In the early fall of 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, a welfare reform law that “reshaped welfare programs, reduced federal spending on welfare, and required many to work in exchange for receiving social benefits.” Because almost all of America’s people were now employed, many people consider this time a period of economic growth and an abundance of wealth. In the investigational manuscript, Nickel and Dimed, author, Barbra Ehrenreich attempts to falsify the notion of universal prosperity in America at the turn of the 21st century, being that most low-wage workers were excluded of the financial benefits of the economic boom. In doing so, Ehrenreich conducts an undercover
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In reflection of her research, Ehrenreich notes, “I didn’t do half-bad at the work itself, but my track record in the survival department is far less admirable.” Over the past few decades, the ability of the average American to afford a living wage has been deteriorating, with many citizens being forced to hold two or even three jobs at a time just to make ends meet. America’s poverty rate has remained low, Barbra contends, because the poverty level is being calculated based upon the cost of food. As Ehrenreich identifies, the reality of the issue is that many of the nation’s most needy citizens remain poor no matter how hard they work, no matter how many jobs they hold because of wage injustice, like that of minimum wage. The “economic boom” resulting from the welfare reform act of 1996 was a myth. Low wage workers still suffered. The success of the upper class was pressuring property leases upwards, leaving those on America’s bottom rings intervened between extremely low wages and housing that was quickly becoming unaffordable. Citizens, like Ehrenreich and her colleagues, are left defenseless; they can complain, but at the end of the day they need to keep their jobs that continuously nickel and dime them, so that they can lead a better life for their children and other family members. And whenever they are faced with pain, frustration or fatigue, Ehrenreich leaves the people with a powerful message to reflect upon: “A lot of what we experience as strength comes from knowing what to do with
In reflection of her research, Ehrenreich notes, “I didn’t do half-bad at the work itself, but my track record in the survival department is far less admirable.” Over the past few decades, the ability of the average American to afford a living wage has been deteriorating, with many citizens being forced to hold two or even three jobs at a time just to make ends meet. America’s poverty rate has remained low, Barbra contends, because the poverty level is being calculated based upon the cost of food. As Ehrenreich identifies, the reality of the issue is that many of the nation’s most needy citizens remain poor no matter how hard they work, no matter how many jobs they hold because of wage injustice, like that of minimum wage. The “economic boom” resulting from the welfare reform act of 1996 was a myth. Low wage workers still suffered. The success of the upper class was pressuring property leases upwards, leaving those on America’s bottom rings intervened between extremely low wages and housing that was quickly becoming unaffordable. Citizens, like Ehrenreich and her colleagues, are left defenseless; they can complain, but at the end of the day they need to keep their jobs that continuously nickel and dime them, so that they can lead a better life for their children and other family members. And whenever they are faced with pain, frustration or fatigue, Ehrenreich leaves the people with a powerful message to reflect upon: “A lot of what we experience as strength comes from knowing what to do with