A Living Wage

In class last week I mentioned Barbara Ehrenreich's 2001 book Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America because I think it nicely illustrates how lax labour laws in the United States are allowing large corporations to squeeze out extra profit by underpaying their workers at home, not just those working in sub-contracted factories in the third world. Ehrenreich is an upper-middle class journalist who spent 3 months posing as a middle-aged, uneducated homemaker entering the work force for the first time. She traveled to three American cities to see if she could feed, clothe and shelter herself while working full-time and earning approximately minimum wage. She worked as a waitress, a maid and a Wal-Mart "associate". Her findings significantly challenge the central assumption of American welfare reform - the belief that a job, any job, is the ticket out of poverty. Her writing is witty, compassionate and compelling. I highly recommend you borrow this book from your local, non-profit lending library.