Ortiz 1

Reylan Ortiz
English 12-2
Mrs. Barth
25 September 2016
Annotated Bibliography: Minimum Wage
Research Question: How does minimum wage affect peoples lives financially?
Ehrenreich, Barbara. Nickel and Dimed: On (not) Getting by in America. New York:
Metropolitan, 2001. Print.
Summary: Barbara Ehrenreichs purpose of writing this novel was to explore and show that it is
not possible to live an average or even below average life on minimum wage. She explores
different jobs in different cities as just an average unskilled worker making low wages. She
experiences the struggles that the people around her face when they cannot afford a place to live
or healthy meals to eat. These jobs are considered unskilled even though they are long and brutal
hours on your feet. You are constantly moving and it takes a large toll on your body. The average
salary desk job does not work as many hours as a minimum wage job.
Evaluation: Overall this was a very reliable source. The main point was minimum wage and how
one simply cannot live off of it. It may have been slightly biased at times considering it was her
experiencing it first-hand. Even if, there were plenty of facts stated throughout the book in order
to back up her main points. This novel influenced our perspective by showing exactly how hard
it is to get by with such little money. The examples she gives with the housing problems were the
main points on why you cannot get by on a minimum wage job.

Ortiz 2

Frank, John. "Minimum Wage Hike Is Likely." N.p., 07 Sept. 2016. Web. 16 Sept. 2016.
Summary: The main point of this article was to explain how minimum wage might be increases
in Colorado. It explains that the cost of living is too high and minimum wage is too low. Some
voters agree with this statement while surprisingly many do not. With 55% in favor of the
change, a large 42% are not.
Evaluation: This is a semi-reliable source. This only accounts for Colorado. It still begins to
explain all of the struggles that the entire nation faces not just Colorado. This article clearly
supports the research question as it explains the difficulties of living off of minimum wage.
Vargas, Theresa. For many working minimum wage, the ends never meet. Washington Post 4
Sept. 2016. Infotrac Newsstand. Web. 14 Sept. 2016.
Summary: The main point of this article is to explain how minimum wage impacts everyday life.
It also explains that if minimum wage increases then the amount of hours gotten will decrease.
Or in worse case they will cut down on the amount of employees hired. There is no solution to
the problem of low wages. Companies will continue to maneuver around and make it so they
dont have to pay as much as they should.
Evaluation: This is a very reliable source. All aspects of the research question were taken into
consideration. It includes how minimum wage affects everyone in the nation not in a specific
area. It also has ways of trying to find a solution to the biggest problems America faces which
revolves around low wages.