In the readings, videos, and articles we have seen and read for class within the first two weeks of the semester, there has been one clear theme that has stuck out to me: struggle. There is nothing comfortable, relaxing, or remotely easy about the lives of those who fall below the so called “poverty line”. Those living paycheck to paycheck and barely making ends meet are never given any time to rest or relax or enjoy the money they worked so hard to earn. It’s a cruelly unfair life that most of these people lead and there seems to be no way out. In Barbara Ehrenreich’s book “Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America” (http://www.amazon.com/Nickel-Dimed-Not-Getting-America/dp/0312626681) Ehrenreich goes on an experimental journey to find out first hand what it is like to live on minimum wage in America. She works three different jobs (waitress, cleaning lady, and WalMart employee) and comes to the conclusion that it is nearly impossible to subsist entirely on minimum wage pay, no matter how hard she worked. Ehrenreich’s study is a one of a kind look at how the majority of people in our country live, and gives clear insight into the struggles of so many among us. To me, the most disturbing part of the book comes from when she is working at WalMart, and observes that many of her coworkers cannot even afford to buy the shoes at WalMart, because they are being paid so little.
The amount of disparity in income and wealth in our country both captivates and horrifies me. I have long understood the concept of class stratification in our society, but these last two weeks have really opened my eyes to what it all means. The activity we did last class was especially formative for me, because I truly realized that I had so much more to learn and how much I will need to expand my definition of what it means to be a working class American in today’s economy.