Barbara Ehrenreich's Welfare Reform

In 1996, Bill Clinton signed a welfare reform act which sought to terminate welfare. Examining the act’s harm on the working class - and especially the poor working class - Barbara Ehrenreich lived for three years working low-wage jobs. By both taking on low-wage jobs and receiving no welfare, in Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America, Barbara Ehrenreich learns about the physically and mentally tolling aspects of these jobs, the costs of living with little income, and the barriers to entry of these jobs. Because she must work long hours in order to salvage money to live, Ehrenreich’s jobs deteriorate her health and motivation. Not only do the workers toil for many hours, but also they receive little to no vacation days. Colleen, a worker at The Maids, states that “what [she] would like is to be able to take a day off now and then… if I had to… and still be able to buy groceries the next day” (120). Therefore, these workers must sacrifice their physical health in order to sustain themselves. This leads to tolls on mental health, too. Eventually, says Ehrenreich, one loses his/her will to continue working with little reward; “[i]f you hump away at menial jobs 360-plus days a year, does some kind of repetitive injury of spirit set in” (106)? …show more content…
Many who supported the end of welfare (and others who generally support fewer benefits for the poor) ask themselves why the government burdens them with supporting the poor. However, by experiencing the health issues, costs, and application process of these low-wage jobs, Ehrenreich gains a vastly different perspective. When people work in low-paying jobs, they “g[o] hungry so that you can eat more cheaply and conveniently”. Therefore, people must support the poor, as “be[ing] a member of the working poor is to be… a nameless benefactor, to everyone else”