Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America (review)

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America by Barbara Ehrenreich. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 2001, 221 pp., $23.00 hardcover.

Barbara Ehrenreich, as part of an assignment by Harper's Magazine, went underground to discover how so-called unskilled and semi-skilled workers "get along" in the United States on an hourly wage of $6 to $7. Ehrenreich was particularly interested in the fate of the four million women who were "about to be booted into the labor market [in 1998] by welfare reform" (1). She knew from the beginning that one needed about $8.89, that is almost $9.00, an hour "to afford a one-bedroom apartment" and "the odds against a typical welfare recipient's landing such a job. . . were about 97 to 1" (3).

Instead of playing the role of an ordinary worker at home, she went underground in Key West, Florida, as a waitress; in Portland, Maine, as a cleaning maid; and in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, as an associate at Wal-Mart. Unlike most workers, in each locale she allowed herself start-up capital of about $1300 and a car. Her hourly wage tended to range from $6 to $7 hourly. This is a monthly income of about $960, or about $11,520 per annum. Importantly, this amount does not include health insurance and vacations, benefits that most civilized societies consider part of their obligations to all citizens. This salary, together with the lack of benefits, poses problems about which most middle- and upper-class Americans never dream.

In each of her chosen locales, specific problems arose for both Ehrenreich and her mostly female co-workers. Obtaining food and housing posed the most persistent dilemma; but let me concentrate mainly on housing. Because of the gentrification of the U.S. housing market, especially apartments, it has become increasingly expensive. According to Ehrenreich, in urban areas, fewer and fewer housing options are available for less than $500 per month. Again, one need only compare rent ($500) against income ($950) to gain an immediate reality check. If rent is a serious problem, then the required deposit is often insurmountable. So, to cut expenses, Ehrenreich found that many workers live with other workers. But the problem remains serious because after rent, the average unskilled worker is left with only $1020 a month. If he or she were to buy health insurance, that expense alone would be in the range of $300 a month; so most do not buy this insurance, nor are they able to save for the so-called rainy day and retirement. Due to the lack of health insurance, they tend to "work through" minor illnesses and accidents so when they become ill, they become seriously ill; one three-day hospital stay ruins any hope of ever emerging from their debt load. Someone will, of course, argue that anyone can make it easily on $1020 a month. Using Ehrenreich's experiences here is another reality check; first, $1020 is $255 per week and, second, this amount must cover food, transportation, clothes, and incidentals. Even at $15 a day for meals, almost half of the funds would be spent for food. Add transportation costs, and the remaining amount disappears. Transportation is a serious problem for U.S. workers because the United States, unlike other industrialized countries, has a profoundly underdeveloped public transportation system and thus, most people must buy cars. It is impossible to own and maintain a car on a budget of $100 per week, leaving only $50 to cover clothes and incidentals, such as haircuts or lipstick.

In Nickel and Dimed, Ehrenreich paints the picture of millions of American workers who serve our tables, clean our houses, restock our stores, and take care of our parents. They are paid salaries with which no person can live in dignity, let alone with the hope of ever moving out of the low-class status in which they find themselves. She points...