Nickel and Dimed

             Although financial problems are a major problem for people in this low-income/working class, psychological problems are also there. Stress and depression are very common. These employees work hard long shifts, which take a toll on a person's body, not just physically but mentally. At her one job in a Wal-Mart Ehrenreich describes how it feels like the employees are under the repressive surveillance of men and women whose job it is to monitor her behavior for signs of sloth, theft, drug abuse, or worse. She even gets to experience the humiliation of the urine test. Pressures like these are very detrimental to the workers. They feel like they are constantly watched. Their work is always on display and is always being criticized. Along with the financial problems discussed before this could lead to many problems such as depression, suicide, and nervous breakdowns. Ehrenreich learns from her fellow co-workers how to handle the stresses of the job. .
             Ehrenrech went into this experiment with many advantages that others in this class do not have. She had start up money, an education, transportation and she was white. These factors all play a very key role in this equation. In American Society today, a large majority of low-income/homeless people are minorities. Minorities are held back for many reasons. Many, who have turned to drugs, are unable to get jobs, and if they do get a job, it is very hard to keep. Because of poor education, many cannot pass a basic test that applicants take when filling out the application. The questions are made to trick the applicants. The idea that if they work hard, they will be accepted and advanced in today's society does not hold true for many of the minorities. Equal rights never seem to apply in this culture. As a white male, I have personally noticed at my places of employment, people getting turned away because of their race. They are not hired or fired because of their work ability but because of their race or ethnic background.