Nickel and Dimed

SEPTEMBER 26, 2002

An amazing perspective on a life I've never known. Barbara Ehrenreich abandons her upper-middle class world to try and live, like so many Americans do, on a $7/hour job. The book chronicles three different attempts in three different cities, and as the full title suggests (Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America), she is unsuccessful each time.

I really liked this book because it gave a face to the people who live as waitresses, housekeepers or Wal-Mart employees. I've always known they were there and I understand that the system is anything but kind, but the book really helped to cement that in my mind, which seems to be the purpose of the book. Ehrenreich does not give any possible solutions to the problems the lower class face, even in her final analysis. This doesn't necessarily bother me, but I would have preferred some more discussion.

In the end, this book is for the people who cannot comprehend that the drive-thru guy is trying to make a living. At one point she referrences some research suggesting that most people think that a homeless person can get a job and survive on it if they'd like, which is untrue. So, I am probably a bit greedy to wish for solutions, since just identifying and personifying the problem is a great start.

Posted in Book at 2:27 pm.