Reporter's Notebook

NICKEL AND DIMED

Word nerd that I am, I’m in a book club. Go on, make fun of me, but I love it.

This week we’re discussing “Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America” by Barbara Ehrenreich. It chronicles Ehrenreich’s attempt, basically, to pay rent and feed herself while working minimal wage jobs in 1998.

Her experience was temporary and she lacked housemates to share rent with or family to support. But it was revealing. With weekly rent as high as $240, her hourly wages of $5.15 or even $7.50 weren’t enough for housing and food, let alone anything else.

Fast forward 10 years, and Washington’s minimum wage is $8.07 or $15,494 annually before taxes. Vancouver’s average rent is about $700 a month, more than half of a minimum wage earner’s monthly income.

“In Clark County, you would need to earn $14.56 an hour to afford rent at 30 percent of your income,” said LaVon Holden, deputy director of the Vancouver Housing Authority.

When more than 30 percent of a person’s income goes to housing, they’re likely to be less active consumers, especially in today’s economy. In 2006 in Clark County, 41,294 people lived below the poverty level of $20,614 annually for a family of four or $10,488 for singles.

“If you live in a community where housing is not affordable, it’s a challenge to have stable employees because they’re always at risk.,” Holden said.

Holden welcomes your thoughts on this issue, and so do I. In the meantime, I recommend reading “Nickel and Dimed.” For starters, it’s made me a better tipper.

Charity Thompson can be reached at cthompson@vbjusa.com