Information About This Excerpt and the Authors

Journalist Barbara Ehrenreich went undercover to learn what it's like to survive on minimum wage earnings in the United States. In this excerpt from her book, Nickel and Dimed, she notes that she was surprised to find that, despite a strong economy and low unemployment, her coworkers did not rebel against the social inequality guaranteed by their low-wage jobs.

Title: Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America
Author: Barbara Ehrenreich
Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
Copyright: 2001
ISBN: 0805063889

Barbara Ehrenreich, a freelance political essayist and social critic, is the author of twelve books including Fear of Falling: The Inner Life of the Middle Class. In addition to her books, Ehrenreich has written for dozens of magazines, including Ms. Magazine, Harper's, The Nation, The Progressive, The New Republic, The Atlantic Monthly, and New York Times Magazine.

Links to Related Topics

The Atlantic Online, "FALLOWS@LARGE: Dialogues with James Fallows"
This links directly to an online dialog with The Atlantic Monthly writer James Fallows in which author Barbara Ehrenreich discusses the daily life of the "invisible class."

Nickel and Dimed in America
Barbara Ehrenreich discusses her experiences of trying to support herself on entry-level wages and discusses her theory of poverty.

The Living Wage Resource Center
This site includes a brief history of the national living wage movement, as well as contextual information including research summaries, talking points, and links to other living wage-related sites.