Journal Entry 1 by Rendiru from Carmichael, California USA on Tuesday, December 24, 2002

I found this book both interesting and entertaining. The author is a journalist who sets out to discover how well (or not) she can get by while working the type of low-wage job that is available to people just starting out on the job market without formal education (such as the people in work programs whose welfare benefits were ending). While this book didn't try to tell the tale of all lower-paid workers, it did a good job illustrating some of the difficulties that keep many folks from being able to do more than live from paycheck to paycheck. Even having struggled to make ends meet myself, I found this book to be an eye-opener. Definitely recommended reading! 

Journal Entry 2 by JDT from Pleasanton, California USA on Friday, January 03, 2003

Just received this book from Rendiru and very much looking forward to reading it, then sending it on in our book ring. 

Journal Entry 3 by JDT from Pleasanton, California USA on Tuesday, January 21, 2003

Sending this book on to AmberLee17 this week.
Very glad to have the chance to read this ey-opening book.
Even though I'm aware of the difficulties of those working near minimum wage - for survival, for advancement - and think I have a respect for all workers, I found myself more mindful of and friendly towards the waitresses, retail clerks encountered this week.
The troubling question remains - what to do?
 

Journal Entry 4 by AmberLee17 from Stockton, California USA on Tuesday, January 28, 2003

Just got it in the mail today. It's next for me to read. So glad I joined this book-ring. 

Journal Entry 5 by AmberLee17 from Stockton, California USA on Tuesday, March 25, 2003

Oh, blush! I fussed so over what I was going to write here, and then forgot to post it. Losing it, arrrghhh!

Ahem. On the positive side -- I'm very glad I read this book, and learned from it. On the negative side -- the author inserted herself and her beliefs into this so much that it detracted from the book IMHO. (Okay, not humble, but an opinion nonetheless.) The last chapter uses much less emotion-laden terms and for me it was the most compelling portion of the book because of that.

Examples:
1) One of the motels she lived in during her month as a maid was either built in a ring or U shaped configuration -- she describes the layout as toilet-bowl shaped. Okay, it keeps the theme of the month in the forefront of the reader's mind, but it sacrifices clarity for emotional impact. This devise is over used.
2) Her rage at her team member’s injury at the Buddhist’s home -- I'm not sure what the homeowner’s religion had to do with the injury; twisting an ankle while walking across a lawn could happen anywhere. Was it the coincidence of the owner of the cleaning service apparent indifference vice the homeowner's presumed philosophy? The teammate with the injured ankle did not want to lose a day’s work. The author over-rode her objections. This episode seemed contrived to me, particularly based on the author’s self-reported lack of follow-through in similar situations.
3) The author stated that she was either agnostic or an atheist, I forget which – why attend a Christian revival and discuss how it demeans those in attendance, when/if she is trying to objectively make a case for the working class?
4) Her repetition of having a) earned a PhD and b) been born into a lower/working class family but attaining a middle-class background was overdone to the detriment of her arguments. If she is trying to get the reader to confront his or her presumed class-consciousness/ worthiness issues, sarcasm is too strong a tool.
 

Journal Entry 6 by AmberLee17 from Stockton, California USA on Wednesday, March 26, 2003

Oops, now re-reading my journal entry it sounds too harsh. It's quite thought-provoking, interesting, and different from what I usually read. I do wish that the author's personality and views weren't quite so obtrusive though... 

Journal Entry 7 by jennyscott from Asheville, North Carolina USA on Monday, June 16, 2003

Just got this for a bookring and will get to it as soon as I can. I must appologize but it may be a couple of weeks on this one. Seems all the rings I am in sent books at once.
6-27-03---Just finished this and hate to say it but I feel I am one of the people this book was talking about. Although I have a college degree and a profession as does my husband we are both in the low end of professionalism. I am a nurse (RN) and my husband is a teacher. Both of these professions require college education (I also have a 4 year degree in another field that would have led me to teaching) but neither pay as though they do because of the need for the services. I have found that my upper crust family will pay more to get their hair done (once, and I have seen some bad hair) than they are willing to pay for an hour of adequate nursing care for their family no matter what that entails and my husband makes less per hour per child he teaches than my daughter gets paid for babysitting on a Friday night. The one thing about my position is that my hours would allow me to work more or get another job were I so inclined but as everyone at my job knows if you put in more than a couple of hours overtime and get into time and a half pay taxes threaten to take out more than you earned because you slip yourself into a higher bracket then it becomes pointless unless you want to work even more overtime. The other day I heard one doctor talking to another walking down the hall complaining that another physician was making almost twice as much as him and he wondered how....I wanted to stop him and say yeah and you make 5 times what I make and I really wonder about that.

I will admit we are not going hungry and I have a car, and a roof, and I will keep paying my bills but I can't save any money and don't know exactly how my children will get their college education because I am still paying for my husbands.

For all my complaints the nursing assistants that I work with make just over minimum wage have good benefits, but do work second and third jobs to keep themselves afloat, but let me add that most of them drive a much nicer newer car than I do and always have their nails done professionally. 

Journal Entry 8 by Ardy from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania USA on Thursday, July 03, 2003

received in the mail today- thank you! 

Journal Entry 9 by Ardy from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania USA on Tuesday, July 15, 2003

I worked in various nursing homes and hospitals for 18 years as a housekeeper or a nurses aid. The highest wage I earned during all this time was $7.42 per hour. It was interesting to me to read this book to see how an outsider would see that experience. I have never worked at Wal-Mart. I was blessed with good healthcare benefits while I worked at the hospitals (the nursing homes were a whole other story). But other than that,I can say that the author got it right when she talks about the experience of not making enough $$$ to make ends meet. I raised my daughter entirely on my earnings. No child support $$$. And after her first 18 mos, no help from the government either. We almost always had a room-mate or two. We lived with my mother for 2 years and often shared lodgings with other single moms/ kids. I well remember the mental gymnastics we went through- "Don't compare yourself to other American's, think of those families trying to raise children on the garbage heap in Mexico City. Be grateful for the lights that turn on at the flip of a switch and the water that comes out of the tap hot."
For me, the most meaningful part of the book was the descriptions of her experiences. I think the last chapter where she trys to tell the reader what to think about it was wasted ink. I agree with Amberlee17 that she got sidetracked when she went off into a description of the tent revival. It was clear that she was witnessing a form of religous expression that she didn't understand- but she should have stuck with it until she understood what she was seeing, or left it out of the book.
Overall I think this book was worthwhile to read. I was introduced to it as part of the round robin bookring. I plan to hold on to it until next Monday to give my husband a chance to read it. Then it will be off to phillycarol. Thanks for sharing this book! 

Journal Entry 10 by phillycarol from King Of Prussia, Pennsylvania USA on Thursday, July 31, 2003

Received in the mail yesterday. Thanks! I've been looking forward to reading this one for awhile. :) 

Journal Entry 11 by phillycarol from King Of Prussia, Pennsylvania USA on Wednesday, August 20, 2003

Overall I'd say that this was a very thought-provoking book. I read it while I was traveling for work so it really made me think about people when I was in the hotel and at the restaurants. I can't even imagine how people live on minimum wage or less but there are a lot of people out there that do it every day. I guess I need to echo JDT's sentiments - what to do??? 

Journal Entry 12 by phillycarol from King Of Prussia, Pennsylvania USA on Tuesday, September 16, 2003

Mailed to brideofmessiah today. Sorry for the delay! 

Journal Entry 13 by brideofmessiah from Hillsboro, Missouri USA on Saturday, September 20, 2003

Looking forward to reading this - especially after reading all the entries so far! 

Journal Entry 14 by shellyann from Montrose, Colorado USA on Monday, January 05, 2004

came in today's mail-I found a copy at the USB. I will be mailing it to djf1968 this week.
 

Journal Entry 15 by djf1968 from San Ramon, California USA on Thursday, January 08, 2004

Nickel & Dimed is making it's last stop on PhillyCarol's book ring before returning home to Rendiru. What fun this has been... looking forward to reading this last installment of the ring. 

Journal Entry 16 by djf1968 from San Ramon, California USA on Thursday, February 12, 2004

Just a note to let those of you before me know I started reading this one yesterday. Looks like a really fast read -- and an enlightening one. Reading it on the heels of Fast Food Nation ought to be quite interesting. 

Journal Entry 17 by djf1968 from San Ramon, California USA on Saturday, February 14, 2004

I should finish this up tonight. The Walmart chapter was especially interesting to me as I spent my first 3 post-college years working at Target - the nightly zone is a familiar concept to me. I'm surprised Walmart didn't "cross-train" Ms. Ehrenreich as a cashier -- so they could further disrupt her routine by understaffing at hte registers and depending on the sales floor staff to make up the difference during high traffic periods. This was a regular occurance during my days at Target.

I worked at Target in the early 90's... the very start of the customers-as-guests phenomenon. I remember telling a coworker at the time that no guest in my home would ransack my closet, throw my clothing on the ground and stomp all over it...

That said, I do value the time I spent working in retail -- it taught me a respect for employees in all of the various service industries.

As for how we (as a nation) solve the bigger problem of a growing 'working class' who can't make a living wage, I wish I had the answer... 

Journal Entry 18 by Rendiru from Carmichael, California USA on Monday, March 15, 2004

This book has returned home. It looks great! Thanks, everyone, for participating! :-)