Nickel and Dimed

Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich, is a commentary on the low-wage workers of America, the caged lifestyle that defines their living situations, and often, on how unethical their workplaces treat them. Ehrenreich makes the decision to enter this world, not from a purely limited point of view, but completely engaged, putting herself through the application process, sleeping in motels and compact trailers, and worrying about her tight budget. She evades the status and precedence she has as a columnist for The New York Times and Harper's in exchange for a livelihood that many yearn to escape. In doing so, she comes upon things that exceed way past her expectation. In the Florida Keys, she is awestruck by the very few distinctions between the low-wage class and homeless people. She sees this firsthand, with many of her employees forced into living out of their cars, often sleeping on their employer's property for a small amount of security. She hears of Czech refugees crammed into a one bedroom apartment, sharing the wages they make as cooks. Ehrenreich writes often about the social discrimination these workers receive, the sexual objectification she experiences firsthand from her manager, and the often sub-human status she feels demoted to as an "unskilled" worker. Ehrenreich discusses how it's as if everyone is looked upon as a drug addict, or of having a criminal history. She voices her opinion on how corporations often view their workers as weak possessions, tossing them to the side quickly if they're not profitable. In the "Evaluation" section of the book, Ehrenreich discusses how the government wrongly labels poverty, because, after all, low wage workers are employed. She decides that corporations often raise an ethical eyebrow, and rallies for a well established, higher wage system, saying that the workers are offered little room to voice their concerns, and how they are quite often dependent on their superiors to provide money for barely livable conditions. She advises that further unionization is a necessary, as the current conditions are far from sufficient.

3. Empathy is taken out of the picture. Efficiency and profit are it's replacement. If you don't measure up to the high demands of the workforce, you're toast. Out on the streets, because whether you like it or not, you're dependent on the corporation in which you work for- the hand that feeds you, so to say. It's like having a dad that only loves you when you're doing really well, otherwise, you get disowned. It's pretty messed up. The answer to solving this? What kind of question is that? There's only one answer, Barb. Put Jesus back into the picture. No kind of elaborate unionization, hateful protest, or whining, critical report will ever measure up to the perfect love and grace from God, that as his children, we all receive. Knowing this, As God is in control of all things, we need not worry, but just build his glorious kingdom in all that we do.