I enjoyed this book. People in America tend to lump all poor people into the "Get a job and get off welfare" idea. Not true. Barbara Ehrenreich actually goes under cover to investigate to find out if she could actually survive on minimum wage. The big reveals here are that while people may work, at minimum wage - housing is not always available so many people though employed live in their vehicles because they cannot afford housing. Most subside on a diet of potato chips or some such junk food obtained from a convenience store at an exorbitant fee because they cannot afford groceries. The scathing reveal in these pages is a must read for everyone from middle school on up. People need to be schooled in what they are facing, what they are up against and given the knowledge to discern whether or not they will be able to make it on their own. This book is a wake up call for those about to go into minimum wage jobs and the employers expecting them to survive on such low wages. It discusses the struggles deciding whether to eat, or shelter, transportation, and how society looks down on service workers. Excellent book A must read. We all surely need to tip folks way better than we do. A good view into the stories behind the people that they don't as a rule tell you.
- Shirley J.
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