When presented the experiment of living off of minimum wage, Barbara Ehrenreich, embarks on a journey that is followed throughout Nickel and Dimed and shows the struggles that she encounters living the life of a person in poverty. Ehrenreich argues that different systems in America are setup to actively keep those people working for minimum wage in poverty and this system prevents them from moving up in economic status.
Ehrenreich’s argument is strengthened by the many experiences she presents in the book showing the difficulties of living life gaining minimum wage. Ehrenreich, while low on funds and in need of help, talks about her own personal experiences with trying to get some food. The system that Ehrenreich tries to go through is made extremely difficult as she …show more content…
During Ehrenreich's evaluation she looks back through her experiment and finds that what she had to go through is very troubling. Ehrenreich writes, ¨Something is wrong, very wrong, when a single person in good health, a person who in addition possesses a working car, can barely support herself by the sweat of her brow. You don’t need a degree in economics to see that wages are too low and rents too high.¨(page 199) Ehrenreich points out that the problem stems from companies and the housing market. It exemplifies how difficult the lives of those in poverty are. The title and contents of the book shows how people who live on minimum wage are nickel and dimed to death for costs of food, rent, health items(medication), and work clothing. Even asking for help from food and cash aids costs money as Ehrenreich brings up that her calls cost,¨$2.80¨(page 103). The many expenses that the poor face is a huge issue and the lives of these people go to show how appreciative some people should be with what they
Ehrenreich’s argument is strengthened by the many experiences she presents in the book showing the difficulties of living life gaining minimum wage. Ehrenreich, while low on funds and in need of help, talks about her own personal experiences with trying to get some food. The system that Ehrenreich tries to go through is made extremely difficult as she …show more content…
During Ehrenreich's evaluation she looks back through her experiment and finds that what she had to go through is very troubling. Ehrenreich writes, ¨Something is wrong, very wrong, when a single person in good health, a person who in addition possesses a working car, can barely support herself by the sweat of her brow. You don’t need a degree in economics to see that wages are too low and rents too high.¨(page 199) Ehrenreich points out that the problem stems from companies and the housing market. It exemplifies how difficult the lives of those in poverty are. The title and contents of the book shows how people who live on minimum wage are nickel and dimed to death for costs of food, rent, health items(medication), and work clothing. Even asking for help from food and cash aids costs money as Ehrenreich brings up that her calls cost,¨$2.80¨(page 103). The many expenses that the poor face is a huge issue and the lives of these people go to show how appreciative some people should be with what they