After reading the book “Nickel and Dimed” by Barbara Ehrenreich, I realized that it is close to impossible to live on a consistent minimum wage job. For many people this was not a surprise, but it was for me. I have always been told that everyone in America can be living the “American dream” with whatever job we choose. I was programmed to think that we could have whatever job we wanted here in America, we could even start our own business. Unfortunately, for most Americans this is not true. Throughout “Nickel and Dimed” I understood that America is full of inequality, especially in the work place. Ehrenreich joined the low-wage work force to see for herself that it is hard, if at all possible, to live off these wages. Ehrenreich writes, “No one ever said that you could work hard-harder even than you ever thought possible-and still find yourself sinking ever deeper into poverty and debt” (Ehrenreich 220). With Ehrenreich’s enter into the low-wage work force she saw for herself that hard work does not always pay off, especially in America. This book gives examples of low-wage workers and their constant struggles of everyday life. Many of these workers had no way of getting out of their low-wage jobs because they needed the small amount of money to pay for rent at an apartment or food for their families. It is important to understand the inequality of the low-wage workers in America so that we can try to make it better. This book helped me to realize that not everyone can live this so-called “American dream” because of the inequality in jobs in America.