The Nation takes a look at the life of labor advocate and author Barbara Ehrenreich as the world mourns her death. Barbara wrote many books but one of her best known was Nickel and Dimed. A book about the struggles of living on minimum wage. Below is an excerpt from Nickel and Dimed. The book is available for check out from the UAW Local 2250 Labor Library at the union hall.
When someone works for less pay than she can live on—when, for example, she goes hungry so that you can eat more cheaply and conveniently—then she has made a great sacrifice for you, she has made you a gift of some part of her abilities, her health, and her life. The “working poor,” as they are approvingly termed, are in fact the major philanthropists of our society. They neglect their own children so that the children of others will be cared for; they live in substandard housing so that other homes will be shiny and perfect; they endure privation so that inflation will be low and stock prices high. To be a member of the working poor is to be an anonymous donor, a nameless benefactor, to everyone else.
(graphic via seekpng.com)
