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The Price of Poverty
The question of the price of poverty is one both essays answer in different ways. In the essay
“Why We Should Give Free Money to Everyone” Rutger Bregman wants us to imagine what the world
would look like if welfare reforms were implemented utilizing a universal basic income that eliminated
poverty. While Barbara Ehrenreich’s essay “Serving in Florida” focuses on minimum wage earners and
the financial obstacles they face daily. A comparison of both essays provides an abundance of evidence
to support the contention that there exists a disparaging gap in the struggle for financial equality, which
to be surmounted will require a shift in society’s values and perspectives. For me, this argument is
accomplished most effectively by Ehrenreich as her use of emotional appeal to persuade an audience to
support low-income earners is more relatable than Bregman’s mix of emotional and logical appeals
intended to convey the single message that steps must be taken to eliminate poverty.
Ehrenreich has a more persuasive essay as her focus on the financial hardships that are a part of
the day-to-day life of a low-income worker made it more impactful. From this perspective, you truly get
to experience the reality of life through their eyes. Something that is perfectly captured by the
description of the living conditions she must endure. For the bargain price of One thousand, one
hundred dollars she is considered lucky to have a place that Ehrenreich indicates is “about 8 feet in width
and shaped like a barbell inside-with a narrow region-because of the sink and stove separating the
bedroom from what might optimistically be called the living area with its two-person table and half-sized
couch” (384). These grim jail-like conditions garner sympathy but also have the additional effect of
drawing the reader further into the narrative as you irresistibly become engaged and invested in what
happens next. This is an important structural component of this essay; she can creatively drive a point
