September 6, 2001
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
Nickel and
Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
by Barbara Ehrenreich
In college, I worked as a bookseller at a national bookstore chain. The store was in a mall and I arrived each morning by public bus, meaning that I was effectively trapped in that mecca of consumerism until it was time to leave. It also meant that I usually ate lunch in the food court. (In my dorm room there
was no way to cook or refrigerate anything; I had to purchase food each day or get it for free at the dining hall.)
I noticed that lunch at work — around $6.00 — usually cost as much as I was paid for an hour. It seemed like such a waste, working a whole hour just to have the lunch I wouldn't have needed to pay for if I wasn't at work! Something else seemed a little unfair — I had exactly one half-hour (clocked) to run to the back room of the store, go to the bathroom, grab my purse, sprint to the food court, stand on line, order, wait for food, eat, then run back to the store. It was barely enough time as it was, not to mention days that I needed to buy stamps or do something else at lunchtime.
However, my frustration with working uphill to save time and money was nothing compared to the experiences that millions of minimum-wage (and just-above-minimum wage) workers face in their lives. Barbara Ehrenreich makes a valiant attempt at a simulation in her book, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, but even her experiment doesn't take into account factors like relatives who borrow money, existing credit card debts, and all-important child care expenses. Child care can cost between $500.00 and $1500.00 a month — an impossibility for many families. Is it any wonder that some parents use a locked
car as day care?
Take a look at Nickel and Dimed. You won't come away with any enlightening insights into the mind of a Wal-Mart greeter, but maybe you'll think twice about stiffing your waitress on the tip.