Nickel and Dimed

In her book, Nickel and Dimed, author Barbara Ehrenreich experiences the life of a minimum wage American and the struggles that go along with it. Having previously making more than enough money to support herself, Ehrenreich is opened up to a world that she had not previously been fully aware of. She experiences the struggles of trying to find a job without a degree, of finding a safe and affordable home, keeping up with expenses, and the constant fatigue of working hard for money. For example, in Maine, Ehrenreich gets a job as a maid. In this job the maids are constantly scrubbing and cleaning in repetitive motions everyday. After a while this starts to effect their health. The maids aren't allowed to eat or drink on the job and can't really afford to, even after finishing. One day Holly, a young woman who had been with the company for a while, sprained her ankle on the job and could hardly walk. She refused to be seen by the doctor because of lack of money and the risk that came with missing work. She feared that she would be fired if she asked for time off. Ehrenreich's account of her struggles reflects the hard times that people with a minimum wage or that live in poverty experience every day. In the "Evaluation" chapter of her book, she argues that the wealthy portion of America is ignorant of the poor portion.  She believes that the wealthy purposefully try to ignore the poor so they won't have to deal with it when in reality, they are the ones that should be helping out. She also explains that without the wealthy the poor wouldn't have these minimum wage jobs like the cleaning service. 
#10--A living wage should take in account the cost of safe housing, food, children, and other necessities for living a healthy life. It would make the most sense for this wage to be different in each area of the country. Some cities have cheaper housing, food, etc. than other more expensive areas.