Post by quincyessex on Aug 3, 2011 13:50:59 GMT -5
For some time, I never quite understood why my parents would work so much but still use excuses like “I don't have the money for that.” I also never understood why so many people with jobs still needed financial help. But after acquiring a minimum-wage job and discovering how hard it can be to pay for everything on my own, I have come to the conclusion that Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed has honestly uncovered some of the problems in the welfare system.
Ehrenreich's adventure through the middle class started as a waitress at the Hearthside where she was paid $2.43 an hour plus tips. Her home for the meantime is $500 a month rent-wise. “Ten days into it, this is beginning to look like a livable lifestyle,” she says. But later she discovers that it is quite the opposite. She worked with people who would work in pain to eat and sleep in cars. When she quit one job and moved to a new city, she helped out a coworker by giving him her tips. From then on out, she moves forward on her adventure only to find that the middle class doesn't differ much from the lower. She works long shifts every day with little time to relax or even just sleep. But when the rent is due, she struggles because she simply has not made enough money to support the lifestyle.
All in all, I agree with Ehrenreich. But I also know that there are other aspects to the welfare crisis. For example, to be eligible to receive Food Stamps, a family has to make a certain amount of money per month or lower. If the family makes even a dollar more than the maximum, then they are ineligible. With taxes, rent, gas and the cost of food, surviving in the middle class has become what should be an Olympic sport. Another cause of the problem with welfare are the prices of food. As an employee at Baskin Robbins, I've seen this many times. People come in to get ice cream, but then complain about the prices being so high. As well as hearing others say this, I've seen that prices at other fast food restaurants and grocery stores are also getting higher. Another cause is simply the lack of jobs and the abundance of people who need a job.
However, one thing I do wonder is what made Ehrenreich decide that she wanted to conduct this experiment. She is a successful author with plenty of money to support herself and family, yet she wanted to live as middle class laborer. I feel as though she should have fit the stereotype of the 'rich person who doesn't care about the little people.' But instead she took a risk and lived in unsafe places and worked in bad conditions.
Ehrenreich's book accomplished the task of exposing the 'dirty deeds' of the welfare system and how hard it can be to survive, but I do not think it really made a difference in the system itself.
Ehrenreich's adventure through the middle class started as a waitress at the Hearthside where she was paid $2.43 an hour plus tips. Her home for the meantime is $500 a month rent-wise. “Ten days into it, this is beginning to look like a livable lifestyle,” she says. But later she discovers that it is quite the opposite. She worked with people who would work in pain to eat and sleep in cars. When she quit one job and moved to a new city, she helped out a coworker by giving him her tips. From then on out, she moves forward on her adventure only to find that the middle class doesn't differ much from the lower. She works long shifts every day with little time to relax or even just sleep. But when the rent is due, she struggles because she simply has not made enough money to support the lifestyle.
All in all, I agree with Ehrenreich. But I also know that there are other aspects to the welfare crisis. For example, to be eligible to receive Food Stamps, a family has to make a certain amount of money per month or lower. If the family makes even a dollar more than the maximum, then they are ineligible. With taxes, rent, gas and the cost of food, surviving in the middle class has become what should be an Olympic sport. Another cause of the problem with welfare are the prices of food. As an employee at Baskin Robbins, I've seen this many times. People come in to get ice cream, but then complain about the prices being so high. As well as hearing others say this, I've seen that prices at other fast food restaurants and grocery stores are also getting higher. Another cause is simply the lack of jobs and the abundance of people who need a job.
However, one thing I do wonder is what made Ehrenreich decide that she wanted to conduct this experiment. She is a successful author with plenty of money to support herself and family, yet she wanted to live as middle class laborer. I feel as though she should have fit the stereotype of the 'rich person who doesn't care about the little people.' But instead she took a risk and lived in unsafe places and worked in bad conditions.
Ehrenreich's book accomplished the task of exposing the 'dirty deeds' of the welfare system and how hard it can be to survive, but I do not think it really made a difference in the system itself.