I think the constant surveillance of low wage workers and the skepticism that follows their actions is a larger reflection of the belief associated with being in a lower class. It seems as though there is an assumption that minimum age workers are more likely to steal and wreck havoc in the work place. This manifests itself in the work place when freedoms like bathrooms breaks, standing around for two seconds, talking to other co-workers are restricted if granted at all. It reminds me of the School To Prison Pipeline where students feel as though they are entering a jail more than they are entering an learning environment.

In the first 60 pages of Nickel and Dimed, Ehrenreich introduces us to her experience working as a minimum wage waitress in two Florida restaurants. What struck me in this reading is how similar the storylines of her coworkers are to my own in Bowdoin dining. I work dishwashing at Moulton twice a week, and often overhear the concerns of Brunswick locals that are doing this job as a means of getting by. Health concerns, working two jobs, and horrible habits like alcoholism or smoking are common points between the Brunswick minimum wage reality and minimum wage in Florida.

Barbara Ehrenreich bringing along her tote bag full of books and hiking boots for the weekends was an interesting moment to me as it showed how leisure activities take a back seat to making ends meet. Working two jobs and trying to pay rent don’t leave much time for you to think about what you enjoy for fun. Ehrenreich navigating a new socioeconomic class now sees her before treasured items as “useless” because she doesn’t have the time (53). Having time poverty, she sees aspects of her old life as a waste of energy. This was so intriguing to me because many people strive to work a typical low labor 9-5 job that pays well in order to have time affluence. The time to enjoy the money they make and take trips and make memories with loved ones. There’s of course exceptions to this rule like being a lawyer and being paid well but not having a lot of time for leisure activities. I wonder which is valued more, the virtue of having massive amounts free time or being well paid but always busy?