I first read Nickel & Dimed in Mr. Ledoux's English class when I was a 10th grader. We read it as a class, but only read about half of it. I really liked it and this year I noticed it in a used book store so I picked it up. A couple of days ago I started reading it over again, all the way through this time. The book is written by Barbara Ehrenreich, who also wrote the forward for the new "Ralph Nader Reader". In the book, she decides to give herself 1,000$ to start out with as she temporarly throws herself into the entry-level work force. As she does various jobs such as cleaning and working at Wal-Mart in various places of the United States, she discovers that the working class doesn't have it as easy as one might think. One of her rules is to always goe for the cheapest living conditions and the highest paying jobs she can get with her (fake temporary) un-educated past. In doing this she finds that she can barely make ends meet. She is forced to look for further help in the form of shelter and food aid, which she finds aren't as helpful as she had hoped. In a survey, 94% of Americans felt that somebody with a full-time job should be able to provide for a family of 3. Unfortunately, 94% of Americans aren't getting thier wishes fulfilled.
I would recomend reading this book if you are interested in the subject... and I would especially recomend it to anyone who thinks that the minimum wage is enough to live decently on.
I am not rating this book because I have come to the conclusion that books can't be rated on a simple scale.
No comments:
Post a Comment