
In this last chapter of
Nickel and Dimed, Ehrenreich discusses about her experience in working as a low-wage employee. In her experience, she discovers that it is not as easy as she thought it would be working in the low-wage society. She also discovers this part of her that she is a person of average ability: she is capable of learning how to do the job and also capable of screwing up. During her experience, she notes that just learning how to do the job is not exactly the main goal. Your personality and how you do your job have a big effect on yourself as a worker. Ehrenreich learns that these people do their job for a living. And through Ehrenreich's investigation working as a low-wage paid employee, she mostly focused on how to survive more than how she performed the job. In my opinion, I think it is better to focus on how to survive rather than how you do your job, especially when you have a family and have to take care of them. If it was me, I would have done the same, even if it's just an investigation. But the thing is, in order to survive, how you perform your job is a really big factor to keeping your job. If you screw up somehow and upset your customers, you might even get fired. That, then, would be a little problematic because you would have to find another job to support yourself and your family. And it isn't that easy looking for a job.

Ehrenreich goes on to tell about how it is often suggested that the government provides when the market system fails. But to me, this hardly seems like it. I honestly do not think that the government takes enough care of the people in America, especially the lower class people. Considering that the lower class struggles to get by, they should be able to receive more help from the government and not be looked upon so lowly. I am starting to doubt our government about how well it takes care of its citizens. Everyone seems to be struggling at some point. But some people do suffer more. Ehrenreich talks about low-wages and notes what she sees. She finds that often times, low-wage workers depend on others for transportation if they do not own a car. And when they do not have the ride to get to their work place, they sometimes leave the job for a closer one. Low-wage employees are also not well informed about their options. When they lose the job, they don't really know what happens to them then or how they can get a change of job. This isn't fair, because everyone should have the opportunity to know and understand what they are dealing with when signing a contract to work for the company. Ehrenreich's research on low-wage jobs shows her what low-wage workers go through and even found some abilities of what she is capable of doing. Low-wage employees have to work hard in order to survive.

I am done blogging for the time being. I am now going to check out a TV show called
Once Upon A Time (my friend recommended me to watch it because I'm going to "love it") and then work on more homework and more readings for my other classes. Adios! ;)
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