UPDATE 1/9/10: Ehrenreich has a fabulous account of her visit to Macomb in today's Financial Times.
MACOMB -- Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickle and Dimed and other best sellers, apologized to Western Illinois University students if they were required to read her book.
In a witty, charming 50-minute speech at WIU, Ehrenreich, a grandmother, obviously sympathized with the college generation who applauded when she said there should be amnesty for student loans.
Being a college student is a full time job in itself, she said, and students should not be forced to work long hours or be burdened with huge loans.
Ehrenreich said poverty in the US has been stigmatized as the fault of the poor, who have made "poor choices" or are lazy or promiscuous. But in reality, she said, poverty results from low wages. "It's a shortage of money because of inadequate pay."
She described her experiences working in low wage jobs, as depicted in Nickle and Dimed. That was important research, she said, because instead of just interviewing people in those jobs, she felt their weariness and understood their plight in a way that could not be communicated in interviews.
Low wage workers are treated badly, suspected of drug use and theft by employers, she said. They're asked to take drug tests, though research proves that's a waste of money, she said. It's done to intimidate them, "it's a ritual of humiliation to get you in the mood for a (low wage) job."
Low wage jobs, contrary to what people may believe, are challenging, she said. "Every job takes skill, intelligence and concentration and deserves our respect," she said, to applause.
Low wage workers often are ripped off by employers who require them to work "off the books," and they are charged more for shelter and food, she said. They are "kicked downhill" instead of being helped. They're charged more for credit, medical care and other items. Homelessness is criminalized.
Her book Nickel and Dimed took place "in the good old days before the Recession," and "when anybody could find a job." It's much worse today, she said. "Now the middle class is losing jobs. Stereotypes of poverty don't work any more."
The so-far overlooked results of the Recession, she said, include:
1. More women turning to sex work, stripping and prostitution.
2. Urban hunting -- shooting and eating squirrels and raccoons in cities such as Detroit.
3. Suicide, including homicide of family members.
4. Surrendered medical care - people skipping doctor appointments and medication.
5. Crowding, as people double up for shelter.
She suggested cutting pay rates at the top and paying more to low wage workers, to applause.
"Could we stop the meanness, the persecution of people already having a hard time?" she asked.
"Stop kicking people when they're already down. This is not liberal or conservative, Republican or Democrat. This is fundamental morality."
The Bible has over 3,000 references on helping the poor, she said, but not one on abortion or gays or stem cells.
"There is so much that needs to be done," she said. "We can't fund raise for everyone that is sick. You have got to hold politicians' feet to the fire."
-- Elaine Hopkins
Comments