After reading the book Nickel and Dimed I have come to realize how much work low wage workers actually do. I have worked in a fast food restaurant only once and it was hard work but I did not get a major feel for the field because I was not there for very long. Barbara Ehrenreich did a good job as far as showing people, or telling people how it is to work in the low wage field but it was hard for me to get a real perception of everything because I knew in the back of my mind that she was not really a low wage worker. I do not understand why a wealthy woman would want to go out into the world and pretend to be a woman in poverty, but by doing this I think that she made many people realize how much low wage workers work and what they do for so many people.
I have never lived in poverty but I have also never lived a considerably wealthy life. From reading this book, my perceptions of poverty and prosperity have pretty much stayed the same. Many times I associate fast food workers with poverty, or when I see an elderly woman working at WalMart I also associate that with poverty. I cannot recall a time that I ever thought that the sixty year old checker at WalMart could possibly be rich. As horrible as it may sound, I usually, unconsciously think that anyone that works in any low wage job must be in some state of poverty. I do appreciate what these people do for society, but at the same time, I am not going to feel sorry for these people either. I do not think that low wage workers should in any way be disrespected but at the same time, as much as people will argue this point, everyone has a choice in what they do with their life.
The Essay on A Low Minimum Wage and an Outdated Poverty Line
... So a minimum wage job is in supposedly enough to keep two people above this theoretical poverty line. However, this poverty line is based ... that the minimum wage job in question is a full time job. If the worker is only able to get work for 35 ... than one person in today’s economy. Colorado has a relatively low cost of living, and yet it would still be extraordinarily ...
Low wage jobs are a pain in the butt and they are not always fair and they are hard, but someone has got to do it. I believe that if someone does not want to live that lifestyle, they do not have to. I would not say this if I did not have proof from personal experience. My mom never went to college and because of that if she ever needed to get a job, WalMart or McDonald’s would be ready to hire her at any time. When my dad left and she was left with two kids to raise on her own, she realized that she could not live on a low wage worker’s wage. She started going to college when she was forty years old and now she works for the state of Idaho making a reasonable wage. So many people will argue this in saying that some people do not have the chance to go to college because of whatever but I really cannot believe that. My aunt was a crack head for ten years and then one day decided that she wanted to go to college, she was still a crack head at this time but she got money from the government to go to school. Trust me, if she can do it, anyone can. I respect and I will continue to respect low wage workers but I will never feel sorry for them.
Ehrenreich mentions in her book that she did considerably well working in a low wage job for someone who has a Ph.D (Ehrenreich 193).
Of course she did well, she did great, what else could be expected. She had to have gone through years of college which involves serious commitment and concentration, not to mention memory, skills, just smarts in general. It cannot be that hard for a woman with a Ph.D. to learn how to put clothes on racks and remember where they are the next day. It could also not be that difficult for her to scrub floors and serve food to people. I am not saying that these are good for nothing job, or easy as pie, but given her education history you cannot imagine that she would have a hard time. I think that the whole point that she was trying to get across would have come across a lot better if she did not have a Ph.D. or any education for that matter. I think it would have made more sense if a woman truly living in poverty conducted this study. Not saying that Ehrenreich did a bad job, but I think that she would be more credible if she was actually poor or closer to it, to say the least.
The Essay on Minimum Wage Jobs American Working
... that full time minimum wage workers do not even meet the federal poverty line? In the book Nickel and Dimed, Ehrenreich describes the ... Works Cited " American Jobs Move Overseas." Career Prose pcts in Virginia (2001) 14 March 2005 Ehrenreich, Barbara. Nickel and Dimed. ... minimum wage, and low-paying jobs that barely get them through life. Because of this, many Americans are working full time jobs that ...
Ehrenreich compares many of her low wage work experiences to times that occurred in her normal life. Like, during one of her orientations for a job she compares the long time to a seven hour air-line delay and say that the air-line delay is better because you can read a book or walk around (Ehrenreich 146).
These comparisons help readers understand how different the life of a person living in poverty is form a person living in wealth. Sitting through an eight hour orientation for a job that could easily be learned in half the time is something that millions of Americans must do to get a job.
Ehrenreich made it hard to “feel” for low wage workers at some parts in her book because there were times when she completely left her poverty life and spent a couple minutes in her life full of wealth and prosperity. While working in Minnesota, her motel room gets flooded and she is only worried about her laptop that she brought from her home (Ehrenreich 158).
I do not think that too many low wage workers that claim to be living in poverty own a laptop, especially if they are currently living in a motel room. She also talks about what to eat for dinner at some point through her journey and says, “how about the polenta-crushed salmon filet with pesto sauce and a nice glass of J. Lohr Chardonnay?” (Ehrenreich 102).
This shows that although she was trying very hard to have the constant mid-set of a middle class, working woman, she still dreamed of the life that she left to explore this so different lifestyle.
After reading this book, I really do not have a different feelings about low wage workers. I have never disrespected any waiters, maids, or salespeople, unless they were disrespectful to me first. I understand how stressful a job like that can be, but regardless if you are tired, sick, or just annoyed with people, it is still your job to do your job. Many people complain that so many low wage workers are disrespected, but I must say that many low wage workers are disrespectful to customers when they should not be. I think if the people serving the food or checking at the grocery store were always nice to their customers, the customers would be polite more often. There are always going to be jerks out there that want there hamburger every other way besides the way that it is, or that will never agree with the price of merchandise, but at the same time, there are always going to be waitresses that hate life and show it when dealing with customers. If everybody respected everybody and appreciated everything that everybody does the feud between worker and consumer would be non-existent or at least much smaller.
The Essay on Low-Wage Workers
... problem as other low-wage worker would have. In the novel Ehrenreich, seems to only point out the ugly parts of low wage jobs. She brings up ... they can’t succeed in life anymore so they might as well just put up with low pay horrible jobs. I say that because ... on the person’s situation. As for Barbara Ehrenreich she bases it on her co-workers life on how some struggle just get by ...
