Book review: Scratch Beginnings

One of the blogs I read, Get Rich Slowly, recently had an article on Adam Shepard, a college kid that set out to refute "Nickel and Dimed" with his own book "Scratch Beginnings."

The former is Barbara Ehrenreich's undercover journalistic trip into American poverty. Although she breaks the experiment several times due to-- well-- wimpiness, her argument is that she can't make ends meet on minimum-wage jobs even with advantages such as good health, no children, over $1000 in startup money, and a car. Of course, she never gets a roommate or asks for help from a church or assistance agency either.

Adam Shepard "wasn't too impressed" with this book when he was assigned to read it in college, so when he graduated, he decided to do his own experiment. He gave up his education and family ties and set out for a homeless shelter with $25 to his name. Unfortunately, based on his writing mechanics or lack thereof, I don't think he was really giving up that much of an education. And living in a homeless shelter, though somewhat less comfortable than living with mom and dad, is basically the same concept: put up with shit in order to not have expenses.

I liked the book, of course, although the horrible, horrible sentences kept smacking me in the forehead. I like the idea of an experiment in starting with nothing. I've slept in hostels and fields and the occasional handicapped bathroom. I can definitely be a cheapskate.

But, I read a lot of commentary on the book, and most of it emphasized how Adam Shepard must be bankrolled or otherwise inspired by conservatives: his thesis is that lazy homeless people would all be fine if they pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps. Well, that's not really his thesis; he frequently says "this is just my story; every story is different." But it's pretty hard not to get that impression if you read the book.

So, he's advancing a conservative perspective while unnecessarily using up a place at a homeless shelter. Great.

Obviously, the truth is somewhere in between the two books: There are forces that keep people down when they start out without any money. But, if you're willing to put up with crappy conditions and always spend less than you earn, you can get out of poverty.

If you want to check it out yourself, you can get a .pdf copy for free from him. Or from me, since I got it from him. That's nice, since he's not all profiting off the poor people.

It also inspired me to read Nickel and Dimed, which is, at least, fantastically written.