Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America

Ehrenreich begins in Key West, Florida. She budgets $500 for rent, estimating that this will be affordable with an hourly rate of $7 an hour. She finds a $500 per month efficiency that is a 45-minute drive from town. Then, she begins the application process for $6 to $7 an hour jobs, which involve tedious computer questionnaires and drug tests. She worries about seeming over-qualified, but is surprised when she does not receive a call back from any of the jobs. Finally, she receives a call back from a big discount hotel chain where she applies for housekeeping, which is her “dream” low-wage job. However, due to her English skills, she is steered toward waitressing at the attached restaurant, which she calls “Hearthside,” where her hourly wage is $2.43, plus tips.

Despite her initial difficulties, she finds herself caring about her coworkers and customers. When she feels nurturing toward the customers, she gives them extra croutons on their salads, pats of butter, and other “covert distribution of fats” (20). She is fine with the actual work of serving, except that the management, Stu and Philip, are cruel. She is required to vacuum with a broken vacuum cleaner, and she must clean the floor on her knees after being caught resting (23).