« “Someone should do some research on this. » (Ehrenreich, 2001). During the last shift of her 30-hour lunch with Harpers editor Louis Lapham, Barbara Ehrenreich wondered how people could survive on minimum wage. She was soon to eat her words when Lapham pointed at her and said, “You.” Reluctant at first to be the one doing the research, Ehrenreich eventually capitulates and begins life as a minimum wage worker in America. The main idea of ​​his experiment was to spend a month in each location and earn enough to pay the second month's rent (pp. 5-6). She wonders if she will find special techniques that poor people use to get by. She discovers that there is no secret economy, people simply do the best they can with what they have. Ehrenreich gives herself some rules (p. 5), such as that she will always have a car. She will never go hungry, will not use her education as an advantage, and will find the safest, most private housing she can afford. These are parameters that truly poor people don't have and she readily admits that all of her rules have been broken at some point. Ehrenreich also finds that it is generally necessary for a single minimum wage worker to have two jobs to be able to afford the minimum housing requirement. In each location, Ehrenreich follows the same basic formula. She looks for accommodation and then begins looking for a job. Interviews are similar, usually conducted by someone with no formal interviewing skills. There is usually a psychological test and often a drug test. As for transportation, in Florida Ehrenreich uses his own car. In Maine and Minnesota, it rents. She avoided taking the bus, as many low-wage workers do, because it wouldn't be very interesting to read in the middle of a paper......writing a book about their misery. In this, his Marxist vision of the world is in contradiction with his capitalist behavior. In this book, we only get a glimpse of a few facets of the life of a low-wage worker. We have never heard of any car repair problems or encountered anyone who uses public transportation to get to work. We also never hear about child care issues, which are often a major problem for single mothers. Overall, this was an interesting read. However, anyone can learn much of this same information and much more by simply talking with the “invisible” people who serve us every day. Works Cited Ehrenreich, B. (2001). Nickel and Dimed. New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC. Gorski, P. (2010/2011). The myth of the culture of poverty. Annual editions: Social problems 10/11, pp. 67-70. Sachs, J.D. (2010/2011). Can extreme poverty be eliminated? Annual editions: Social problems 10/11, pp. 71-75.