This one was kind of like can’t buy it instead of not buying it. The Author spent time in three different cities working minimum wage jobs. She worked as a waitress, a house cleaner, at a Wal-Mart, a nursing home assistant. Could she survive on this pay? Do you really care?
Lately these types of books have become popular. Live as a ___________ (fill in the blank) for a year, write a book about it, watch the cash roll in. I got to say that while there is not much to get out of reading someone else’s trial - made trivial as they usually keep mentioning “if I had to do this for real” (this was the case as Barbara Ehenreich continuously mentioned it) I find it fascinating. So sue me. Get a look into how someone else lives by someone who is pretending to live that way. Well I guess it sounds pretty lame when I put it that way. Oh Well.
After a book like this I can almost believe that there is a subtle class system in the US. Also some people, even with hard work, can’t pull themselves out of the situation they find themselves in. Of course another way to look at this is, when you frequent a minimum wage paying restaurant business your inexpensive products may be costing the workers their health.
Sure it’s good to have morals and stand up for yourself. But Barbara gets a little bit preachy and maybe unrealistically bold during her jobs. I mean if all workers stood up for their rights like she did then maybe something would change, but the many companies actively put down the formation of unions? I recall hearing about how McDonalds shut down a store that was going to unionize, or was it a Wal-Mart? Barbara’s rants against her employers are a bit disingenuous when she tells us about how she tells off the Molly Maid boss, complaining about the way he treats everyone and says she’s quitting when she can go back to her real life. For the rest of the crew that was their real life. Thanks Barbara.
