The Working Poor of Nickel and Dimed By Barbara Ehrenreich an economically illogical activity. On 30 Days, one of Morgan's colleagues had four children, even though he had none, and he supports them on the same minimum wage. However, some single parents may leverage their social networks to offer childcare for free or at a lower than market price. There are also free child care options offered by the government, such as the Head Start program. However, low-wage jobs force workers to accept irregular schedules for these free options, available only during certain hours, which may limit parents' ability to accept jobs requiring late-night shifts. In this situation, it is even more difficult for a low-wage single parent to qualify for free childcare. In fact, some employers won't hire someone unless they have "open availability," meaning they are available to work anytime, any day. This makes it difficult for workers to organize childcare and accept a second job. Additionally, for minimum wage workers, work schedules can vary greatly from week to week, making it difficult for them to budget effectively and save.

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