In an earlier post I wrote about Barbara Ehrenreich’s presentation Nickel and Dimed. She will be speaking at NDSU’s Festival Concert Hall Thursday 9/2 at 7:00. For more information see an article in today’s Forum. In her book she chronicled how people were having difficulties surviving on minimum wage jobs. That was 10 years ago, she will discuss how much more difficult it is in today’s economic climate.

Following is some information from the article.

The author of socio-economic best-sellers “Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America” and “Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream” documents the gritty reality facing the work force.
As indicated by the title of her Thursday speech, “Women, Economics and Poverty: On (Not) Getting by in America,” Ehrenreich will discuss how the unskilled laborers she worked alongside in her 2001 book, “Nickel and Dimed,” are facing even tougher times now.

Now 10 years after researching “Nickel and Dimed,” she tried to track down her former co-workers, but found it hard because many couldn’t afford to settle down. One woman was doing about the same, though her husband had lost his job. Another woman saw her hours as a house cleaner limited to part time because of health problems.
Ehrenreich says many people scraping to get by seek less medical care, such as patients not being able to refill prescriptions.
Looking back 10 years ago, she recalls being “shocked” by “inadequate wages” and conditions and how some employers would cheat workers out of their rightful earnings.
As an example, she says about 43 percent of big businesses won’t hire employees without a good credit score.