Book Review--Nickel and Dimed

I just finished listening to Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich. The basic premise for this book is that the author leaves her wealthy lifestyle behind for a few months and goes to three different cities to try to make ends meet with an entry level job, saying she's a divorced stay at home mother who's re-entering the workforce without any skills. This experiment is supposed to mimic most low-wage workers in America who were let off welfare during the 1996 welfare reform.

I thought it was an interesting idea for a book and it did open my eyes to the plight of a lot of low wage earners. Some who do have jobs still live out of their cars or roach infested hotels that charge an arm an a leg weekly rental rate since they can't save enough for one month's rent and deposit at a regular apartment complex.

My qualms about the book. First, there is a lot of foul language, a definite negative for me. Second, the author admits to using marijuana and tries to flush it out of her system for the drug tests she has to take in her third area. Other than that, the story was good but I must disagree with the conclusions on how to help the low wage class.

To begin with, I found out after I finished the book that Ms. Ehrenreich is a socialist. I, on the other hand, like to call myself a conservative. I don't think government welfare is right because the government with all its bureaucracy and bigness just can't seem to get things right. The welfare state it has created just seems to perpetuate itself instead of solving the problem. Whereas Ms. Ehrenreich believes the government should provide better rent control or subsidies, minimum wage increases, and health care for everyone, I believe the government should stay out for society's sake. Do I believe the poor should fend for themselves? Of course not. I do consider myself religious and believe that those of us who have means should be willing to help those who do not, but the government should not give free hand outs to those who "need it."

So instead of welfare handouts, I propose another solution that has seen much success, especially in other countries. I am a firm believer in education and how it can lift people out of the quagmire of poverty and open the world to them. For most of the poorer class though, they can't afford higher education if they even finish the free high school education provided by the government. To help with higher education costs or to train people in self-employment arenas, I firmly believe in the ideas of micro-credit organizations or the Perpetual Education Fund set up by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These organizations give small loans to people that will provide training or a means of starting capital for a small business. The loan is expected to be repaid in the future but at a very reasonable interest rate. This little jumpstart helps people earn double or more what they used to earn and they gain a little self-respect and self-sufficiency in the process. From what I've read, the payback rate on the loans is very high. What's the payback rate on welfare checks? Um 0, nill, nada because it's given with no stipulations.

So that, in a nutshell is my two cents on Nickel and Dimed plus a little commentary from a middle-class white woman who hasn't lived in poverty.
For further reading on the subject of poverty, I would recommend an analysis called How Not to Be Poor prepared by the NCPA and also an article by the same name by Walter Williams.

New Calling

Well, my worst fears have been realized :-). I was called as the Scoutmaster. Not just the Scoutmaster, but also the 2nd counselor in the Young Men's Presidency and the Deacon's Quorum advisor. I thought that was a bit much but, sure enough, it's in the handbook. Anyway, I'm completely overwhelmed right now, mostly because there are just so many meetings and activities to plan and I'm not very creative. I'm trying to solicit ideas from as many people as possible. I'm sure I'll grow to love it (I enjoy camping, hiking, and all the stuff the scouts do) but right now I'm just trying to keep from drowning.

Elizabeth does not like nursery, I think she inherited my shyness. I'm not sure though, because she was fine the first week, but after that she literally clings to me when I try to drop her off. I think the first week another kid pushed her down. Oh well, "life isn't fair," right Bart? I've been having to stay for 45 minutes to an hour, and after that she cries unless a nursery worker holds on to her. But she is still a bundle of joy at home. She's understanding more and more. The other day at breakfast I was talking to my wife and mentioned that I thought there used to be some kind of fundraiser at home for the youth in which they sold large cookies. After a while Elizabeth started crying "me me me me" and reaching for the cupboard where we keep the cookies. She says "me me me me" whenever she wants something. It was cute.

She is also at the stage where she is starting to copy us more. The other day I was walking down the stairs in front of her (yes, she likes to go down the stairs like an now) and I noticed that she was crying and tugging at her shirt. It was a onesie so she couldn't pull it out. Then I realized that I had been outside and was sweating and I kept wiping off my face with my shirt. She was trying to copy me but couldn't. Scary thought.

We went on a family bike ride yesterday morning. It was fun, and we went early enough that the heat didn't kill us. It has been a miserably hot, humid summer.

In the last bit of news my company finally moved locations to our new office. I now live 2.5 miles away from work. I've been riding my bike in a little bit but that's a little bit scary because there are some high traffic areas. If I can ever get in good enough running shape I might run. But the problem is that I am so terrible at running. I mean, I am really, really bad at it. We'll see what happens.

Charity Ride

So this past weekend I participated in a charity ride (MC-100) that our company does every year. The ride starts at a well known location, Young's Jersey Dairy. It's a pretty fun place that has ice cream, farm animals, mini golfing, and more. The ride has one day options of 25 and 50 miles, as well as an overnight stay that is 75 miles away. I opted for the 50 mile ride.

It went pretty well, the weather was nice. I was going along at a decent speed for my hybrid bike and a person who is generally poor at endurance events. But as I was coming back I became detached from the riders in front of me. I kept thinking, they should mark the roads so we know which way to go. Well, the inevitable occurred. I came upon an intersection and didn't know which way to go. Of course I didn't pick up a map and I decided not to bring my cell phone. So I asked some kids and a driver who was stopped at a stop sign if there were any cyclists around. I think I started in the right intersection but after a while I knew I was lost.

So I decided to do what any smart person would do when lost, pedal harder and hope that I find my way somehow. Just kidding (sort of). Of course, based on the location of the sun I knew the general direction I had to go. But eventually I stopped and knocked on someone's door and asked directions. You have to understand that this ride is in a very rural area, lots of corn fields, trees, and not many houses. Luckily the guy gave me directions that had me intersect with the trail. I ended up riding an extra 7 miles. It doesn't seem like much, but I was pacing myself to go exactly the distance left so I kind of tanked at the end. I probably would have made it in just over three hours, but the detour made it more like four.

Once I hit the trail again I passed some riders and asked if we were on the right path. I told them I had gotten lost and they said, "why didn't you follow the arrows in the street?" It turns out that there were little arrows about 10-30 feet before intersections. I guess I was expecting larger arrows or signs right at the intersection and I never noticed the arrows. Kind of like listening to the spirit, he never seems to shout for some reason.

At any rate, after feeling sufficiently embarrased and very angry at myself for being so stupid I thought I would continue the torture, punishment, humiliation, and embarrasment by detailing my stupidity on my weblog. Isn't the internet great?