Scratch Beginnings: Difference between revisions
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In achievement of his goal, Shepard resolved not to use his college education, credit history, or any of his previous contacts to help himself. Additionally, he would not beg for money or use services that were not available to others. |
In achievement of his goal, Shepard resolved not to use his college education, credit history, or any of his previous contacts to help himself. Additionally, he would not beg for money or use services that were not available to others. |
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The book is decisively neo-conservative. |
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==Social issues== |
==Social issues== |
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Revision as of 16:12, 7 April 2014
Scratch Beginnings is a book by Adam Shepard, a graduate of Merrimack College, about his attempt to live the American Dream. It was conceived as a refutation of the books Nickel and Dimed and Bait and Switch by Barbara Ehrenreich.
Background
While Shepard states that his story is not politically motivated, he did intend it to be a rebuttal to Barbara Ehrenreich's books Nickel and Dimed and Bait and Switch on a socio-economic level. He writes, "Ehrenreich attempted to establish that working stiffs are doomed to live in the same disgraceful conditions forever ... my story is a search to evaluate if hard work and discipline provide any payoff whatsoever or if they are, as Ehrenreich suggests, futile pursuits."[1]
Premise
I am going to start – almost literally from scratch - with one 8' x 10' tarp, a sleeping bag, an empty gym bag, $25, and the clothes on my back. Via train, I will be dropped at a random place somewhere in the southeastern United States that is not in my home state of North Carolina. I have 365 days to become free of the realities of homelessness and become a “regular” member of society. After one year, for my project to be considered successful, I have to possess an operable automobile, live in a furnished apartment (alone or with a roommate), have $2500 in cash, and, most importantly, I have to be in a position in which I can continue to improve my circumstances by either going to school or starting my own business.
In achievement of his goal, Shepard resolved not to use his college education, credit history, or any of his previous contacts to help himself. Additionally, he would not beg for money or use services that were not available to others.
The book is decisively neo-conservative.
Social issues
Along the way, Shepard explores controversial premises, such as:
- Why the book Nickel and Dimed was flawed from the beginning.
- Why raising the minimum wage does not stimulate the economy of the lower class.
- Why immigration and job outsourcing are not the causes of decreasing opportunity in the American workforce.
- How certain individuals are profiting from the consumer's fear of the death of the American Dream.[2]
Final outcome
A February 11, 2008 article about the book in The Christian Science Monitor states, "During his first 70 days in Charleston, Shepard lived in a shelter and received food stamps. He also made new friends, finding work as a day laborer, which led to a steady job with a moving company. Ten months into the experiment, he decided to quit after learning of an illness in his family. But by then he had moved into an apartment, bought a pickup truck, and had saved around $5,300."[3]
See also
- Nickel and Dimed
- George Orwell, Down and Out in Paris and London
- Polly Toynbee, Hard Work: Life in Low-Pay Britain
- Jack London, The People of the Abyss
- Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives
- ISBN 978-0-9796926-0-4
References
- ^ Author Adam Shepard Undertakes Journey to Chronicle an 'Average Joe's' Search for the American Dream Scratch Beginnings Official Website. October 24, 2007.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
avg joewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Smith, Peter "Homeless: Can You Build A Life From $25?" The Christian Science Monitor, February 11, 2008.
External links
- Jill Coley, "Man Searches Holy City for Dream: Memoir tracks 23-year-old college grad's journey with $25, a mission," The Charleston Post and Courier, Oct. 29, 2007
- Barry Saunders, "Some of Poor Just Like Us" The News & Observer, Nov. 13, 2007[dead link]
- Peter Smith, "Homeless: Can You Build a Life from $25?", The Christian Science Monitor, Feb. 11, 2008[unreliable source?]
- NPR Weekend Edition Saturday, Feb. 16, 2008
- Glenn Beck, CNN Headline News, March 18, 2008
- Bruce Ramsey, "Adventures in self-reliance from an edgier American era", The Seattle Times, June 25, 2008
- Katherine Kersten, "Young author's 'Nickled and Dimed' rebuttal revisits life in the low-wage lane," Minneapolis Star Tribune, Dec. 8, 2008
- John Stossel & Chris Kilmer, "The Middle Class is Doing Just Fine, Thank You," ABC News.com, March 11, 2009
- Review at Letters on Pages [dead link]
- Review at Think Your Way To Wealth [unreliable source?]
- Review at Surrender, Dorothy [unreliable source?]
- Daniel Cuevas, "My Interview With Adam Shepard." I'm Not The Only One. Jan. 24, 2009[unreliable source?]
- Review at I'm Not The Only One [unreliable source?]