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BARBARA EHRENREICH |
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August 3, 2007
After studying theoretical physics at Reed College and earning a Ph.D. in cell biology from Rockefeller University, Barbara Ehrenreich joined a small nonprofit in New York City in the late 60's, advocating
for better health care for the city's poor.
She began researching and writing investigative stories for the company's monthly bulletin, and as she explains in
her biography, "There was no decision to become a writer; that was just something I started doing."
What Ehrenreich calls her "big writing break," was a cover story for MS. MAGAZINE about feminism and heart disease, which lead to steady essay writing and
opinion pieces in MS., MOTHER JONES, THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY, HARPER'S and other magazines.
In 2001, she released perhaps her most influential book, NICKEL AND DIMED: ON (NOT) GETTING BY IN AMERICA, which chronicles the year she spent working
low-income jobs and living in low-income housing. She writes:
"We would stop at a convenient store for quote 'lunch' and people just didn't have money in their pockets. By money, I mean, two bucks. That's when I realized
that people...were not eating because they couldn't afford to. And I asked this one girl...'How do you get through a whole day without eating?' And she said, 'Oh, I get faint by the end of it, I feel dizzy.' So, that's no good."
Ms. Ehrenreich has since released many additional books including BAIT AND
SWITCH: THE (FUTILE) PURSUIT OF THE AMERICAN DREAM, based upon her undercover work as a white-collar job seeker, and her latest book, DANCING IN THE STREETS: A HISTORY OF COLLECTIVE JOY, which focuses on our
species' desire for collective joy. |
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Watch Bill Moyers interview with financial
columnist, Gretchen Morgenson about the mortgage crisis, June 29, 2007
Watch "Payday for CEO's" a recent BILL MOYERS JOURNAL report which highlights inequality of
wages in the airline industry
Watch Bill Moyers' recent conversation with labor leader, Andy Stern, June 15, 2007
More from Barbara Ehrenreich:
Barbara Ehrenreich's Web siteRead Ms. Ehrenreich's latest articles, learn more about her books, upcoming speaking engagements, etc.
Selected Articles by Barbara Ehrenreich:
- Healthcare vs. the Profit Principle, THE NATION, July 12, 2007
- It's Easier to Insure Pets Than Kids, THE NATION, July 26, 2007
- This Land is Their Land, June 29, 2007
- Welcome to Cancerland: A Mammogram Leads to a Cult of Pink Kitsch, HARPERS, November 2001 (pdf)
- Wal-Mars Invades Earth, NEW YORK TIMES, July 25, 2004
Read Barbara Ehrenreich's blog on working in America
UnitedProfessionals.orgBarbara Ehrenreich founded United Professionals in 2006 and
continues to serve as the organizations director, along with Bill Holland. The organization was formed, as Ms. Ehrenreich explains, "to build a response to the
'war on the middle-class' that is undermining so many lives." On the Web site, you'll find action-oriented news about such middle class issues as income, health
care, mortgages, etc.
Read the first chapter of NICKEL AND DIMED
A Guided Tour of Class in America
with Barbara Ehrenreich, TOMDISPATCH, June 04, 2006
Watch a clip featuring Barbara Ehrenreich from The American Ruling Class, a
"dramatic-documentary-musical" starring HARPER'S MAGAZINE editor emeritus Lewis Lapham.
Read Barbara Ehrenreich's commencement speech she gave at Haverford College
entitled, THE APOCALYPSE IS YOURS NOW.
More about the Middle Class:
Welcome to Richistan, USA, THE OBSERVER
UK, July 30, 2007
"As the rest of the country struggles to get by, a huge bubble of multi-millionaires lives almost in a parallel world of private
education, private health care and gated mansions. They have their own schools and banks. They even travel apart - creating a booming industry of private jets
and yachts. Their world now has a name, thanks to a new book by THE WALL STREET JOURNAL reporter Robert Frank, which has dubbed it 'Richistan'."
Yawning Rich-Poor Gap Could Hobble Economy
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, July 30,
2007 "The US probably will continue to have a much higher proportion of its people ranked as poor than almost all other rich industrial nations. At the turn of this century, it ranked 24th among 25 countries in the proportion of its population having incomes below half of the median income - the level where half of the people have a bigger income, and half have a smaller income."
Don't Let the Supreme Court's Discrimination Ruling Stand By Rep. George Miller, HUFFINGTON POST, July 21, 2007
"Lilly Ledbetter, who worked at a Goodyear facility in Alabama for 19 years, was the plaintiff in a pay discrimination lawsuit against the company. Ledbetter alleged - and a jury agreed - that Goodyear had paid her less than what her male counterparts were receiving, even though she had more experience than many of the men and had received positive performance evaluations. But the five right-wing ideologues on the U.S. Supreme Court saw it differently. They sided with Goodyear in a sharply divided 5-4 decision. Now Goodyear wants $3,165.20 to cover court costs."
Harness market forces to share prosperity By Lawrence Summers,
FINANCIAL TIMES, June 24, 2007
Economic Policy Institute
The Economic Policy Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank
that seeks to broaden the public debate about strategies to achieve a prosperous and fair economy. The EPI Web site includes such web features as analyses of key
government data; a weekly presentation of downloadable charts and short analyses; issue guides providing data, charts, fact sheets, and links to relevant
publications; opinion pieces and speeches; and tables on historical labor market, earnings, and income data.
25 Ideas for Working Families in America (2007)
Collected by The Roosevelt Institution, the nation's first student think-tank, here you'll find 25 resources designed especially for working families. Range of topics include access to housing, income support, childcare and health care.
photo by Robin Holland
posted August 3, 2007
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