我在底层的生活

Barbara Ehrenreich

According to the National 1）Coalition for the Homeless， in 1998—the year I started this project—it took， on average nationwide， an hourly wage of$8.89 to afford a one-bedroom apartment， and the 2）Preamble Center for Public Policy was estimating that the odds against a typical welfare recipients landing a job at such a “living wage” were about 97 to 1. Why should I bother to confirm these unpleasant facts？

In the spirit of science， I first decided on certain rules and 3）parameters. Rule one， obviously enough， was that I could not， in my search for jobs， fall back on any skills derived from my education or usual work—not that there were a lot of want ads for essayists anyway. Two， I had to take the highestpaying job that was offered me and do my best to hold it； no Marxist 4）rants or sneaking off to read novels in the ladies room. Three， I had to take the cheapest accommodations I could find， at least the cheapest that offered an acceptable level of safety and privacy， though my standards in this regard were hazy and， as it turned out， 5）prone to deterioration over time.

全美流浪者联盟在一九九八年指出——也就是我进行这项计划的那年，取全美境内的平均数来计算，一个人需要赚到八点八九美元的时薪，才能租得起一间带卧房的公寓。另外，公共政策前行中心则估计，在接受国家福利救济的人之中，每九十七人中只有一人能得到这种工作，赚得“让人活得下去的薪资”。我干嘛还要费事去证实这些令人难过的事实呢？

秉持着科学精神，我首先定了一些原则和界限。很显然地，第一项原则就是在找工作的时候，任何用得上我所受的教育或平时工作经验的工作都不能选——但这么说的意思可不是招聘专栏作家的广告就有一大堆。第二项原则是，我必须在所有能做的工作中找到薪水最高的，并尽我所能保住它。意思就是，我不能摆出马克思主义者的架势大骂雇主一番，或溜班躲在女厕所里读书。第三项原则是，我必须在安全性和隐私性尚可的前提下，尽可能找到最便宜的住所。虽然我在这方面的标准有些模糊，而且后来也证明，我的标准随着时间的推移越降越低。

Finally， I set some 6）reassuring limits to whatever 7）tribulations I might have to endure. First， I would always have a car. In Key West I drove my own； in other cities I used Rent-A-Wrecks， which I paid for with a credit card rather than my earnings. Yes， I could have walked more or limited myself to jobs accessible by public transportation. I just figured that a story about waiting for buses wouldnt be very interesting to read. Second， I r u l e d o u t homelessness as an option. The idea was to spend a month in each setting and see whether I could find a job and earn， in that time， the money to pay a second months rent. If I was paying rent by the week and ran out of money I would simply declare

the project at an end； no shelters or sleeping in cars for me. Furthermore， I had no intention of going hungry. If things ever got to the point where the next meal was in question， I promised myself as the time to begin the “experiment” approached， I would dig out my ATM card and cheat.

So this isnt the story of some death-defying“undercover” adventure. Almost anyone could do what I did—look for jobs， work those jobs， try to make ends meet. In fact， millions of Americans do it every day， and with a lot less 8）fanfare and 9）dithering.

最后，为求安心，我设下一些底线，以免我遇到的考验超乎我的承受能力。第一，我一定要有车子。在基韦斯特（佛罗里达）我是开自己的车，在其他城市则利用租车服务，这笔费用我用信用卡而不是工作收入来支付。没错，我是可以多走些路，或把可能的工作机会限制在大众交通工具能抵达的地点。但我只是觉得，一个老是在写等巴士的故事，对读者来说大概没什么吸引力。第二，我摒除流浪街头这项选择，因为这个计划的主要用意在于：在每个城市各待上一个月，看我能否在这个城市找到工作，并在当月赚得足以支付下个月房租的薪水。若我付完某一周的房租之后就完全没钱了，我会立即叫停这个计划，不会去住流浪者庇护所或睡在车上。此外，我也无意让自己饿肚子。我在这项“实验”开始的前夕就向自己保证，若事情真的发展到我钱包空空，连吃下一餐饭都成问题，我会去挖出我的银行卡，然后偷偷大吃一顿。

所以，这本书并不是关于什么视死如归的“卧底”冒险经验。我做的事几乎任何人都做得来：找到工作，把这些工作做好，努力量入为出，使收支平衡。事实上，这正是几百万美国人每天都在做的事情，只是他们既不像我这样虚张声势，也没有像我一样犹豫不决、战战兢兢。

I am， of course， very different from the people who normally fill Americans least attractive jobs， and in ways that both helped and limited me. Most obviously， I was only visiting a world that others inhabit full-time， often for most of their lives. With all the real-life assets Ive built up in middle age—bank account， IRA， health insurance， multiroom home—waiting indulgently in the background， there was no way I was going to “experience poverty” or find out how it “really feels” to be a long-term low-wage worker. My aim here was much more straightfoward and objective—just to see whether I could match income to expenses， as the truly poor attempt to do every day. Besides， Ive had enough unchosen encounters with poverty in my lifetime to know its not a place you would want to visit for touristic purposes； it just smells too much like fear.

当然，我和从事这些全美最不吸引人工作的人非常不同。这些不同之处一方面对我有帮助，一方面也限制了我。最明显的不同就是，我只是去造访一下这个世界，但这些人往往一辈子的大部分时间都得待在里面。此外，我还有至今所累积的实际资产当靠山，比如银行存款、退休储蓄、健康保险和一个有好几个房间的家，因此根本不可能做到什么“亲身体验贫穷”，或了解身为一个长期低收入劳工的“真实感受”到底是什么。我做这件事的目标是更直接而客观的：看看我可不可以像真正的穷人每天都必须做的那样让收入和支出平衡。此外，我一生中曾与贫穷不期而遇过多次，深知那不是一种你会想像游客般体验一下的生活，那种生活充满太多恐惧的滋味了。