Bill Cosby once said, “You can turn painful situations around through laughter. If you can find humor in anything, even poverty, you can survive it.” To be in poverty is the condition of having little to no money, goods, or any means of support; basically the state of being poor. To survive in poverty is possible, but it is a struggle that is fought by millions everyday. Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich, was a social experiment that Ehrenreich went through herself. Her goal was to start a new life where she would have to find a place to live and a place to work. She started off with a set budget and her car. She was also only allowed to find jobs that anyone could get; a job requiring no experience. The significance of Ehrenreich’s experiment
…show more content…
During her time working, she also experienced physical health problems. Ehrenreich even started to notice the fact that she and her coworkers were being paid below minimum wage. Her experiment was deemed to be successful to some, but unsuccessful to others. Living in poverty is laborious and challenging. It is the foremost reason that leads to severe stress, physical and mental health devastation, and the pay is highly unjust.
The difference between living in poverty and not living in poverty is just the the difference between living in the struggle and living a life without debt. The results of socioeconomic status is often measured as a combination of education, income, and occupation, which affects society as a whole due to the inequities of wealth distribution. The economy is divided into social classes, with the bottom classes being the most populated. All the wealth is distributed equally, but due to there being more bottom class individuals and less top class individuals, the bottom class stays in poverty (“Work, Stress, and Health & Socioeconomic Status,” 2016). Studies have been proven to show in Japan that …show more content…
It has been proven that high demands and low decision controls can lead to heart disease. Working a hard job that would put strain on one’s body leads to higher blood pressures. With the high amount of demand at work, it could lead to sleep deprivation and fatigue, which has been proven to lead to work related accidents. Many workers and employees who have been shown to be stressed out due to work, become smokers, which only affects their life in a terrible way more than it needs to be (“Work, Stress, and Health & Socioeconomic Status,” 2016). Compared to employees and workers who are not working in poverty, they might also be experiencing the same amount of stress as those who are working in poverty. The only difference would be the higher pay they are receiving, hence making the health damage and stress “worth it.” The majority of people who are working in poverty do not have a choice, but they are only putting on the amount of health damage and stress on themselves to make a living. During Ehrenreich’s time working as maid, she started to develop a rash and epidermal breakdown. She stated, “I manage to sleep for only an hour and a half at a time before the torment resumes” (Ehrenreich, 51). Ehrenreich’s boss, Ted, have shown to not care much for his employees, as he only diagnosed that her rash was probably coming from the use of latex gloves. Even though he gave her a different pair of gloves to use, he did not let
During her time working, she also experienced physical health problems. Ehrenreich even started to notice the fact that she and her coworkers were being paid below minimum wage. Her experiment was deemed to be successful to some, but unsuccessful to others. Living in poverty is laborious and challenging. It is the foremost reason that leads to severe stress, physical and mental health devastation, and the pay is highly unjust.
The difference between living in poverty and not living in poverty is just the the difference between living in the struggle and living a life without debt. The results of socioeconomic status is often measured as a combination of education, income, and occupation, which affects society as a whole due to the inequities of wealth distribution. The economy is divided into social classes, with the bottom classes being the most populated. All the wealth is distributed equally, but due to there being more bottom class individuals and less top class individuals, the bottom class stays in poverty (“Work, Stress, and Health & Socioeconomic Status,” 2016). Studies have been proven to show in Japan that …show more content…
It has been proven that high demands and low decision controls can lead to heart disease. Working a hard job that would put strain on one’s body leads to higher blood pressures. With the high amount of demand at work, it could lead to sleep deprivation and fatigue, which has been proven to lead to work related accidents. Many workers and employees who have been shown to be stressed out due to work, become smokers, which only affects their life in a terrible way more than it needs to be (“Work, Stress, and Health & Socioeconomic Status,” 2016). Compared to employees and workers who are not working in poverty, they might also be experiencing the same amount of stress as those who are working in poverty. The only difference would be the higher pay they are receiving, hence making the health damage and stress “worth it.” The majority of people who are working in poverty do not have a choice, but they are only putting on the amount of health damage and stress on themselves to make a living. During Ehrenreich’s time working as maid, she started to develop a rash and epidermal breakdown. She stated, “I manage to sleep for only an hour and a half at a time before the torment resumes” (Ehrenreich, 51). Ehrenreich’s boss, Ted, have shown to not care much for his employees, as he only diagnosed that her rash was probably coming from the use of latex gloves. Even though he gave her a different pair of gloves to use, he did not let