In Nickle and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich, Ehrenreich faces may troubles as a minimum wage worker in the United States. Not only was paying for everything with her minimum wage jobs but she also faced challenges with housing and the overall physical demand of the jobs she held. She quickly learned that in many cases on a minimum wage salary its impossible to survive, which forced her to have two jobs. In many cases she learned that either her fellow co-workers had multiple jobs or lived with a friend/family member in order to get by. As a maid she was expected to go through entire houses cleaning without drinking, eating, or sitting down. She witnessed first hand a fellow co-worker, Holly, sprain her ankle and refuse any attention for it, due to lack of money for a doctor and not receiving the money she could get that day if she continued. In the "Evaluation" chapter she argues that many are on welfare but don't deserve it, that they're receiving money freely and not making the attempt to go out, find a job, and work for it themselves. Also within this chapter she argues that the ones who need help and who are poor are being ignored. Also though she explains how the rich make the minimum wage jobs for the poor but portrayed in her story its simply not enough.
Question 17: I do believe having a job is better then not. Some people sit around, have kids, and live off welfare as the hard working people pay for them to do nothing. I don't believe its right at all. People need a job and need to earn what they have. Also after reading this book i feel better informed about how its a struggle to live off minimum wage jobs, and i realize now that many people have to go through what Barbara Ehrenreich did everyday, all day, with little escape.
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