Post by michaelahawkins on Aug 9, 2011 14:44:49 GMT -5
In the book Nickel and dimed Ehrenreich took the challenge of undercover reporting on life at minimum wage by settling into three areas of the country for a month each, working at low-paying service jobs like restaurant server, cleaning woman and Wal-Mart employee. Ehrenreich quickly learned how it was difficult to live a "low wage life." She gave us a rude awakening on how life can be pretty difficult with minimum wage jobs. She said "Something is wrong, very wrong, when a single person in good health, a person who in addition possesses a working car, can barely support herself by the sweat of her brow. You don't need a degree in economics to see that wages are too low and rents too high." Every day in America you can see that people are struggling to keep a job and pay rent at the same time.
Something she had that people did not was back up money to help her get through if she was running low. Today in my family we spend our money wisely and make sure we have enough to get by before the next pay period. I know what it is like to work a minimum wage job but I can’t compare because I don’t pay rent but I do pay for my car so I do have to watch my money carefully.
Ehrenreich had the opportunity to get to know the people she was working with. She even taught English to George, who was a dishwasher in the Key West Restaurant. She cared and listened to their struggles. People in America are struggling everyday to find a job and to keep it. There is so much competition to find a job that will take just a high school diploma over a college one. It’s hard to make ends meet but I think anybody will try their hardest if they set their mind to it. There are a lot of things I asked my parents to get me when I was younger but as I grew up I learned the value of money and what things are more important than other. Even now having my own money I make sure that I save some because I know it will help later on.
This book was a big eye opener for me and probably a lot of people. I can see why it was important to read. It gives you an idea about how difficult it is to find a job that can make ends meet and pay rent. I think people spend their money for stupid reasons then they complain they don’t have money. I admire the life I have grown up in it because it was a lesson worth learning to better educate me on the struggles I could come across in the future. I am interested to see what it is in store for me in the near future. I hope the more time goes on the less the economy will struggle because right now it is a constant battle.
Something she had that people did not was back up money to help her get through if she was running low. Today in my family we spend our money wisely and make sure we have enough to get by before the next pay period. I know what it is like to work a minimum wage job but I can’t compare because I don’t pay rent but I do pay for my car so I do have to watch my money carefully.
Ehrenreich had the opportunity to get to know the people she was working with. She even taught English to George, who was a dishwasher in the Key West Restaurant. She cared and listened to their struggles. People in America are struggling everyday to find a job and to keep it. There is so much competition to find a job that will take just a high school diploma over a college one. It’s hard to make ends meet but I think anybody will try their hardest if they set their mind to it. There are a lot of things I asked my parents to get me when I was younger but as I grew up I learned the value of money and what things are more important than other. Even now having my own money I make sure that I save some because I know it will help later on.
This book was a big eye opener for me and probably a lot of people. I can see why it was important to read. It gives you an idea about how difficult it is to find a job that can make ends meet and pay rent. I think people spend their money for stupid reasons then they complain they don’t have money. I admire the life I have grown up in it because it was a lesson worth learning to better educate me on the struggles I could come across in the future. I am interested to see what it is in store for me in the near future. I hope the more time goes on the less the economy will struggle because right now it is a constant battle.