Rating: 
Summary: oh please
Review: Just want to mention that millions of people work every day, and do so voluntarily to pay their own way, not because they were "forced off of welfare" [sic]. Why is it not legitimate for a society to ask its citizens to support themselves by working whenever possible? Pardon me for thinking that the women this author wrote about would not appreciate her pretending to be one of them, and then high-tailing it back to the NYC literati. Oh, and by the way I'm a single mother who worked my way off of welfare, started out at low paying jobs and now make a great living. It can happen.
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Summary: A piercing look at minimum-wage life
Review: This book is a must-read for anyone who has never worked a low wage job doing menial work. The vast majority of the book is an account of the author's search for unskilled work in three different cities. These parts of the book are inherantly readable, familiar for those who have shared her experiences, and enlightening for those who haven't.The best part of the book, for me, was the evaluation at the end. Ehrenreich's scathing review of the management at her various places of employment was right on the mark, and her overall conclusion that full-time employment is not the same as 'getting by' seems entirely accurate (full time work at minimum wage won't pay the rent and put food on the table). Most interesting, though, was her understanding of the thoughts and feelings of her co-workers. She describes employees feeling like they owe something to their boss, even though they are treated like garbage, and in some cases feeling like they're not worth anything more than their meager income. Whether you're looking for a grim evaluation of wellfare-reform or just an interesting social commentary, this book is well worth the time.
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Summary: Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America
Review: Until I read this book, I thought that anyone could suceed if only s/he worked hard enough. It was a real eye-opener. It's rare that I read something that forces me to reconsider my assumptions. Thank you Barbara Ehrenreich.
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Summary: A flawed idea...
Review: I am a 23 year old man in Houston, Texas and I find a major flaw in the very premise of this book. The author insists that making ends meet on 6-7 dollars an hour is not something doable, and when it is it is extremely hard and I completely disagree. I make a good deal more now than that, but 3-4 years ago when I was first coming into the job market I worked a job that started at 6.50 an hour, then went to 7, then 7.50, etc. For a while I also only worked 32 hours a week as that was the highest number of hours the employer would give to me, and I was able to live perfectly fine on that amount. Can you live in the lap of luxery at that rate? Of course not. Are you borderline homeless if u make 7 dollars an hour as the infoblurb mentions for this title? Of course not. I lived in an apartment that was not the nicest luxery apartment in town, but was safe, clean, and quite far from "horrible". I drove a cheap 4 cylinder american made economy car, I didn't eat out much, I bought clothes at walmart and kmart, not at structure and j. crew, etc. I still had money to go to a movie here and there, pay rent, pay electric and water bills, pay for my phone line, pay for cable tv, groceries etc. Budgeting is a skill that most people seem to not concern themselves with at low wages instead just demanding that it's impossible to live on that amount of money. While living how you dream to live isn't possible, it's quite possible to live decently and far above the poverty level if you learn to budget, to spend wisely, and that sometimes you just can't have everything it is that you want.
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Summary: frightening economic disparity
Review: Barbara Ehrenreich is at the top of her form in "Nickel and Dimed", the tale of her forays among the working poor. This articulate essayist has produced a milestone book which addresses the frightening and ever-increasing economic disparity that marks modern-day capitalism. (If Karl Marx had her gift for apt descriptions and gripping journalism, "Das Kapital" would be far more widely read!) She writes, "The 'working poor', as they are approvingly termed, are in fact the major philanthropists of our society. They neglect their own children so that the children of others will be cared for; they live in substandard housing so that other homes will be shiny and perfect; they endure privation so that inflation will be low and stocks high. To be a member of the working poor is to be an anonymous donor, a nameless benefactor, to everyone else." Even the vassal-workers of medieval times may have had better lives and working conditions; there is no buffer, no benefits of "noblesse oblige", under world market capitalism. Ehrenreich hauntingly depicts the day to day struggles of the marginated working poor. Her book is a stunning indictment of soulless corporations devoted to accumulating wealth while paying their workers subsistence wages. "Nickel and Dimed" will give new heart to members of the "old left": Capitalism may yet crumble from within, falling victim to its own heritage of injustice and greed. The system is creaking now, and present conditions cannot be sustained. In this report from the dark, hidden underpinnings of the present "prosperity", Ehrenreich reveals the exploitation of millions of American workers. Bravo!
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Summary: Should be required reading
Review: Ehrenreich's book should be required reading for every memeber of congress, senator, and CEO in the United States. This book is an excellent tribute to the working poor. A great piece of journalism, sociological study, and a call for radical social justice for those who do the dirty work of our society for non-living wages. I challenge everyone who reads this book to leave a 20% tip for their cleaner, their waitress, their childcare worker.
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Summary: Free-market is the only efficient and moral system
Review: Rent at 675 a month? Good grief, no wonder she couldn't make ends meet on minimum wage. Ever hear of roommates or moving to a more affordable location? It's hard to take a book like this seriously. According to government's own statistics, "In 1995, 41 percent of all 'poor' households owned their own homes. The average size of that home was three bedrooms, one-and-a-half bathrooms, a garage and a porch or patio. Three-quarters of a million 'poor' owned homes worth over $150,000; some of those homes sported Jacuzzis and pools. The average 'poor' American has one-third more living space than the average Japanese, 25 percent more than the average Frenchman, 40 percent more than the average Greek and four times more than the average Russian. Seventy percent of 'poor' households own a car; 27 percent own two or more cars. Ninety-seven percent have a color television; nearly half own two or more televisions. Two-thirds of 'poor' households have air conditioning. By contrast, 30 years ago, only 36 percent of the entire U.S. population enjoyed air conditioning. America's 'poor' people aren't hungry, either. In fact, 'poor' people are more likely to be overweight than higher-income people. The average consumption of proteins, vitamins and minerals is virtually the same for poor as middle-income children, and in most cases above government recommended minimums." If this is what a semi-capitalist economy produces, then a truly capitalist (one that has all traces of all coercive government transfers gone) economy is the way to go. Granted, there will be truly needy people in any society, but this is the exception-not the rule in a free capitalist society. Any book that complains about a "living wage" illustrates a massive ignorance of economics and how prices function in a market economy. There will always be high wages and there will always be low wages...big surprise there. The price for labor (wages) cannot be determined by third parties. They are utterly subjective and determined solely by consenting individuals. If this were not true and wages could be determined objectively by central planners, bureaucrats, or whoever, then socialism would be possible. However history and econ 101 (see Hayek and Mises for why efficient economic calculation is impossible under socialism) says otherwise. There is one objective fact that illustrates how desirable or undesirable a free-market system is- that's how many foreigners want to enter a country from another location. The U.S is one of the more desirable places on this planet I would say. If the poor think that working here is demeaning, then they have to option to live elsewhere where government is repsonisble for determining wages. At least in a free capitalist society they will always have the option to leave.
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Summary: eye-opening, strikes a chord
Review: As someone who has been a supermarket cashier, waitress and K-Martian, the title of this book caused me to immediately buy it and not stop reading till I was through. What an eye-opener about what I always suspected -- how am I ever supposed to survive on this money? Thank goodness I live with my parents -- but what about my co-worker with her 2 kids? It would be impolite to ask ..... Ehrenreich did the work, asked the questions, tried to make the budget, and kept the buoyancy that I see in real-life people at these very real jobs. Her notes on the interview process (I remember those Accutrac tests well) and research of laws (I often worked overtime without compensation, thinking I had to if I didn't want to be fired) round out this book, and the conclusion is an excellent wrap-up to make you think about what is going on in America if the people who work the jobs necessary to make our economy run can not get by. This book both angered and saddened me, and inspired me to start looking for ways to advocate a raise in minimum wage.
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Summary: It's about time!
Review: I am not in the minimum wage category, but I am struggling hard anyway. I have a job in a woman dominated industry, which means lower wages. I work full time, own my home and support a daughter who just graduated from college. Because I have no dependents, I have to pay more tax than I can. The property tax on my home caused my mortgage to increase by $100 last year. I am hanging on by my fingernails and trying to square my "work hard and the good life is yours," mythos with the harsh reality of high taxes, high transportation costs, high food and medicine costs, and high housing costs. I have to decide every month whether to buy food or medicine. Food usually wins. I have insurance, but the cost of prescriptions went up so high this year that I can't even afford the discounted prices. I haven't seen a doctor in a year because the co-pay went up. Pres. Bush's tax relief doesn't hold out much hope, because it ignores those of us in the lower middle and lower classes. To paraphrase Scrooge, who is now running my world, "...if they would rather die, they should do it and reduce the surplus population!" I truly do not understand how the people Barbara Ehrenreich worked and lived with, and the ones I see around me every day, manage to survive. Hooray for Barbara for humanizing the people behind the blue vests and name-tags. I hope and pray that there is someone besides us listening to our cry.
Rating:
Summary: One of the better books I've read
Review: I had read part of the first chapter in the NYTimes and decided I had to read this. I'm a low-wage earner myself. Granted, I work in an office, which is probably a better environment than any of those in which Ehrenreich worked. I could barely find this book in Borders. Borders has about eight tables inside the entrance where it displays its new books, but this one wasn't one of them. I was surprised, particularly as I perused the tables and found the usual filler that the publishing industry is endlessly promoting. The Times had a real favorable review. Finally, I found a lone copy tucked back in the sociology section. Ehrenreich writes about something dear to my heart. Every day, in the newspapers and on t.v., I hear about what a great economy this is -- jobs everywhere. It's a great time to be a worker. Yadda, yadda. So I get my first job, after months of searching, at 7.24 an hour. Not bad, I think. Well above minimum wage. Well, as Ehrenreich points out, there's NO PLACE TO LIVE in Portland that doesn't cost 750 dollars a month. I rent a freaking room, unheated, for 300 a month and commute a half hour to work. Fortunately, I can make ends meet, but only because of two things: 1) I don't have kids and 2) my parents help me out of a tight spots. Many of the people Ehrenreich writes about don't have this luxury. The book was terrific. I can't think of another word. She has amazing powers of observation. I laughed out loud probably 50 times. There's also a lot of poignant moments, such as when Tammy sprains her ankle but doesn't stop working and every time Ehrenreich "comes out" to her colleagues. I found those moments interesting. Personally, I'd be upset if I worked in the trenches with someone who later tells me that she did it for a book. My only quibble with Ehrenreich is at the very end of the book, when she talks about the working-poor in relation to the more affluent, powerful part of society. Ehrenreich thinks that someday the working-poor will revolt and then painful change will come about. I think she underestimates this upheavel. If the affluent no longer hate welfare mothers who don't work, that doesn't mean that hate has disappered. Frankly, I think that hate has been transferred to the working poor. And I don't think that the affluent among us are going to politely succumb to the working-poor unionizing and demanding fair treatment; they're too vested in our slave-labor. The 90s has already made affluent people feel entitled to this service, and they're not going to give it up without a fight.
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