From
the reading, “Serving in Florida” by Barbra Ehrenreich, she lives the life of a
lower-class woman trying to get by day by day. I think she would agree with the
statement that moving up the
socio-economic ladder is too difficult in America, which she states in the beginning
of the article. She would agree with this because she couldn’t even find a regular
job to pay regular bills. By regular bills I mean rent, light bill, water bill
etc. Jobs that she applied for were minimum paying jobs that didn’t hire her
for reasons of their own. She wasn’t a bad person or anything, no misdemeanors,
she was a U.S citizen and she passed the pee tests. This shows how hard it is
just to get a job, let alone a minimum wage paying job. If it’s so hard to get
a low paying job, just think of how hard it is to gain a high paying job and
the requirements. Not only do you need degrees, you also need experience which is
also hard to gain because it goes back to getting a low paying job. To be able
to move up the socio-economic ladder you need a high paying job or some high amount
of income. When I think of high class, I think of really rich people in fancy
cars and I know that they aren’t surviving on a minimum wage pay check. I also
know that they, if not most of them, aren’t school dropouts, druggies, etc.,
unless they were born into the riches of course. She would agree with this
statement because she lived it. When you experience things, you can then put your
life into agreements or disagreements. Almost like living testimonies.
I also believe that the author would agree with the statement “Moving up the socio-economic ladder is too difficult in America.” Ehrenreich writes about her experience in living a low wage life as well as the experiences of those around her. Many of her coworkers consist of both immigrants and American born people who have harsh living conditions despite having a strong work ethic. After quitting one job, she reduces her living space to a trailer to cut down on driving expenses and still needs more money to get by so decides to get another job. The author is a very hard worker but that on its own is clearly not enough to pay the bills. Ehrenreich mentions how one of her coworkers aspires to get her own apartment but obviously, for economic reasons would never be able to afford it. The author also points out how the only reason she had her own space is from the 1,300 she had allotted herself in starting costs. She then writes “In poverty… starting conditions are everything.” In this story Ehrenreich shows that even having an advantage over her coworkers, she is still struggling immensely to get by. For a person living a life of low wage there will always be another debt to pay, whether its bills, healthcare, or even daily meals. The chances of making it to another economic class are very slim when you can barely make it to the next week.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the author would be on the fence about the statement, "moving up the socioeconomic ladder is too difficult in America". Barbara Ehrenreich, the author describes in the beginning of the text how her father worked to be better than everyone else in order to escape the back breaking work in the coal mines. She describes how her father taught her to always work better and harder than everyone else to reap the rewards. In this experiment though Barbara learns of all the difficulties her co-workers deal with on a daily basis. Like living in hotels and barely having enough money to buy food and gas if you have a vehicle. She can see that these people have to worry about surviving let alone jumping from poor to middle class people.
ReplyDeleteI think that the author would agree with the statement "Inequality will always exist: Some people will always be rich, and some people will always be poor" because throughout her experiment she learned what it would be like to live in a poorer lifestyle. she had to work and live off of low paying jobs. having this job she learned the struggles that people go through including herself and her coworkers. it was a struggle to pay whatever it was that they were living in plus food and other necessities needed to live. some people couldn't afford an apartment or something that most people think is this cheapest rent, they had to live in their car or a hotel with other coworkers and that is off the pay that they are receiving at the restaurant. some people are born rich and most of them stay rich and that goes the same with poor people. i think that is what this statement is trying to say. this experiment was probably a big eye opener for her.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Barbara Ehrenreich, the author of "Serving in Florida," would most likely agree with the statement "Moving up the socio-economic ladder is too difficult in America." She describes her new thriving lifestyle to be so static as far as how much cash she has stuffed into her kitchen drawer that works like a bank. She also vaguely reviews over her coworkers living situations and the amount they spend on rent compared to the amount they make. Most situations include cramped conditions in order to split rent. As hard and as long these workers put in their hours, they are all thriving to reach the economic comfort in their lives that most people with stable jobs tend to have. It seems that no matter how they choose to adjust and try to maintain the bare minimum, they are only staying in the same rut they dig themselves into socio-economic advancement would include attaining a job that pays above minimum, which usually requires more experience, education, and resources that people just entering the working class would not have. A lot of what encompasses climbing that socio-economic ladder is unattainable to someone fresh into the labor force and thus difficult for Enrenreich to have acquired throughout her experiment.
ReplyDelete