|
 Author: Barbara Ehrenreich
I've wanted to read this book for a long time, ever since I read my recommendations on Amazon that this was a book frequently purchased by people who share my reading preferences (besides comics). Granted, I haven't really purchased a book from Amazon in ages, they seem to keep track of whatever I click on and look up when giving me recommendations. Kinda spooky, albeit helpful.
Summary: A highly educated, semi-affluent writer tries to live the life of a low-income working to explore the real truth about poverty.
This is the type of book that I usually try not to read. I have a soft spot for the suffering of the poor. I don't mean the self-described "poor" who can't afford a CD or a DVD, but have a computer and a broadband connection download what they "can't afford." The poor I'm refering to are the ones that the author interacted with and worked with during her undercover investigation. There's something about people who struggle with hunger, shelter, and health - the very basic elements of life - that tugs at me. It would be so much easier if I just kept myself ignorant of these problems, much like some more wealthy businesspeople or politicians, but alas I don't.
The author attempts to live the life of a poverty for three months as she compiles notes and data for this book. Maybe I had missed something, but I didn't realize until almost the end of the book that she did these three months individually, with several months of regular life inbetween. If she had done them in a row, probably leading a life much more similar to those she tried to mimick, it would have gained her even more credibility. However, from reading some other reviews, people have taken this as her being artificial. Not only does she not do them all at the same time, she sometimes doesn't even last more than a few weeks before giving up. But that says a lot right there. Despite the fact that most of educated/wealthy class considers themselves "superior" to the poor, thinking that they can do anything an uneducated and unskilled worker can, they in fact, can't. I certainly couldn't do it. So this superiority is nothing more than difference, and being educated and wealthy does not mean better in every regard.
Another point she hammers is the cost of living compared to minimum wage and welfare. While the current Republican is advocating a larger government...err...military trying to "help" the people other countries, why not point the finger back back domestically and "help" the people of this country instead? (Yes, I know the answer already, so no need to provide it for me). As the author experienced, minimum wage is NOT enough to get by with rent, food, and transportation to work. I find it surprising that she mentions employers are much more willing to give perks like free breakfast or coffee rather than raise wages, simply because it's easier to cut them out when needed. Yet again, it's the same thing with all those rebate gimmicks retailers use to "lower" the price of a product.
This is recommended reading for those who really want to know how it is to be poor, or at least how hard it is to even try to be one.
|
