Nickel and Dimed · On (Not) Getting By in America
- Authors
- Ehrenreich, Barbara
- Publisher
- Owl Books (Henry Holt)
- Tags
- unskilled labor , public policy , minimum wage , labor , poverty & homelessness , political science , politics , poverty - united states , business & economics , minimum wage - united states , unskilled labor - united states , working poor , social classes , labor & industrial relations , general , united states , sociology , economic conditions , working poor - united states , poverty , social science , economic policy
- ISBN
- 9780805063899
- Date
- 2001-05-08T00:00:00+00:00
- Size
- 0.23 MB
- Lang
- en
Reveals low-wage America in all its tenacity, anxiety, and surprising generosity--a land of Big Boxes, fast food, and a thousand desperate stratagems for survival.
Millions of Americans work full-time, year-round, for poverty-level wages. In 1998, Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join them. She was inspired in part by the rhetoric surrounding welfare reform, which promised that any job equals a better life. But how can anyone survive, let alone prosper, on $6-$7 an hour? To find out, Ehrenreich moved from Florida to Maine to Minnesota, taking the cheapest lodgings available and accepting work as a waitress, hotel maid, house cleaner, nursing home aide, and Wal-Mart salesperson. She soon discovered that even the "lowliest" occupations require exhausting mental and physical efforts. And one job is not enough; you need at least two if you intend to live indoors.
Nickel and Dimed reveals low-wage America in all its tenacity, anxiety, and surprising generosity--a land of Big Boxes, fast food, and a thousand desperate stratagems for survival. Instantly acclaimed for its insight, humor, and passion, this book is changing the way America perceives its working poor.