Historical Context

Prosperity in America

Nickel and Dimed was penned during a period of significant economic prosperity in the United States, most notably illustrated by the Internet boom that transformed young entrepreneurs into instant millionaires. Whether someone is a tech expert, a rap artist, a stockbroker, or a business owner, the concept of personal drive leading to immense success has become more apparent than ever in recent decades. Technological advancements have introduced a broader array of conveniences and productivity tools for those who can afford them, while shifts in societal attitudes have elevated individual independence above communal needs.

The idea of ascending from lower-class beginnings to upper-class achievement was first popularized in Horatio Alger's works. His numerous books, with titles like Struggling Upward and Risen from the Ranks, published from 1867 to the early twentieth century, all revolve around the same premise: a poor young man, through integrity and perseverance, can amass wealth. Although Alger himself never achieved wealth, his books were widely present in many Victorian households. He is also recognized as an early influence on numerous entrepreneurs in the early twentieth century. Moreover, the central theme of his books—that hard work can lead anyone to success in America—has been embraced as a distinctly American ideal.

Welfare Reform Legislation

A national welfare program was established as part of President Franklin Roosevelt's Social Security Act in 1935, providing support to the American poor in the following decades. Ehrenreich was partly motivated to write Nickel and Dimed due to changes in welfare laws enacted in 1996. The Personal Responsibility Act more than halved the number of welfare recipients: in 1996, there were 12.2 million recipients, while by 2001, when the book was published, that number had dropped to 5.3 million. This might suggest a success in fostering self-sufficiency among lower-class workers, but critics have a different interpretation. As Sharon Hays notes in Flat Broke with Children: Women in the Age of Welfare Reform

While 84 percent of extremely poor (welfare-eligible) families received benefits before the Personal Responsibility Act was enacted, by 2001, fewer than half did. This implies that millions of parents and children in America were subsisting on incomes below half the poverty level without receiving the benefits for which they were technically eligible.

Moreover, the number of working poor—individuals employed full-time yet living at or near the poverty line—has increased in recent years, as welfare support is no longer as accessible to aid them.

Corporate Dominance

Following an 1886 Supreme Court ruling that extended many rights previously exclusive to individual citizens to corporations, businesses have thrived in the United States. This concept of corporate personhood offers numerous business benefits, yet critics have long contended that it endows corporations with excessive rights. As recent corporate scandals demonstrate, this can result in significant profits without anyone being held personally accountable for the means by which those profits are achieved.

As corporations came to dominate American industry, smaller businesses struggled to compete in a fiercely competitive market. As more small businesses disappeared, corporations stepped in to meet consumer needs. Wal-Mart, the largest retailer and employer in the United States, exemplifies this corporate dominance, a trend often dubbed the Wal-Marting of America. Proponents of large corporations like Wal-Mart argue that they offer a reliable and affordable consumer experience that small businesses simply cannot match. However, critics assert that in their pursuit of profit, corporations often neglect employee welfare to boost earnings. Through their executive decision-makers, these corporations actively oppose federal efforts to raise the minimum wage and explicitly discourage the formation of employee labor unions.

Some communities, including several in California and Illinois,...

(This entire section contains 635 words.)

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have successfully mobilized to prevent Wal-Mart from opening stores in their areas. Additionally, Wal-Mart has faced numerous accusations of unfair business practices, including being the defendant in the largest class action lawsuit in U.S. history over gender discrimination against its female employees.

Analysis

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Throughout the tumultuous final decade of the twentieth century, the American economy experienced significant fluctuations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared to new heights, yet the dot-com bubble eventually burst, leading to economic uncertainty. The summer of 2001 witnessed the distribution of rebate checks to taxpayers due to a government surplus, but soon afterwards, Congress debated stimulus measures to invigorate a faltering economy.

The Overlooked Workforce

Amidst these economic ebbs and flows, a segment of the population remained largely unaffected: the "working poor." These individuals, who labor tirelessly for minimum wage or slightly above, do not have the luxury of savings or investments to cushion economic shifts. When welfare reform was proposed to transition able-bodied welfare recipients into the workforce, social critic Barbara Ehrenreich and a magazine editor questioned the types of jobs available and whether these would offer a sustainable living. This inquiry led to a series of articles in Harper’s magazine and eventually to the publication of Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America.

Barbara Ehrenreich's Experiment

In her exploration for the book, Ehrenreich undertook a straightforward experiment: she relocated to different towns to find employment without leveraging her academic qualifications, aiming to subsist solely on her earnings. Over the course of three cities from 1998 to 2000, she worked various low-wage jobs while documenting her experiences. Her aim was not to portray herself as a hero enduring poverty but to illuminate the everyday struggles of low-wage earners, focusing on the harsh realities of their financial and time constraints.

A Historical Context

There is a rich tradition of literary figures delving into the lives of lower-class workers. Jack London's People of the Abyss (1903) and George Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London (1933) are notable examples. Ehrenreich, who has previously addressed themes of class and economy, sought to shed light on the "invisible" lower classes of America. Her past works, such as The Worst Years of Our Lives: Irreverent Notes from a Decade of Greed (1990) and Fear of Falling: The Inner Life of the Middle Class (1989), examined the hollow aspirations of the middle class, positioning the working poor in stark contrast.

Key West, Florida

Ehrenreich's first experiment took her to Key West, Florida. She anticipated earning around seven dollars an hour, expecting to spend five to six hundred dollars on rent. However, the reality was grim: the cheapest housing available was a trailer costing $675 monthly, sans air conditioning or basic amenities. She eventually settled on a cabin thirty miles away, embarking on a daily commute that foreshadowed ongoing housing challenges.

Challenging Work and Financial Strain

In Key West, Ehrenreich worked as a waitress at a family-style restaurant, earning $2.43 an hour plus tips. Her humorous yet self-deprecating approach highlighted the demanding nature of the job. Despite adding a second waitressing job, she quickly realized that her earnings were insufficient for rent. After enduring a particularly chaotic service, she left her job, disheartened and financially strained.

Portland, Maine

Next, in Portland, Maine, Ehrenreich faced a housing market dominated by affluent seasonal residents, leaving limited affordable options. Despite securing a modest apartment eventually, she exhausted much of her savings on temporary lodging. Here, she juggled two jobs: working for Merry Maids, a cleaning service, and serving as a dietary aide at a nursing home. Despite working every day, she barely managed to cover her living expenses, highlighting the precarious balance her colleagues faced between earning a living and affording basic necessities.

Minneapolis, Minnesota

In Minneapolis, Ehrenreich found employment in the women's clothing section of Wal-Mart. The job involved organizing clothing but came with stringent rules and low pay. The difficulties in securing affordable housing compounded her frustrations, driving her to imagine unionizing efforts against the stifling corporate atmosphere.

Reflections and Criticisms

While Ehrenreich's keen observations brought the struggles of the working poor to light, her narrative occasionally lapsed into self-righteousness. Her critiques of nursing home residents and retail customers sometimes carried a tone of superiority. Yet, she passionately advocated for recognizing the contributions of low-income workers, who often sacrifice much to support broader societal comforts.

The Unavoidable Irony

In her concluding thoughts, Ehrenreich acknowledged the inherent irony: the very group she aimed to empower through her writing was unlikely to afford her book. Nonetheless, she hoped that her readers would recognize the need for systemic changes such as a higher minimum wage and improved affordable housing. Even small shifts in attitude and respect towards service workers could mark the beginning of a broader change.

Further Reading

The American Prospect 12 (July 30, 2001): 43.
Barron’s 81 (August 6, 2001): 37.
Book 16 (May, 2001): 27.
Booklist 97 (April 1, 2001): 1433.
Business Week, May 28, 2001, p. 24.
The Christian Century 118 (August 1, 2001): 30.
The Humanist 61 (September, 2001): 40.
Library Journal 126 (May 1, 2001): 115.
The Nation 272 (June 11, 2001): 52.
Publishers Weekly 248 (May 14, 2001): 67.

Style and Technique

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Episodic Chapters

The layout of Nickel and Dimed is simple: each of Ehrenreich's month-long trials occupies a single chapter, making each chapter a distinct episode in her broader exploration. This format underscores the notion that each month-long experience represents a unique world, separate from the reality of Ehrenreich's everyday life. The book's three primary chapters are framed by two significantly shorter ones. The "Introduction: Getting Ready" discusses the inception of the experiment and the guidelines Ehrenreich sets for her project. In the concluding chapter, "Analysis," she reflects on her learnings from the experiments and suggests improvements to make life on minimum wage more sustainable and humane. These framing chapters occur within Ehrenreich's real life as a writer and social critic. The "Introduction" features a meeting with an editor, while "Analysis" briefly touches on her return to her previous life and the disorientation from leaving her experimental lives behind. This structure mirrors a quest: it starts with a goal (finding if minimum-wage earnings can support a minimum-wage lifestyle), follows Ehrenreich as she ventures into three alternate worlds to pursue this goal, and concludes with a return to her usual life as the goal is achieved.

Investigative Journalism

Investigative journalists uncover injustices through thorough research and suggest solutions to address them. In Nickel and Dimed, Ehrenreich focuses on the struggles of the working poor. While investigative journalism doesn't always require the journalist to fully immerse themselves in the subject matter, Ehrenreich's first-person experiences lend authenticity to the book. She doesn't prioritize journalistic neutrality, partly because she is immersed in her situation and also because her strong political convictions are central to her role as a social critic and essayist.

Scientific Experiment

Ehrenreich frequently presents her investigation as a scientific experiment, with herself occasionally as the test subject. This approach highlights her background in biology and creates a necessary separation between her and her experiences. This distance helps her write more objectively, while also quietly acknowledging that her experiences are artificially constructed. She admits she cannot fully replicate the realities of minimum-wage life, partly because she refuses to forgo basic necessities like food, shelter, or transportation, even for the sake of the experiment. Since it is an experiment, her time as a low-wage worker is not a lifestyle, like it is for many she meets, but a research trial with a clear endpoint.

Throughout the book, she meticulously classifies elements of her life in the lower class and her minimum-wage job. This is often done humorously but also serves to highlight the complexities of her circumstances and job duties. For instance, Ehrenreich describes how being a waitress involves more than just serving food; it encompasses a variety of tasks essential for maintaining a restaurant's order and readiness. If these tasks aren't completed promptly, serving meals becomes significantly more challenging during the busy dinner hours. Through this, she illustrates that life for the working poor isn't random chaos but a series of identifiable factors that interact, often with unexpected outcomes.

Memoir

Ehrenreich acts not only as the narrator but also as the protagonist or main character of the book. Consequently, Nickel and Dimed functions as a sort of memoir, detailing a specific period in her life. During this time, Ehrenreich spends three months living the life of an alternate Barbara—the one who might have existed if her family hadn't moved from the lower class to the middle class. This version of Barbara, eventually known as Barb thanks to her Wal-Mart name tag, develops new concerns and behaviors distinct from the "real" Barbara she left behind. While it is the "real" Barbara who narrates the story, we gain numerous insights into Barb's thoughts and feelings, often presented in an embarrassing and self-revealing way.

Humor as Criticism

A skilled essayist, Ehrenreich effectively communicates her most compelling points about the struggles and injustices of minimum-wage work by using humor. She frequently employs self-deprecation to illustrate her challenges in learning new jobs and to challenge her middle-class assumptions. As she seeks to understand the broader implications of her experiences, she often uses hyperbole and reductio ad absurdum (reducing an argument to absurdity) to highlight workplace injustices. For instance, she mocks personality tests to demonstrate how they are designed to provoke conflicting responses that best suit a compliant workforce (e.g., showing enough initiative to not be lazy but not so much that it becomes threatening). By emphasizing the humorous elements of her experiments, Ehrenreich offers relief from the harsh realities of lower-class life, making her depiction of these truths more accessible to a broad audience.

Adaptations

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The theatrical adaptation of Nickel and Dimed was crafted by playwright Joan Holden in 2002. The play was first staged in Seattle under the direction of Bartlett Sher, with Anna Deavere Smith serving as the artistic adviser. Since its debut, it has been performed by numerous theater companies throughout the country.

Bibliography

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Sources

Early, Steve, "Prole Like Me," in the Nation, Vol. 272, No. 23, June 11, 2001, p. 52.

Ehrenreich, Barbara, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, Metropolitan Books, 2001.

Hays, Sharon, Flat Broke with Children: Women in the Age of Welfare Reform, Oxford University Press, 2003, p. 8.

Klein, Julia, Review of Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, in the American Prospect, Vol. 12, No. 13, July 30, 2001, p. 43.

Ogyn, Kya, "Can You Live On It?," in Off Our Backs, Vol. 35, Jan-Feb 2005, pp. 44-46.

Scott, Joni, Review of Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, in the Humanist, Vol. 61, No. 5, September-October 2001, p. 40.

Sherman, Scott, "Class Warrior: Barbara Ehrenreich's Singular Crusade," in Columbia Journalism Review, Vol. 42, No. 4, November-December 2003, pp. 34-42.

Yager, Jane, "Poverty: A National Emergency," in Dollars & Sense, January-February 2002, pp. 42-44.