Intriguing book: Scratch Beginnings

[pegkerr]

I saw this in Get Rich Slowly [get_rich_slowly] here: In response to his dissatisfaction with Barbara Ehrenreich’s book of social critique about class in America Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, Adam Shepherd, a newly minted college graduate, decided to try a social experiment. He recounts his experiences in his new book Scratch Beginnings: Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream. Shepard — who is the first to admit that he has advantages that many of the working poor do not — started from scratch in Charleston, South Carolina, with $25 and the clothes on his back. He did not use his education, contacts, or his credit history. He lived in a homeless shelter while looking for work. His goal was to start with nothing and, within a year, work hard enough to save $2500, buy a car, and to live in a furnished apartment.

It wasn’t easy, but Shepard succeeded. In ten months, he had his car, he had his furnished apartment, and he hadn’t just saved $2500 — he’d saved twice that. Was he lucky? Did he get good breaks because he’s a young white male? Probably. But he does attribute much of his success from setting goals and working toward them.

In this two minute video, Shepard describes his aims:

A Christian Monitor story features his tale. The Get Rich Slowly link above also includes an interview with Mr. Shepherd.

Have you read either book, Barbara Ehrenreich's or Mr. Shepherd's? What did you think?

Comments

[knitmeapony.livejournal.com]

My problem is that much of the press that Shepherd is getting seems to have a real 'he did it, anyone can' kind of vibe to it. It doesn't take into account that he has a lot of advantages that he couldn't shed -- would he be able to try this with a four year old in tow? What about if he'd been physically disabled in any way? Or really, disabled in any way at all?

And he is educated, and aware of a lot of social and cultural moires that many people just have never had an opportunity to see. $25, the clothes on his back, and a heck of a lot of privilege.

[buttonlass.livejournal.com]

I have to agree with this assessment. Young, physically able, single, white male? If he can't pull this off no one can, but that in no way means others could too.

I would have to guess that his IQ is at least average having just graduated from college so he should be able to learn everything necessary to keep a job and advance and get raises. He has no children to get sick or get him sick, so there go all the days off people like me need for doctors or lack of childcare. I'm going to guess he had nothing catastrophic happen to his health which required even a visit to the ER, because that's several hundred dollars right there, before any actual doctor fees or tests. He's at least fluent in English if not a native speaker, I don't know.

I hate things like this gimmick because most people have something that makes them imperfect to the job market so there's no comparison. But ignorant politicians would love to use this sort of thing to cut aid programs and funding.

[silme.livejournal.com]

Ditto. If nothing else, he came to the experiment with the attitude that he could do it, and that attitude comes from his background and its automatic privileges that he may not have considered he had.

[heavenscalyx.livejournal.com]

I read this aloud to my wife, who has taught Ehrenreich's book. She said, "All he has proven is that the system is prejudiced in favor of young, white, college-educated males. He may not have 'used' his college education on his resume, but he has it and cannot help using it, he probably has a middle-class accent, which he used, he's young, he's white, and he's male. All he's proven is that he has cultural capital that other people lack."

She added that he's playing the social Darwinist game, and all he's done is try to prove to himself and others that people who are not male, people who went to schools in poor districts (do we really need to go over the student-teacher ratio, materials available, going-to-college statistics for that?), and people who have darker skin are somehow morally deficient because they cannot do what he did.

(She's just come back into the room to exclaim about how he probably agrees with Hernstein and Murray, who wrote "that piece of white supremacist propaganda" The Bell Curve.)

I cannot describe how angry this ignorant young bigot has made my household.

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

I haven't read his book, but I have read hers--and I work with a homeless man. As I think this guy and I know Ehrenreich admit, the advantages of education and culture are huge. And in Charleston, being white and having a good accent is incredibly important. My homeless friend, Elmer, is constantly reported just for walking down the street in some neighborhoods in Columbia, a much more liberal city not far from Charleston. Another issue is health, a constant battle for those who've been poor and eaten badly all their lives, with little or no dental care.

I wonder how he dealt with the issue of housing, without having money for deposits, first and last month's rent, etc.

Perhaps the people he met show something Ehrenreich didn't see. But just try cashing a paycheck if you don't have a bank account (or getting an account if you don't trust bureaucracies)to see where the problems start.

And maybe it's a little easier to be a poor young man than a poor middle aged-woman.

[pennswoods.livejournal.com]

I'd be curious to read this book as well as Ehrenreich's. I wonder if it would serve as a kick in the pants for any young, white, educated males who are overcome by the constant state of opresshun they currently face.

Also, from what I've read, it does sound like a testament to the importance of an education that trains people in resourcefulness, creative and critical thinking skills, and increased awareness of social networks, skills that are not currently assessed by standardized tests.

[deedop.livejournal.com]

Yet another "let's prove the poor are lazy" experiment by a snotty little white kid. There's at least one of these a year somewhere on the internet and they're all equally infuriating and they all prove nothing other than what yacht-loads of privilege can get you.

I note how the discussion over on Get Rich Slowly includes many suggestions that Erenreich went into her experiment with intent to fail so she could prove her point, yet no one is suggesting Shepard did the opposite in order to prove his -- he quite clearly allowed himself so many advantages, he ran little risk of failure compared to the vast majority of poor & homeless people. If he wanted this to be remotely meaningful and not pre-determined he should have worked a heck of a lot harder to remove some of that privilege from the get go.

[littlecatfeet.livejournal.com]

Hm. I haven't read his book, but I have read Ehrenreich's book, and I work with a variety of homeless women every day. I hate the idea of "If I can do it you can do it" when it doesn't take into account the whole culture of privilege many of us are born into. But the story is a good one. It's hopeful, and it's a model of success not based on exceptional circumstances, like Pursuit of Happyness. Of course, he started not only with his cultural capital as a college educated, well-socialized, middle-class-accented white male, but with his full mental and physical health, no addiction history, no children or dependants, and without the often years-long slide into poverty and hopelessness that I get to see at its end.

[teacherla.livejournal.com]

I have read Ehrenreich's book. Being a bit older than this guy, she's able to mention how hard several of the jobs are on her body.

This book-to-answer-another-book reminds me of the answer-back documentary that was done after Supersize Me! came out. Morgan Spurlock was able to show that succumbing to the McDonald's menu hurt his health, so gosh darn it, this other person was going to show that you can make good choices at McDonald's! These sorts of responses seek to undermine the original methodology, but they don't seem to consider squarely the questions that the initial enterprises were meant to raise. Ehrenreich's question was along the lines of, "Is the deck stacked against workers without base assets? Is it likely that many workers will find themselves unable to stay out of debt and deprivation even as they work long hours?" and the answer was clearly, "Yes." In this guy's case, the experiment is interesting but it doesn't invalidate Ehrenreich's questions or answers.

The first time I taught a selection from Nickel and Dimed, some of the students were notably hostile to the experiment. "When you have to, you find a way to get by," they sniffed (they just didn't believe that Ehrenreich was really trying). But another one of the questions is whether "getting by" is enough, and how badly off you can be and still be "getting by."

[teacherla.livejournal.com]

(I meant "noticeably," not "notably.")

[rosefox]

See my outraged post on the topic.

[shandra.livejournal.com]

I've read the Ehrenreich and I may pick this one up. I just think they describe two entirely different experiences. As a mid-30s yr old middle-class woman with a child, I am probably more sympathetic to the Ehrenreich. Not only am I unlikely to get work as a mover or to impress employers with my youthful verve, I just am not sure how I would handle living in a shelter, esp. if I had to bring my child along. I'd be likely to give up on savings goals in order to maintain some kind of home where I could lock the door.

[vass]

I agree with what the other commenters said, but also there's the factor of good luck. A whole bunch of accidents that could have befallen him *didn't*.

And there's the fact that if it all went pear-shaped, he had a safety cushion - he could have gone right back to his old life, and knowing this gave him a freedom to take risks that is definitely not typical of people with $25 and the shirt on their back.

I'm also not at all happy with his taking a spot in a homeless shelter (places that turn people away every night because they don't have enough beds) for his 'experiment'.

[vass]

Oh, and also: he got a book out of his nice slumming experience. And you can just bet that he'll mention it at his next job interview for a management position, with full emphasis on his initiative and go-get-'em spirit *and* of how sensitive and compassionate he is to think about what the poor go through.

I wonder if he's going to donate some of the the proceeds to the homeless shelter whose bed he took up over people who really needed it. Any of the proceeds at all?

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

I keep thinking "male" is a huge part of this. I wouldn't try that experiment, largely because I don't think it would be physically safe. I'm not a timid person, and I might consider something that would make me uncomfortable (especially since, as others have said, he did have a safety net). But what are the chances of a women trying that and getting through safely? (I mean, not raped or beaten up or even killed.) Would you risk it? I wouldn't.