and Minnesota‚ I have been able to deepen my understanding of the harsh reality people face while working in low income jobs. (Barbara Ehrenreich‚ Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America‚ p. 3) She undertook several different types of low wage jobs such as a waitress‚ hotel housekeep‚ nursing home cook
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Society questions if the American Dream is available to everyone. The ideal American Dream is for every American citizen to have an equal opportunity for wealth and prosperity. Settlers have come to America looking for gold and land‚ so they labor to gain their fortunes. America also industrializes and grows due to the workers labor for wealth and land. More jobs are formed through industrialization for people to gain their American Dreams. However‚ society still questions if everyone is given an
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Macro theories: Nickel and Dimed‚ On Not Getting by In America” by Barbara Ehrenreich‚ 2001 1) Barbara was responding to 1996 TANF (5 years) reform that modified AFDC (lifetime warranted) SSI benefits for children or adults with disabilities What jobs available to single mothers? Could single parent live on single income and it was an experiment for Barbara to explore it. Welfare queens by Ronald Reigan Law wanted increase marriages‚ Work force 2) 3) Critical conscientious Symbolic
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receives this title of the working class as their social status‚ it is very difficult to come back up on top. This is illustrated in Ehrenreich’s “Serving in Florida.” Once Ehrenreich immersed herself in the flurry of her routine of work‚ sleep‚ and eat‚ she realized that there was little to no room for advancement in society (Ehrenreich‚ p. 290-303). This is because of what one calls subsistent wages‚ meaning that what one is paid is only enough for survival; the individual MUST work so that they may
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In the years 1998 to 2000‚ Barbara Ehrenreich writes about her experience working as an undercover writer and showing the difficulties that come with working a minimum wage job in her novel Nickeld and Dimed ; however‚ in today’s society we are given a much more difficult synopsis if one wants to live off of minimum wage. Compared to the piece by Ehrenreich‚ living in the United States in our current economic presence contains much higher costs of living‚ such as food‚ gasoline‚ and reasonable housing
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they hinder potential applicants while violating freedoms and having little perceptible and positive impact on work performance. In chapter three of Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America‚ Ehrenreich comes to her realization how much real low wage workers are required to act (Ehrenreich‚ Barbara‚ & Christine 13). She is seen to be distressed by the difficulty of the personality test. She describes it as excruciatingly draining‚ yet‚ still looking cheerful and compliant simultaneously. This
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Nickel and Dimed Barbara Ehrenreich used her book Nickel and Dimed to illustrate her job assignment to live in the shoes of and‚ write about her experiences as a minimum wage worker in America. Ehrenreich goes to live in Key West‚ Maine‚ and Minnesota and works low wage jobs‚ sometimes more than one at a time. The point Ehrenreich is trying to make is that it is almost impossible to live a decent life in America with one‚ let alone two jobs paying very low wages. It is tough to be a low wage
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In the reading Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America written by Barbara Ehrenreich the struggle of living for most Americans is modeled and is also the main focus. Ehrenreich whose a sociologist writer goes undercover to what the “low-wage economy...has to offer” (Ehrenreich 245). The image portrayed by Americans of the lower class makes it difficult for one of the middle class to understand. Survival of both parties are no way‚ shape or form similar and this struck Ehrenreich’s curiosity
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