In Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich investigates what it’s really like to work a minimum wage job and keep up with everyday living expenses. She tries this in three different U.S. cities and finds that it isn’t easy. She can barely afford even the least expensive apartments and motel rooms on her low wages. As she samples multiple jobs, she meets people who are living her experiment every day in their real lives. Ehrenreich and her coworkers struggle to pay bills while working demanding jobs. Some share their residences with multiple other people and some of them have families to support. She finds out that these people are as hardworking as anyone, yet they are looked down on by other people. They are treated like criminals by their employers and not respected by customers. It’s arguable whether the insufficient income is really worth the difficult and degrading work. Ehrenreich’s experience proves that rent is too high for anyone to live comfortably on such low wages.
Questions for discussion # 14
An increase in salary would help, but employees still need benefits. If someone is making only enough to get by, they are not going to have any money saved for emergencies or retirement. A medical problem could happen at any time, and medical care is expensive. Without health insurance, a person won’t be able to afford treatment when they need it. It isn’t fair for people not to get overtime pay, especially when they are being pressured to work extra hours. Higher wages is only the first step to making life affordable for struggling people and families.
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