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Minimum Wage In 'Nickel And Dimed'

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Minimum Wage In 'Nickel And Dimed'
Senior English
7 March 2013
Nickel and Dimed Essay

After reading the story Nickel and Dimed it changed my view about minimum wage and how it really affects so many people in our society. When people talk about living on minimum wage and how difficult it is you don’t realize how hard it is until you experience it yourself or know someone who has. I do believe it is important to have a job, but if you’re basically paying to go to work because the wages are so low and you receive no benefits, it’s almost pointless. It really all depends on how someone looks at the situation, so, does that low class person who has done nothing in their life really deserve more than minimum wage? How about the high school student trying to save up for college? …show more content…
It made me feel appreciative for the things that I do have, like a roof over my head and food on the table every night. I may not have the most expensive jeans, or the newest iPhone, but I have everything that I need, and it was all given to me by someone who works a minimum wage job, and works very hard at it every day so our family can have the things we need. I feel as if growing up and seeing what it is like to live on a minimum wage has made me more of a determined person, it has only made me want to strive and try harder, so I can have better things for my kids than I grew up with. If you are always given everything you could ever want, you don’t ever learn how to appreciate what you …show more content…
So that brings another question, is it fair to make minimum wage so low that is isn’t livable? My opinion is if someone has put themselves in the situation to be receiving a minimum wage then that is what they earned for themselves, if they have to work two jobs to get by, then that’s what has to happen. The point is that it isn’t everyone else’s problem who did their work that you have to work a crappy job, its nobody else’s problem but the person who made those decisions. This book did make me want to work even harder in school. Even though growing up the way I did already opened my eyes, this book only helped
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