Journalist Barbara Ehrenreich (2001) worked in entry-level jobs as a cleaning woman in Maine, a waitress in Key West, and a Walmart “associate” in Minneosta. Describe her experiences that were discussed in your text. What does she say about the

Question

Protestant work ethic—that if you work hard enough, you can make it in America? How does she compare the United States to other countries, in terms of low-wage work and benefits?

Please provide the best answer for the statement.

Answer 1

1. At Walmart, Ehrenreich had to stay late to clean up and arrive early to set up, both “off the books” (without pay).
2. Working two jobs, she could not afford rent on an apartment and lived out of a car or in a run-down weekly rate motel, eating soup out of cans she heated on a hot plate. She had to wear an adult diaper because she was not permitted to take bathroom breaks during her shift. She often relied on the kindness of strangers, as her coworkers were always offering to share what little they had.
3. Only the working poor, she sadly concluded, actually believe in the Protestant work ethic—that if you work hard enough, you can make it in America. The middle class has long since abandoned such illusions.
4. Ehrenreich concluded that most “civilized nations” provided more services than the United States, including health insurance, subsidized child care and housing, and public transportation, which help balance low wages.