Nickel and Dimed

To a member of the upper class, it is an assumption that there is a link between unemployment and poverty; idealistically, if you are able to find a job, you can then provide for yourself and/or your family. But does such a link really exist? In Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich adventures down the “Rabbit Hole” -the world of the low-wage worker- and discusses the possibility of surviving on minimum wage.

Ehrenreich begins as a waitress in Key West, Florida. In order to solve problems with expenses, she picks up two jobs, working virtually nonstop from 8:00 AM-10:00 PM. Unable to handle the schedule, she drops one waitressing job and begins work as a maid. Ehrenreich discusses the inaccuracy of the term “unskilled labor” as she is pushed to her limits. She also becomes aware of the appalling living conditions of her coworkers. Many are forced to live in cars, or with four or more people in a single room.

Later, Ehrenreich begins work in Maine as a food department worker in a nursing home, and also as a maid for a private company. Here Ehrenheich struggles with the physically strenuous tasks, and is shocked with Ted’s power over her co-workers. Often, when having difficulties, the workers are asked to “work through it.” She also notes how invisible she has become as a low-wage worker.

Finally, Ehrenreich moves on to Minneapolis and works as a retail worker in Wal-mart. A similar trend of inferiority is discussed as she is forced to take drug tests and treated as though she is a criminal. Ehrenreich feels very controlled, as she is forbidden from talking to her colleagues (as that would be “time theft”). She feels she is force-fed Wal-mart propaganda at associate meetings involving the “Wal-mart cheer.”

Ehrenreich concludes that “the ‘working poor,’ as they are approvingly termed, are in fact the major philanthropists of out society”. They are not the dependents of society, but in fact, they are the providers of society. As other expenses rise, wages for the lower paid percentage of workers remain stagnant. She predicts that eventually the poor will “demand to be paid what they’re worth”, and that the world will be a better place because of it.