> And I don't really get why Ehrenreich deserves this sort of contempt,
> but then I admire her as one of the best journalists in the USA. How
> is investigating the life of the working poor, fully aware that one
> is merely a tourist in their world, at all like being a tax evading
> egomaniac?
>
> Doug
>
I am ambivalent concerning Ehrenreich but her lack of knowledge concerning working poor people's living conditions was mildly surprising to me when I read "Nickel and Dimed". The following was lifted from an online review of the book by David Herrle and may explain why some dislike her.
Barbara Ehrenreich, activist author of Nickled and Dimed, spent a few months working a few lowly jobs in order to report the plight of the isolated “working poor”. She insisted on using a car (figuring “that a story about waiting for buses would not be a very interesting read”) and a backup ATM card. If her finances drained too soon, the mission would be aborted immediately. No hunger allowed in her grand experiment. Only enough “reality” to get the basic scoop, collate statistics, add some Left-biased opinion, and garner New York Times bestsellership. Barbara Ehrenreich, well-paid (more money than I’ve ever or will ever see) writer for Time, Harper’s, The Nation, etc., was good enough to take a slumming vacation from accolades, high-society esteem, and comfy composing to reveal to readers that – get ready for a shocker – crummy jobs offer crummy pay and aren’t easy!
John Thornton