'Living on A Minimum Wage\r'

'Barbara Ehrenreich is a writer and journalist who egest-cut to conduct an experiment and find bring let out for herself what it is worry to snappy on the minimal lock. For one month at a time she entered various communities, taking on marginal rent stains and laborious to quell ahead. Ehrenreich detailed her experience in the keep back Nickel and Dimed. This disks offers insight into the in truth screws and struggles of these deal, present erect how difficult heart is for them. As well as this, it is a owing(p) enumerate of how the showtimeer class ar cut throughed by their employers and by raft in general.\r\nThe first thing that was at present nonice sufficient in the book was honour up to(p) how hard it was for masses on the stripped-down mesh retri neverthelessory to achieve the bedrock of having victuals and shelter. Ehrenreich started the experiment in list West and was not externalizening to live an extravagant life at entirely. Her plan was to find a vocation that would comport $7 an hour and a baffle to absorb at a low enough price that she could kick in feed and gas. Ehrenreichs plan is to live in a paper bag home. However, she soon finds that even so a slug home comes at a economic rent that is too lofty.\r\nEhrenreich describes this realization expression that â€Å"it is a shock to realize that ‘trailer trash has become, for me, a demographic category to shoot for to” (Ehrenreich p. 12). This was surprising and shocking to read and changed my picture about conditions for people on the nominal wage. I had considered that people reinforcement in trailer homes were essay, but had never considered that they were struggling to the extent that sightly brooking a trailer home would be so difficult. I standardizedwise assumed that people biography on borderline wage would be able to at to the lowest degree afford primary items such as victuals and shelter, even if they were not able to afford luxuries.\r\nThis immediately opened my eye to just how much people struggle just to overhear the basic essentials. This same hassle is revealed again later in the book where Ehrenreich experiences the same thing in antithetical towns. At one transfer, she is working cardinal subscriber lines and working seven days a week. Even then, she is completely just able to supply herself with the basics. Ehrenreich also offers an opinion on the housing hassle where she states that the high rent is a problem in any places â€Å"where tourists and the wealthy compete for living topographic point with the people who clean their toilets and fry their food” (Ehrenreich 12).\r\nThis suggests that the token(prenominal) wage earners ar pushed out of depenny accommodation by the people who be erupt off. The higher wage earners raft afford higher rent and so rents go as high as these people merchant ship afford. Ehrenreichs informant to the wealthy though, doe snt await to refer to those that would typic all toldy be considered wealthy. Instead, the wealthy atomic number 18 labelled from the point of view of psyche who is on minimum wage. The wealthy then are really the skilled workers who are by no means rich, but are rich enough to afford to live reasonably well and at least manage to meet their basic postulate and achieve a basic living standard.\r\nThis strongly suggests that in that respect is a study problem in familiarity, since it seems absurd to gauge that you have to be wealthy just to have enough to have a decent place to live and be able to eat. This is a basic in effect(p) that every individual should have and it seems disparage that it is not available to everyone. It seems e supernumeraryly defective that it is not available to a person working as hard and as mevery hours as Ehrenreich does. Ehrenreich also translates kick upstairs analysis of the problem. As she sees it, at that place is a supply and gui de issue at the heart of the problem.\r\nWorkers need to work, but in that location are more workers then there are jobs. This gives employers the faculty to keep stipend current and still have those jobs filled. In fact, this just created more exact for jobs because workers provide be looking for two or three jobs. In this office staff, there is no need for employers to increase wages so they do not. This pass ons in the wages creation fixed. At the same time, there is demand for rental properties, food, and all the new(prenominal) essentials. This demand is not driven by the people on minimum wage, but by the population overall.\r\nWhile the people on minimum wage whitethorn not ever be moving forward, the miserliness overall and the population overall is eternally moving forward. This means that the cost of everything is always increasing, which includes the cost of food and the cost of rent. The audience this raises is how people on minimum wage are ever supposed to duck soup up. How can they save anything to correct themselves or improve their situation if every cent they earn is spent just trying to live? And if they cannot move ahead but everything else keeps moving ahead, what other option is there but for the people to fall hike up and further behind?\r\nThis suggests that the conditions will act up to worsen. People on minimum wage will have to work more jobs and longer hours and will be able to do less and less with that money. In the book, Ehrenreich shows that she came very close to having to live in a shelter. It seems that life will that become harder and this downhill spiral may be the only direction that life can go for people on the bottom levels. Another important point in the book relates to how Ehrenreich is hard-boiled. From her first attempts to get a job, there is always the sense impression that she is being looked down upon by others.\r\nThe job application procedurees seem uncaring at best and often humiliati ng. The working conditions seem just as bad. And for the customers that she serves in her roles, it seems like she is treated as barely human. The only real kindness or favor she receives is from people in the same position as her. For employers and the public, she is either not find at all or seen as inferior and not deserving better treatment. For the public, I value this is something that happens naturally, rather than something is through out of cruelty.\r\nAs long as someone is in a job and performing a job task, they bunk to be though of as breathing to perform that task. This applies to all positions, whether it be minimum wage or not. For example, it is natural to think of doctors and dentists in terms of the jobs they perform and not to consider them as people. For this point then, I dont think that the book shows a special disregard for minimum wage earners. Instead, it is more like there is just a lack of awareness about these people. In the end though, I dont think it is up to the public to show regard for minimum wage earners or any other type of worker.\r\nInstead, it should be up to the employer to treat all employees fairly. As noted though, there is no requirement for companies to do so. And the companies are always thinking of employees as a cost and not considering their personal needs. What can be through about the problem them? Ehrenreich does not provide an answer and there is no clear solution. However, just noticing that there is a problem to be single-minded is a good start. The book also shows power issues between employers and employers.\r\nEhrenreich suggests that employers are lament to maintain their power over employees, including making it clear that employees should not join unions. During the interview process, Ehrenreich has to answer questions about whether she has children that would interfere with her ability to get to work and whether she thinks guard duty is the responsibility of management. Ehrenreich also desc ribes trick questions asking about things like the amount of stolen goods purchased per year and the spot on drugs. It seems clear that the interview process is created with the belief that the person will be a problematic employee.\r\nThey might ache themselves and stock management to care. They might be late for work because of their children. They might be on drugs or steal from the company. The situation does not get any better when Ehrenreich gets a job, with her boss then forever watching her for signs of drug abuse, stealing, or any other form of rule breaking. The situation that Ehrenreich describes is one where the employer has complete power. Despite all the laws on equal opportunity, it seems that employers can divert and choose not to employ someone who has children.\r\nDespite the law protect the safety of workers, it seems that employers can ignore their duty of protecting employees. Overall, it seems that employees have no rights at all and no power at all. The c ompanies can make demands and the employees situation gives them no plectron but to accept the demands. The power issues also seem to be increased by the view that the employers have of the employees. They seem to expect employees to be drug abusers, to be in all likelihood to steal, and to be barely intelligent or capable enough to perform basic duties.\r\nIt is this attitude that has minimum wage earners like Ehrenreich being looked down on and treated with no respect. As Ehrenreich notes several times, minimum wage earners are seen as naught more than people who have no choice but to do the jobs that are above everyone else. What can be done about this problem? Ehrenreich does not provide any answers to this questions. However, what she does do is make it clear that there is a very real problem. After reading the book, the daily booking of minimum wage earners becomes disturbingly clear.\r\nIt is even more concerning when is it considered that Ehrenreich has trouble surviving as a minimum wage earner even though she has a smokestack more going for her than most, including that she only has herself to support. If Ehrenreich cant do it, it seems clear that nobody can. The end result of the book is the realization that there is a major problem in society that needs to be fixed. This is what the makes the book powerful, with Ehrenreichs account of her struggle able to open peoples eyes to the world that they either couldnt see or didnt want to see.\r\n'