In the first couple of pages of Nickel and Dimed, Ehrenreich mentions that relative to many minimum wage workers, she is lucky. Being white, and speaking English give her an advantage over some others in actually getting a job.
Throughout the first 119 pages, it seems like she just scrapes by, even though she works multiple jobs. If it is hard for her to make ends meet, it doesn’t seem possible for, say, a single mother to support herself and her child/children. What about immigrants, or those who can’t speak English? They are limited even further than Ehrenreich in finding jobs. They couldn’t work as a server at a restaurant, like Ehrenreich did. This limitation would make it more difficult for them to find jobs, let alone multiple jobs.
It seems like Ehrenreich is what you would consider to be the most qualified minimum wage worker, and she only has to support herself. Therefore, out of all the minimum wage workers, relatively speaking, she should be the most “well off.” I just can’t see how the rest of the minimum wage workers in the nation can afford to live, when Ehrenreich struggles.
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