Nickel and Dimed Book Review

I was in my first year sociology tutorial the other day and in a class of 40 students when asked the question.....who here has worked at McDonald's before, I was surprised to see that I was the ONLY student to raise my hand. Then the question shifted slightly and I was even more surprised to see that in a class of first year university students only HALF had even had a part time job before......now I was really confused.

I came across Nickel and Dimed in a $3 book blowout at the used book store. Until the point I read through the book I had always been a supporter of the low-wage workforce. I've worked in many different jobs throughout my life and I always thought it was remarkable how some people were getting by with so little, or so I thought. Many of us take for granted the education we are receiving right now, which ultimately (according to an article in the minnesota tribune) sets the wage earnings of high school and college graduates apart by nearly $1 million!

Yet, Ehrenreich's book seeks to discover what it feels like to be in the shoes of those working class people. Employees at Wal Mart, small time diners, home cleaning services, Ehrenreich disguises herself (she's got a Ph D, and is a reputed journalist) and uncovers the sad truth about the working conditions and sub-par living standards of these people. She meets men and women from all walks of life and exposes the myths about working class people, "they're too lazy" or "their jobs are far too easy in the first place", and intricately explores their perpetually debt ridden lifestyles that never even gives them the opportunity to move up in the world. Wal Mart's lack of unionization (preventing any sort of expected standard set by the employees rather than management), the mismanaged and underhanded tactics of small time business owners exploiting foreign workers, the list goes on and on.

While she only documents here experiences in the United States it's safe to say that a lot of what she says applies to Canada as well. While a look at the Stats Canada Income Bracket shows a relatively solid earning of approximately $30-35k for single earning men and women, and approx 55-75k for single to double earning family households, the effects of the current recession could have a profound impact on those numbers in the coming years.