4.5 stars

Overall, I really liked this book and think that it could enlighten many middle- and upper-class individuals. Many people think that those in poverty simply need to "get a job" and while that may be true on the surface some of the time, the issues of poverty go much deeper. Ehrenreich explores what it's like for those living on minimum wage - people who are not too lazy or too good to work, yet who still are barely surviving.

"I grew up hearing over and over, to the point of tedium, that 'hard work' was the secret of success: 'Work hard and you'll get ahead' or 'It's hard work that got us where we are.' No one ever said that you could work hard - harder even than you ever thought possible - and still find yourself sinking ever deeper into poverty and debt." (p. 220)

"When someone works for less pay than she can live on - when for example, she goes hungry so that you can eat more cheaply and conveniently - then she has made a great sacrifice for you, she has made you a gift of some part of her abilities, her health, and her life. The 'working poor,' as they are approvingly termed, are in fact the major philanthropists of our society. They neglect their own children so that the children of others will be cared for; they live in substandard housing so that other homes will be shiny and perfect.... To be a member of the working poor is to be an anonymous donor, a nameless benefactor, to everyone else." (p. 221)

Granted, the book has its problems:

Ehrenreich isn't actually poor - she's an upper-class PhD, in fact, and so to write this book, she goes "undercover" working as a waitress, maid, Walmart sales clerk, etc. She makes a lot of decisions that many true poor people wouldn't make (particularly when it comes to spending her money), but of course, somewhere there probably is a poor person as dumb as she is when it comes to not understanding that Goodwill is going to be the best place for a cheap belt required for your work uniform.

She is an atheist, and makes some rather negative comments about Christians, lumping all Christians into one category of hypocrites.

She's very pro-marijuana and spends a bit too much time lamenting drug tests in the workplace.

There's also a fair amount of language in the book. Language when quoting someone else I can understand, but I don't think profanity is the best way to prove you're a professional.

But overall, this is one of those books where you take the good and roll your eyes at the bad while you move on. I would definitely recommend it! ( )

For a book focused on nickel and dimes, there is very little budgetary information. I was hoping for some number by number breakdown but it was surface level and shallow. Instead focuses mainly on the author's judgments of the working class. I do enjoy reading about the human experience but it ended up sounding like a bunch of privileged rants from someone with little perspective. Also, this book is noticeably outdated with how remarkably better the economy was back in the 90s compared to today despite the author's attempt to make it sound terrible. ( )

A tremendous book that uncovers the day-to-day challenges faced by those who earn a barely livable wage. These are people who don't qualify
for a lot of aid programs or government assistance or subsidies. At the same time, the business (that is the large/chain companies) keep gaining
revenue at the expense of these workers.

I have a fear that my children, regardless of their level of expertise and skill, will be at this level, at least for a considerable amount of time, due to
the on-going (slow-progressing) economic "recovery. The papers and media pundits may all tout economic recovery, but it seems that, more
and more that recovery, those earnings are not being brought down to to larger core population of employees.

A must read, and (unfortunately relevant) book. ( )

The most positive thing I have to say was that this was an easy read, which was vaguely enlightening on what it's like to work minimum wage. And it's well annotated with multiple scholarly citations.

On the other hand, I'm a resident. It's like the trump card in all pity poker games forever. Which makes pity poker no fun at all. Oh, normal people whine about not getting paid time and a half to work 11 hours in a row? I've worked 34 hours in a row for less than $10.00/hour. You stand for four hours in a row? I've stood for 30 hours in a row, in an operating room. You had to clean up peoples pubic hairs? I've had to put my hands in people's orifices, including orifices that someone just created with a scalpel and hold their spleen in the air so that the stool that accidentally just entered the peritoneal cavity doesn't get on it. And I've had almost every bodily fluid imaginable on my hands, feet, and occasionally face. When I was a med student, I paid for such privileges. Cry me a freaking river. I just can't be bothered to feel sorry for someone working 60 hours/week or 7 days/week with some of them being part time.

Also, while I agree that the amount of money spent on the criminalization and prosecution of marijuana (in this case, evidenced by drug testing) is nothing short of inane, you lose your moral high-ground if you actually were using marijuana just proximal to the time you knew you were applying for a job. Like seriously, ideals are all well and good if you serve them with a side of common sense.

And there's just no answers offered here, either. You think the minimum wage isn't a living wage? You do realize that if you pay everyone more, prices will just go up, right? And as much as I'd love to live in the socialist wonderland that she proposes in her afterword - with government-subsidised school and healthcare and housing, I'd rather read a book about how she's trying to get there or stop-gap measures we can employ, rather than "I worked at Walmart and it was awful, but the people who worked there full time didn't seem to mind so much." ( )

Ehrenreich actually worked at the poorly paid jobs she writes about, the hardest kind of research. ( )