Low Wage Jobs and Barbara Ehrenreichs Nickel and Dimed Essay -- Pover

McDonalds, Wal-Mart, and cleaning services all of these have one thing in common-they are all minimum pay jobs. Their pay is pathetic and work load high, and because of this living as a low wage player is never easy. One must handle many hardships in roam to project a few meager dollars, with which most cannot sufficiently live. The living wage in the United States is between $9-10.18 sounds great to a college student, but in the real military man this kind of money just isnt going to cut it, (Ramisch). Minimum wage standards for American workers rest at $5.15 per hour, and in such slighted fields, very few make much more than that, perhaps $6-7, but even that is a rarity. The material life of a low-income employee includes bare necessities and next to zero luxuries. These workers often live paycheck to paycheck and never have a moment to fully enjoy life because they are constantly working, supporting themselves, and/or their families. Barbara Ehrenreich tries capturing this unacknowledged side of low wageworkers in her book, Nickel and Dimed, when she goes undercover as a fellow employee. Her real life accounts are noted as accurate and shocking as she brings the roughness of poverty to the forefront for many Americans (Ehrenreich 3). She portrays the lives of millions in one simple novel, and it is through this piece of literature that so many relate and feel less estrange in the overall scheme of things. This relation is especially true for three young women, Brandyll Powers, Whitney James, and Charity Pouge all of whom are forced to live on their scrimpy incomes in todays society. These interviewees discuss their daily struggles of living on minimum wage and how they are active representations of Ehrenreich?s novel. ... ...idden truths and in essence, portrays a minimum wage worker quite well. But for those that must live this life style on a daily basis, simply writing about their injustices will never be sufficient. Government act ion is the next needed step to help modify minimum wage, and the answer is clear raise the accepted standard. However, with all the other issues in this country, when will the government finally realize it is time to take action? Works CitedEhrenreich, Barbara. Nickel and Dimed. New York Henry Holt, 2001.James, Whitney. Telephone Interview. 16 March 2006. Pouge, Charity. personal Interview. 14 March 2006. Powers, Brandyll. Personal Interview. 14 March 2006. Ramisch, Claudia. ?Living on Minimum Wage.? ENGL 1302H Class Presentation, Kentucky Wesleyan College, Owensboro, KY. 13 March 2006.