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

Benefits refer to additional compensation or perks that workers are given in addition to their pay. This includes paid time off, 401k retirement funds, and health insurance, in addition to other perks. In the text, Ehrenreich notes that few of the workers have any benefits at all—and in some cases, such as Wal-Mart, employees do not even receive overtime pay. Some perks, such as free lunch or breakfast, are offered because these are cheaper and easier for employers to rescind than increases in pay. The lack of benefits for low-wage workers is a theme that Ehrenreich frequently returns to as evidence for the unjust compensation for low-wage workers.

A living wage refers to the amount of money required for a family to live off of their own income without seeking out government assistance in the form of welfare or other social programs. Ehrenreich cites a statistic from the Economic Policy Institute that states that, in 2001, a living wage for a family of four is $30,000 a year, which amounts to $14 an hour. She notes that about 60% of American workers earn less than that, and many rely on partners, grown children who work and live with them, and other ways of getting by.