Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America Essay

Great discoveries always begin with extensive questions. Barbara Ehrenreich asked two great questions, how does anyone live on the wages available to the crude and how were the roughly four million women about to be booted into the perseverance market by welfare reform, going to make it on $6 to $7 an hour (2001, p. 12). To answer the questions, Ehrenreich embarked upon a journey to discover for herself, whether she could pair off income to expense as a low-wage workplaceer. In effect, Ehrenreich tested the fundamental inclose of The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, also cognise as welfare reform, in order to determine whether those individuals formerly on welfare and largely incompetent, could earn a living wage on the lower limit wage.In the book, Ehrenreich documented her experiences working a series of minimum wage jobs as a waitress, a maid and a care for home dietary assistant. Ehrenreich found that in order to make ends work and affo rd a place to live and food to eat, she needed to work two jobs, which left her in a constant state of enfeeblement and pain. She also observed of her fellow servers that, everyone who lacks a working husband or boyfriend seems to have a second job (2001, p. 48). Many of her co-workers divided the same challenge with affordable living arrangements, some living in a van, with their mother, sharing rooms with strangers or even living in a dry-docked boat (Ehrenreich, 2001). Not only did Ehrenreich find that the wages offered unskilled workers were not enough to meet the basic needs of food and shelter, just that there are a host of special costs (2001, p. 27) incurred by the working poor. For example, workers are required to invest their own funds in partial uniform and pay ... ...y Status, by Family Relationship, Race, and Hispanic Origin chapiter D.C. U.S. Bureau of the Census Retrieved from http//www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/historical/people.html.U.S. subdivisio n of drive. (2011). Employment status of the population, 1940s to date Washington D.C. Bureau of Labor Statistics Retrieved from http//www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat1.pdf.U.S. Dept of health and Human Services. Administration for Children and Families. (2011). TANF - Data and Reports. Washington D.C. U.S. Dept of Health & Human Services Retrieved from http//www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/data-reports/index.htm.U.S. Office of Management and Budget. (2011). Table 11.3Outlays for Payments for Individuals by kinfolk and Major Program 19402016. Washingon D.C. White House Retrieved from http//www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2012/assets/hist11z3.xls.