EDCI6605 Critical Study in Multicultural Education
From :
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in Americaby Barbara Ehrenreich (Paperback - Jun 24, 2008)
Nickel and Dimed questions from Bookbrowse. Retrieved November 2, 2009 from
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
by Barbara Ehrenreich
No matter which tax bracket you're in, you have a stake in the issues raised by Barbara Ehrenreich. A book that has changed assumptions about American prosperity and hardship, Nickel and Dimed makes an especially compelling selection for reading groups. The questions that follow are designed to enhance your personal understanding or group discussion of this provocative, heartfelt -- and funny -- account of life in the low-wage trenches.
About the Book
The New York Times bestseller, and one of the most talked about books of the year, Nickel and Dimed has already become a classic of undercover reportage.
Millions of Americans work for poverty-level wages, and one day 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 to $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 strategies for survival. Instantly acclaimed for its insight, humor, and passion, this book is changing the way America perceives its working poor.
Discussion Questions #1 -- #8
- In the wake of recent welfare reform measures, millions of women entering the workforce can expect to face struggles like the ones Ehrenreich confronted in Nickel and Dimed. Have you ever been homeless, unemployed, without health insurance, or held down two jobs? What is the lowest-paying job you ever held and what kind of help -- if any -- did you need to improve your situation?
During the period of May 1980 through June 1981, I held two and sometimes three jobs. At one point, I waitressed at Denny’s for the breakfast shift, a steakhouse for the dinner shift, and had a sleeping job at a storage facility. The best thing I could hope for was to coordinate my days off so that they were in sync. This was a choice I made at the time. My parents were willing to support me if I continued as a full-time student. I, however, wanted to do whatever I wanted and was determined to do it on my own. Because of my hard work, I was able to maintain an apartment, a vehicle, and my own health coverage. I did choose to have a roommate. For Ehrenreich, I can see how not having a roommate would be the way to work her program. For her, privacy was paramount. For her, the situation was artificial. For me, the issue was monetary. Having a roommate allowed me to save money for emergency expenses. The lessons I learned from this period of my life allowed me to determine another path. The path of hard work, arduous work, is not meant to be fun, but it is a viable method of supporting oneself!
- Were your perceptions of blue-collar Americans transformed or reinforced by Nickel and Dimed? Have your notions of poverty and prosperity changed since reading the book? What about your own treatment of waiters, maids, and sales-people?
I would hope that my actions always reflect respect for others. However, I know that this is not true. Like everyone else, I have positive and negative moments in my actions toward others. As a young person, I worked at several menial jobs. I waited tables. I washed cars. I worked retail sales. I worked carpentry. Through these experiences, I learned lessons. As a result of those lessons, I made choices. As a result of those choices, I know how to do these things, but no longer am required to do this to maintain myself and my family. As a consequence, I try to remember how it felt to help others, and be courteous and respectful regardless.
- How do booming national and international chains -- restaurants, hotels, retail outlets, cleaning services, and elder-care facilities -- affect the treatment and aspirations of low-wage workers? Consider how market competition and the push for profits drive the nickel-and-diming of America's lowest-paid.
Market competition is healthy. It means better opportunities all the way around. However, for those that work in service industries, it means caution. Service industries and menial labor have a wicked grapevine of information. The opportunity to start anew is diminished by the ability to leave a monopoly behind. As so many of the big hotel chains are connected, an individual leaving one place to work at another may not have that option. However, the same consequence leads to lower costs overall. This is good for the minimum wage worker. All in all, the constructs of open market are healthy.
- Housing costs pose the greatest obstacle for low-wage workers. Why does our society seem to resist rectifying this situation? Do you believe that there are realistic solutions to the lack of affordable housing?
The easiest method of working the housing issue requires less governmental influence and more individual effort. The prospect of hard work leaves many of those in shortened home circumstances appalled. The ability to work and the desire to work are not the same thing. Those who need homes and are willing to work for them are able to find them. However, they may not have all the options they want. In the case of the author, she determined not to have a roommate. Opportunities require compromise. In this community, housing is available at low cost, yet some would rather spend the money on crack.
- While working for The Maids, Ehrenreich hears Ted claim that he's "not a bad guy . . . and cares a lot about his girls." How do the assumptions of supervisors such as Ted affect their employees? How does Ted compare to Ehrenreich's other bosses? To yours?
- Ehrenreich is white and middle class. She asserts that her experience would have been radically different had she been a person of color or a single parent. Do you think discrimination shaped Ehrenreich's story? In what ways?
- Ehrenreich found that she could not survive on $7.00 per hour -- not if she wanted to live indoors. Consider how her experiment would have played out in your community: limiting yourself to $7.00 per hour earnings, create a hypothetical monthly budget for your part of the country.
For most people, the $7/hour issue is complicated by the taxation factor. So, presuming a $2 loss for taxes, the reality is a $5/hour situation. Presumably, there is no ability to work a 40-hour work week at this rate. Even at higher rates, the 40-hour work week is limited because of the benefits cost. So, presumably, one is earning $5/hour for a 30-35 hour week. At a minimum, this would be a $150/week salary. For a four week month, there would be a take-home of $600. In this area, a reasonable place to live is $350 including utilities. This would be at least two bedrooms, meaning $175 each for two people. From the $600 income, that leaves $425. Presuming the purchase of a low-quality vehicle already funded, there would be insurance of about $25/month. If a car payment is required, then the car payment and insurance must be added into that amount also. I know of young people in this community who purchase cars individually on payments. Their car payments are usually $20/week or $80/month. Because this funding is not bank-supplied, there is no increased insurance requirement. This would leave $325 for food and incidentals. However, this is a viable option for this area.
- Ehrenreich experienced remarkable goodwill, generosity, and solidarity among her colleagues. Does this surprise you? How do you think your own colleagues measure up?
My colleagues have incredible compassion. Over the years, I have worked in a vast array of disparate professions. I have always believed that those treated with respect imbue respect as well. In my experience, most colleagues will provide assistance and care to those who give it. This has been true in every profession, every job, every team in which or on which I have ever served.
Huang 2009 1