Jay Wilson - Erin Brockovich

1. I think that Erin’s aggressive nature is definitely stemmed from internal frustration of being screwed over all the time. She has been left twice with 3 kids. This can create frustration that can lead to desperation to do anything in order to get a job and support her kids. I think Erin is a little more pushy than she needs to be. In order to get a job and sustain it, one has to follow the rules of the company. Erin’s morals and what she thinks is right prevents this from happening most of the time. I think that she presents passion for what she does despite not really conforming to authority.
2. At the beginning of the movie, I thought that Ed was just a small fish. He wasn't really that good at his job and didn't work hard enough. I think that he worked very hard with Erin because he saw her passion and also saw the magnitude of the case. He saw he had the opportunity to make history and worked hard to ensure he completed it. Obviously as a client, you expect your attorney to work just as hard for you as they do other people, but it really isn’t realistic. With other people and other clients offering a bunch more money, there really isn’t any incentive to work as hard. Money is the ultimate motivator and if you are good at what you do, you expect more money.
3. I think that Erin’s work ethic is very strong. She does her own thing that is very effective in its own right, but it is very different than everyone else she is working with. I think Erin Brockovich sees herself as an important person in the case she is working. In her mind, she is the only one who was willing to get her hands dirty and she knows that she is invaluable to the whole lawsuit. Ed doesn’t treat her like his equal until the very end of the movie because he realizes that this is not about the money, it is about the people. She is claiming that her work ethic is better than Ed Masry’s. She has a point because he doesn’t want to take the risks to get the lawsuit done.
4. Erin says that the people of Hinkley don’t dream of being rich. She says that the money isn’t going to be what they dream of. The people of Hinkley dream of being healthy. They dream of their kids being healthy. The millions of dollars are going to go towards doctors, not their own personal well being. Their problems are serious and they want to be treated seriously. I think that she is right when she says that all they want is to be healthy and lead their own lives. They might not be the most complex people, but the have to pay the medical bills in order to keep receiving treatment.

Eliza McDaniel - 30 Days on Minimum Wage

My reply to question 12.
I think the underlying disagreement between Alex and Moran was what is worth spending their money on.  They had so little to gamble with.  It comes down to how Alex and Morgan feel about spending money.  Alex is more conservitive with her spending habbits, while Morgan is more liberal with his.  This wasn't as much of an issue when they had plenty of money, but when finances got tight, their dissagreements rose to the serface.  One of the issues is that it is easier to make it on minimum wage when there is more than one person earning.  If they split up, things would get exponencially harder.  It's a struggle between a rock and a hard place, because keeping the peace is really important, but when you make 60 bucks a day for a single job, flippent spending is hard to see without a rasing your conserns.

My reply to question 7.
I agree with sen. Ted Kennedy's argument that raising the minimum wage helps minimum wage families.  As the cost of living has increesed, it only makes sence that the minimum wage should rise with it.  The fact that it hasn't risen is to me a reflection of congress's ignorance about the challenges of living on minimum wage.  In addition, is has been shown that when people are paid more, they spend more, eventually boosting the econamy.  To respond to the opposition, they are not wrong that it will put a bit of a strain on local businesses, but if trends continue, the average cost of living will not get any cheeper in the future.  Investing in families now will only make a brighter future.

Nike Swoosh- Sarah Johnson

The terms trademark and copyright are a huge part of Nikes immense success. Their swoosh logo, and slogan ¨Just Do It¨ are both known across the globe. Nike has copyright on both of these things, making them infamous in the advertising world, as well as the real world. Without these two trademarks, the Nike brand would just be another average shoe company. Nobody would recognize them, and they certainly would not be making the money they do today. While celebrities like Michael Jordan and and Tiger Woods have added to the success of Nike, the designs and symbols used by Nike are original to the company itself. This makes it a standout from other companies. The simple logo makes the company look fresh, and appeals to the public. The slogan is used in daily conversation, inadvertently making consumers Nike advertisers. The idea isnt original. It is the branding that puts Nike into its own category, and has given it the success it has today.

Nike Assignment

Nike Assignment

2. Should Phil Knight/ Nike be allowed to use cheap labor in overseas locations to manufacture their products? Why or why not? Please explain your answer in a full paragraph of at least 8-10 sentences. 

Nike has grown so much within the last 30 years. Signing big name athletes like Michael Jordan has brought in bountiful amounts of money and for the company to keep expanding sometimes spreading to other countries is the only option. But, even though Nike feels as though the only way it can they can keep producing their product is using cheap slave labor, it still is morally incorrect and shouldn't be used. A company as big as Nike can have the fact that they use cheap slave labor brushed under the rug and no one will make a fuss about it. All of the popularity that the company has can cover up their wrong doings. If it were any other company, having cheap labor overseas would ruin their revenue. So, I feel that Nike should stop using slave labor. Even though no one else is making a fuss about it, they should still stop because it is just immoral. To add, paying workers overseas just a little more than they are now wouldn't even make a tiny dent into the revenue of Nike.

Adam Geibel

Nike Assignment

2. Should Phil Knight/ Nike be allowed to use cheap labor in overseas locations to manufacture their products? Why or why not? Please explain your answer in a full paragraph of at least 8-10 sentences. 

Nike has grown so much within the last 30 years. Signing big name athletes like Michael Jordan has brought in bountiful amounts of money and for the company to keep expanding sometimes spreading to other countries is the only option. But, even though Nike feels as though the only way it can they can keep producing their product is using cheap slave labor, it still is morally incorrect and shouldn't be used. A company as big as Nike can have the fact that they use cheap slave labor brushed under the rug and no one will make a fuss about it. All of the popularity that the company has can cover up their wrong doings. If it were any other company, having cheap labor overseas would ruin their revenue. So, I feel that Nike should stop using slave labor. Even though no one else is making a fuss about it, they should still stop because it is just immoral. To add, paying workers overseas just a little more than they are now wouldn't even make a tiny dent into the revenue of Nike. 

  2. Should Phil Knight/Nike be allowed to use cheap labor in overseas locations to manufacture
            their products?  Why or why not?  Please explain your answer in a full paragraph of at least
            8-10 sentences.

Nike is a huge company that has become international in its production and needs space to grow. For this reason I believe that there should be labor and work overseas for the company. However, I do not think these people should be getting paid less than workers in America or elsewhere. Even though Nike feels that the only way to maintain itself and keep progressing forward is to have cheap labor and even slave labor, this doesn't mean that it is morally correct. However it is easy for Nike to get away with this because of how big of a company they are. People don't think about the cheap labor because of how powerful they are. If it were to be a smaller company it would be easier for them to get prosecuted for cheap labor but a company as rich as Nike has all the best lawyers, all the best minds, all the best everything. Overall I think Nike should not have cheap labor because it is morally wrong, but it will because of how powerful it is.

Niko Kapetan

  2. Should Phil Knight/Nike be allowed to use cheap labor in overseas locations to manufacture
            their products?  Why or why not?  Please explain your answer in a full paragraph of at least
            8-10 sentences.

Nike is a huge company that has become international in its production and needs space to grow. For this reason I believe that there should be labor and work overseas for the company. However, I do not think these people should be getting paid less than workers in America or elsewhere. Even though Nike feels that the only way to maintain itself and keep progressing forward is to have cheap labor and even slave labor, this doesn't mean that it is morally correct. However it is easy for Nike to get away with this because of how big of a company they are. People don't think about the cheap labor because of how powerful they are. If it were to be a smaller company it would be easier for them to get prosecuted for cheap labor but a company as rich as Nike has all the best lawyers, all the best minds, all the best everything. Overall I think Nike should not have cheap labor because it is morally wrong, but it will because of how powerful it is.

Niko Kapetan

  2. Should Phil Knight/Nike be allowed to use cheap labor in overseas locations to manufacture
            their products?  Why or why not?  Please explain your answer in a full paragraph of at least
            8-10 sentences.

Nike is a huge company that has become international in its production and needs space to grow. For this reason I believe that there should be labor and work overseas for the company. However, I do not think these people should be getting paid less than workers in America or elsewhere. Even though Nike feels that the only way to maintain itself and keep progressing forward is to have cheap labor and even slave labor, this doesn't mean that it is morally correct. However it is easy for Nike to get away with this because of how big of a company they are. People don't think about the cheap labor because of how powerful they are. If it were to be a smaller company it would be easier for them to get prosecuted for cheap labor but a company as rich as Nike has all the best lawyers, all the best minds, all the best everything. Overall I think Nike should not have cheap labor because it is morally wrong, but it will because of how powerful it is.

Niko Kapetan

Swoosh: Inside Nike - Jackson Fisher

The terms 'Copyright' and 'Trademark' are immensely important to Nike's success, since they held make the brand what it is. As a competitor in the shoe and sports equipment market, it's important to cement itself as separate, individual, and better from other companies like Adidas. Copyright and Trademarks allow Nike's products to remain Nike's product. With the threat of others copying their product, its easy to put their logo on their products in order to spread the 'I need Nike products to be successful' mentality. A good example of a product like this is Air Jordans. Because of Nike's copyright, no other company can make them; they are Nike's product line and theirs alone. Its legacy continues to be successful, which in turn improves Nike too. Overall, Copyright and Trademarking allowed Nike to grow and make its mark on the shoe marketing world.

-Jackson Fisher, Period 7.

Molly Maloney's Response to Swoosh: Inside Nike

The terms "copyright" and "trademark" play into the success of Nike's products. This is because of the advertising slogan of "Just do it." It is one of the most recognized tag lines, "an international phenomenon." Nike's advertising campaigns and connection with famous athletes has definitely influenced their popularity but a large amount. Nike's ads were new, real, and let people know exactly what they were buying. The Nike Swoosh is one of the most recognizable logos, and many people are more likely to buy a product if they see the swoosh on it. When people see their favorite athletes wearing clothes and shoes with the swoosh, they are likely to want to buy their own of those clothes and shoes. The Logo is everything, and that trademarked swoosh is what makes Nike, Nike.

Phil Knight/Nike should not be allowed to use cheap labor in overseas locations to manufacture their products if the workers are too young to say they do not want to do it. Nike is not only forcing children into labor that could be considered child abuse, but they are not paying them well for the amount of work they put in. If the cheap labor is coming from adults, that agree to what they are doing, it is a very different story, because they should be old enough to make their own decisions. Nike should be allowed to use cheap labor if it can get it, wherever they can get it, as long as their are not forcing children to do the work for them. The cheap labor will help them build up more of a profit margin, which actually keeps the prices lower for the consumers, so there is a benefit from cheap labor as long as it is morally right and fair labor. 

Jordan's are still being purchased because the branding of the shoe. According to Jordan's coach, Michael Jordan brought in the fans with his basketball skills, but they stayed for the shoes. They shoes became seen almost as a designer or high end brand. They were originally meant for people to play basketball in, like Jordan did, but they turned into a stylish shoe that people see as a representation of class and style. It is believed by many that having Jordan's proves some sort of worth. Many people even turned to violence just to get a pair of them, which is partially because of their high price. The shoes ended up becoming collectables with release parties. Jordan's bond with Nike had become a real love, relationship. 

Nike Questions: Evan S

How do the terms “copyright” and  “trademark” play into the success of Nike’s products?
 Please explain your answer in a full paragraph of at least 8-10 sentences

Copy rights and trademarks have made the Nike business what it is today. Copyrights and trademarks allow a company to have ownership of something. For Nike, that is an ownership of a typer of shoe. But their ownership goes farther than that. They own the idea that their shoes are the best in the athletic world. They use athlete names (like Michael Jordan) to show that their shoes are the best. This use of copywriting and trademarking has allowed the company to have the amount of power in the shoe world that they have today. Without those things, they could never brand the way they have, and they would be nowhere near as profitable or popular.



Should Phil Knight/Nike be allowed to use cheap labor in overseas locations to manufacture
            their products?  Why or why not?  Please explain your answer in a full paragraph of at least 
            8-10 sentences.

No, they shouldn't. Even if the company makes more money with this method, it is deeply unethical. There are several things that make it unethical. Often, these places with cheap labor also have harsh conditions and don't treat their employees well. The other issue, is that it can be inefficient, especially when there are strikes. The low pay and forced overtime causes these strikes. If they moved their work to America, they could make huge amounts of American jobs. This would add to the economy, and help the country in general.



Why is the Air Jordan brand still so successful today?  In your answer, please refer to 
            Michael Jordan’s (and others interviewed) responses about branding and how the
            elite athlete endorsement process has changed since the time Michael Jordan first
            formed a relationship with Nike.  Please explain your answer in a full paragraph of at 
            least 8-10 sentences.

Jordan says that his air Jordan's are popular, because they represent what he did to basketball. His breakthroughs make people want to be more like him. In this wanting, they take the shoes that he wore, and they try to wear shoes that are as similar to his as possible. The popularity of these shoes has changed a lot since they started. They have become crazily popular. So popular, that customers will wait outside the stores for over five days to get the shoes as fast as they possibly can. Now, everyone wears them. Even people who are wearing tuxedos as big events wear Jordans.

Nina Laurent - Manufacturing

Nike began as a small company run by a few geeks out of the back of a truck. Before the company became popular, most people wore Adidas and Converse. The creator wanted a light, sturdy shoe that would work for track as best as a shoe can. After college he took his blueprints to Japan and his passion and drive became a reality. He wanted to be the best, and it became a battle with Adidas for just that. Their branding became a way of life, and that means growing in the world market place. To compete on this global scale they had to make cheap products, which meant cheap labor. Nike has to work with overseas manufacturing if they want to keep up with their demands and image, they have to do so by any means, and that means cheap over seas labor.

Kayla Lesch

   

1.         How do the terms “copyright” and  “trademark” play into the success of Nike’s products?
 Please explain your answer in a full paragraph of at least 8-10 sentences.

Trademarks help Nike because as Nike becomes more popular, more and more people see clothing and products with the trademark. Because the trademark is popular, people want to buy and wear products with the trademark because this is "cool". Also, because it is copy righted, other companies cannot copy the Nike symbol onto their own products and sell it for cheaper. This way, Nike has a monopoly on products with the Nike trademark.

2.      Should Phil Knight/Nike be allowed to use cheap labor in overseas locations to manufacture
            their products?  Why or why not?  Please explain your answer in a full paragraph of at least
            8-10 sentences.

Phil Knight/Nike should not be allowed to use cheap labor in overseas locations to manufacture their products. The plus to getting to use cheap labor overseas is that companies can make their products for cheap and sell them for cheap but still make a large profit. However, I am doing my Junior Research paper on modern day slavery and not all but many companies that do this use child labor and sweatshops. Nike is one company that has been accused of this. Back in the 1990's it was found that workers in Nike factories were being exposed to toxic fumes and that it exploited many child laborers. Although since then Nike has promised to follow stricter health codes and employ older workers, it is not clear that they are actually following through. Nike always give advanced notice to factories before they are checked for toxic fumes, giving them time to remove the fumes. Also, there is still questionable evidence over whether Nike uses child labor. 

 3.       Why is the Air Jordan brand still so successful today?  In your answer, please refer to
            Michael Jordan’s (and others interviewed) responses about branding and how the
            elite athlete endorsement process has changed since the time Michael Jordan first
            formed a relationship with Nike.  Please explain your answer in a full paragraph of at
            least 8-10 sentences.

The Air Jordan brand is still so successful because Michael Jordan, and other famous athletes, are so publicized. When a consumer sees a product, such as Air Jordans, with Michael Jordan's name on it, they immediatly connect the product to Jordan. Jordan is connected to fame, success and being cool. Especially among younger children, people are influenced by what others around them are wearing, and seeing an endorsed player wearing Nike influences consumers to want to wear Nike clothing. This helps keep the Air Jordans so successful.  Also, Air Jordan's stay successful by constantly coming out with new shoes. People who like the Air Jordans want to keep up with the product and will continue to buy the newest shoe, kind of like buying new iPhones. 

Niko Kapetan

1. I felt that Morgan and Alex did a good job budgeting their money despite all the problems they had. They saved every penny they could in the week by doing the little things, like Alex walking to the job, eating beans and rice for a week, and they went to a second hand store to get things for their apartment. Doing these things enabled them to be able to go out on Alex's birthday and take the kids out to the movies. But, these pleasures were also things that they didn't have to have, and because they spent their money for these things and went to the emergency room, they were in debt within a couple of weeks. Doing these things are for sure fun, but when you are working on minimum wage it might be a better idea to save up some money for things like paying rent and buying groceries. If Alex and Morgan made it to their second month they wouldn't have been able to pay their rent because they spent all their money on personal pleasures. It is all about personal choice if you ever get to this point, you can either spend your money to put you in risk for being in debt or save all your money and stay out of debt.

9 . When Morgan and Alex walked in to the Salvation Army-like store, Alex was overrun with emotion. She saw all of these people working and giving to people that were less fortunate. She realized that these people were now working for her. I don't think it had struck her how poor they were and going into this store was really shocking for her.

30 Days on Minimum Wage - Jaydyn Perrin

11. In the documentary, the electric company asks Morgan and Alex for a deposit so they can have electricity. However, I am not surprised by this request from the electric company mostly because they were living in low income neighborhood. Many of the people, majority of them being Black, displays an image that they probably cannot always afford to pay the monthly bill for electricity, which negatively affects the electric company by losing money. Even though family’s aren't to blame for not being able to pay the electric bill on time due to other financial causes like struggling to feed, clothe, and staying healthy are just basic necessities. But the people working at the electric company also need to be payed so they can support their own families. Because the address where Morgan and Alex live had a history of not being able to pay for electricity, the company tells them they must pay a deposit so the company can ensure that they will still make money.


9. The reason Alex became so emotional about the services that were given to her and Morgan at "The Free Store" was because she realized how important it was to receive these free items. Before that, Alex didn't have any furniture in her house which made it harder to relax and enjoy proper meals. This was probably very touching for Alex especially because she's never had to experience anything like this ever before. In addition, Alex realized that it would be a challenge to go on without these items that "The Free Stores gave to her, which was why she is so grateful and thankful that she can have these items for free.

Matthew Walsh 30 Days Living at Minimum Wage

2) Budgeting played a huge role in the survival of Alex and Morgan during their 1 month of living on minimum wage because it allowed them to get food and shelter, what they needed to survive. Minimum wage is only $7.25/hour and as mentioned in the video, sometimes people on minimum wage don’t even get that much, because they are expected to get tips from customers in jobs like working at a cafe. This in addition to needing money for food and shelter makes living at minimum wage very difficult as money starts running short. They needed to plan what their apartment costed, what their electricity costed, and they needed to budget what their food would cost and what it would be. In addition they accumulated medical costs over the course of the month. They tried to budget as much as they could but the medical bills that they got at the end of the month, just from going into the emergency room twice, totaled at around $1,000, which they mentioned would take almost 3 months to pay off. This makes budgeting even more important. There was even an argument part of the way through the month, when they went to the movies, about how Morgan was spending too much money on the children and how they should be spending less and budgeting more. All of this shows the importance and stress put on budgeting during their 30 days. This stress was caused by the fact that they needed food and shelter to survive for the one month.

7) I don’t agree with Senator Ted Kennedy’s argument to raise minimum wage. Raising the minimum wage only helps families if they don’t lose their jobs because of it. If the minimum wage is increased companies are just going to start firing people because either they don’t have the profit to support those people, or they would lose too much of their profit on paying said people. A company's first priority is to their investors not to improving the situation of their employees. It should not be expected that companies will willingly take on a minimum wage raise without massive employee cuts. While a low minimum wage may not seem to help the working poor, or those who are earning minimum wage and are constantly working but fall below the poverty line, it can because it provides them with jobs that pay money instead of unemployment which pays nothing. There is an argument for a higher minimum wage though. A higher minimum wage would allow families to have a much better quality of life and they wouldn’t have to live paycheck to paycheck, and they would become less dependent on others to survive. This itself could help people get more money and therefore spend more money for companies to get and they themselves spend. But overall a much better strategy to help the poor is to allow them to actually get jobs and have a lower minimum wage, freeing up companies money, and support themselves instead of having no money or income at all.

30 Days on Minimum Wage- Kendall Coleman

2) Budgeting played a big role in the survival of Alex and Morgan, if they were to not spend their money wisely they would have been without money for a long period of time. When they both began to have health problems they had to get some type of help so they ended up going to the hospital and will later have to pay an expensive bill.

4) It would be very likely for me to just walk away from the landlord without paying the entire sum because if I know that I don't have enough money to give him and still try to survive with the little money that I have, I would't be able to survive. If I had little to no money he wouldn't get it because I still need to eat and pay for public transportation. I will just have to find someone to stay with or find a shelter until I know I have enough money to pay for a cheaper apartment.

Marc Dahlman (Living For 30 Days on Minimum Wage)

9. Why Do you think that Alex Became so emotional about the services that were given to her and Morgan at the Free Store?Alex became emotional because she never has had to experience something like that or even know that there were people like that in the world. most people including myself would never have to go through something like this and even imagining that people have to do this makes us think of things differently. I know that i view things like giving to the less fortunate as more of a thing that i see myself doing because we don't really know just how much it means. This emotion form Alex is also tied into all of the other struggles that she and Morgan were facing while living on minimum, and to think that people have to do this day in and day out instead of just 30 days is something that is hard to handle. It is because of this that makes me wonder why the goevernment and politicians wont raise the minimum wage whether its raised a dollar or 3 dollars it is obvious that they change needs to come from the higher level of america

12. While Morgan and Alex spent their 30 days on minimum we see them get into arguments over spending and things like food and furniture. For example when Morgan is buying food for the kids in the market and Alex is getting upset because she has been walking to work and Morgan is just spending it on extra food. This happens all over the country is is the main root to most divorces in the United States. The conflict of money is something aimless face every day and is yet another reason for people to push the government for a higher minimum wage.

Kayla Lesch - 30 Days Blog

Living 30 Days on Minimum Wage Blog!

7.  In 2009, the federal minimum wage was raised to $7.25 per hour. Since then, the cost of living has greatly increased. Over 150 million families are living on minimum wage jobs, yet since 2009 inflation has caused everything from apples to energy to become more expensive. Sen. Ted Kennedy gave an inspiring speech in 2007 for raising minimum wage. Since then, many more congressmen have joined his argument such as Bernie Sanders. They argue that it has become impossible for families to live on $7.25/hour and want to raise the minimum wage to around $15/hour. I agree that for the short term, raising minimum wage is necessary to save families struggling to survive. However, in the long term I do not believe this one change would fix the system of poverty in our country. Opposing views to raising the minimum wage argue that because businesses would have to pay their employees more, they would not be able to hire as many people and many people would be fired. In addition, to compensate for the increased salaries business owners are paying their employees, they may choose to raise the prices of their products. This would once again cause the cost of living to increase which would lead to raising the minimum wage once again and it just continues in a circle. Something must be done about the minimum wage in this country, but I do not think that making one change would fix the entire system.

11. In the movie, the electric company asks Morgan and Alex for a deposit. Unfortunately, I am not surprised by this request. Because they were living in low income neighborhood, many of the people there probably cannot always afford to pay the monthly bill for electricity and the electric company must lose money to this. Although it is not these family’s faults for not being able to pay every month when they are also struggling to feed, clothe, educate themselves and stay healthy, the people working at the electric company also need to be payed so they can support their own families. Because the address where Morgan and Alex live had a history of not being able to pay for electricity, the company tells them they must pay a deposit so the company can ensure that they will still make money.

Living for 30 days on Minimum Wage - Cj Bolling

#8. Define who the working poor are.

In terms of the American economy I believe “working poor” means people living check to check just to survive. They work everyday and as many hours as they can to make ends meet. I know many people like this and even though they keep pushing on to stay alive and somewhat housed. They are very depressed and honestly it’s no way to live for any human being of modern time, because we are better than what we were a couple hundred years ago in regards to living conditions. This low-end life entails “working yourself to the bone”, barely having any food, paying bills back to back, and not having too much free time causing miserability. Alex and Morgan handle this seemingly okay because even though they weren’t used to the conditions, they had each other (and a show to finish) which motivated them to suck it up. People in this real situation are less fortunate in most aspects and have to deal with this type of living for years or even their whole life until something changes for them. The situation is quite dire if you have children.

#11. Are you surprised about the electric company deposit request? Why?

This is very expected from a company that’s overseeing an obvious underdeveloped housing complex and the people that rent this housing cannot guarantee they’ll have the rent every month like they should, due to the job they’re working of course. Which is usually very low paying, aka minimum wage. Because people can’t always pay rent the company running the housing requests a down payment of the rent which is the deposit so if people don’t come up with the money or run out they’ll have some type of payment for letting them live in the apartment when they did. In a more positive manner, some landlords do it to let an unqualified person, be qualified, with bad credit or doesn’t meet the income metric for the apartment they they are trying to rent.

  

(Miles McKenna) 30 Days on Minimum Wage 

#3: Do you feel that race was a factor in getting hired or finding an apartment for Morgan and Alex?

What about the fact that they had no children?

Yes, definitely they were able to find an apartment within less than a month. Sometimes for a family of color people are reluctant to let the live there because of racial profiling. When my parents moved here from France they were able to find an apartment in Rogers Park in less than two months and they barley spoke English. While a family friend of ours who is black was looking for a little over a year. The Slum Lord also gave them more time to pay their security deposit which I believe that decisions was influenced by his thoughts on their security deposit and I highly doubt he gave anyone else moving in of color time to pay the security deposit.

#12:Observe how easy it was for Morgan and Alex to get into an argument over finances.  What is the underlying feeling that you think is at the cause of the conflict?

I think the underlying feeling for Alex and Morgan was the lack of trust that the had for each other. I think they both think that their spouse is not making as many sacrifices for each other. For example Morgan isn't too good at handling money because he already has a decent amount of money in real life. Morgan has different expectations and standards from Alex so they aren't on the same page. For example when Morgan and Alex brought their niece and nephew to the super market Morgan bought a pastry while Alex was gone and Alex was upset because she thinks it was too costly for them but because Morgan has a different exceptions he thought it was okay. 

Brianna Williams 30-Day Minimum Wage Project

Brianna Williams

Period: 6

2-17-16

30-Day Minimum Wage Project

When my class was watching the movie, and it got to the part where they had to look for an apartment they chose a cheap apartment but the apartment was empty, and they didn’t have enough money to good furniture, so when Alex said enough is enough, they went to an all free store and that’s when they got the free furniture, and when that happened Alex started to cry. I believe that Alex started to cry because she felt bad because when the thirty days was over they’d go back to their rich lives, where that have a lot of money, and whatever they wanted they could buy. But the way they were living, some people live that life for the rest of their lives. I believe that she was also happy because if people didn’t take out their time on their lives to give things away so people who work on minimum can have a comfortable home, then, they wouldn’t have any furniture.

During the movie in the middle of the movie Morgan and Alex started to argue because when they had his niece and nephew they wanted to go to the movies and they wanted candy, and they spent about forty dollars that day, and Alex got mad at Morgan because Alex said that she worked too hard for the money that they have and he just spent the money too easily, but Morgan wanted to have a little fun, because they were always in the apartment, and he just wanted to take the kids out for some fun instead of being bored in their apartment. I believe that the cause to that conflict is how people who work on minimum wage stress over how they going to get by with the money that they have and if one of their partners just spend it for fun it angers them.

Living for 30 Days on Minimum Wage Response (Nikita V. Kondratyev)

Living for 30 Days

on Minimum Wage

By Nikita V. Kondratyev

8. The working poor are the group of people who have some type of work, but the work they have isn't able to keep them afloat. Whether this means that they are unable to purchase food, pay for rent, or acquire other basic necessities, the inability to get the money for these things, while still having a job puts an individual or a family under this oxymoron. This problem is one that the government has to address, minimum wage should give an individual the bare minimum in order to live independently of others, instead in today's world, minimum wage pays well below that line. Living in a first world country should create a better living for all citizens, not just lucky ones, and for the U.S. to be fighting over raising this wage is simply an embarrassment. Anyone who watches this episode of 30 days can see the neglect the government gives this group. Alex and Morgan had no luxuries whatsoever. Injuries were a death sentence for an individual's bank account and there are no vacation’s ever due to the individual living from check till check. The rich are able to rake in billions and keep most of it while the less fortunate suffer at the bottom, this is a huge red flag that our system we have today is flawed and any sensible person can see this.

10. Alex and Morgan were placed in a horrible situation that many have to deal with daily. Does one take care of their injuries and break the bank or do you simply hope that it gets better? Alex and Morgan eventually decided that they would get their injuries and infections checked out, which cost them nearly 1500$ dollars and amount that could pay for more than 3 months of rent. In their shoes I would've done the same thing, if you leave an injury alone it is likely that it will get worse, until you cant work. A hospital visit may be a huge setback but it is one you can come back from, unlike permanent damage to your body from which there is likely no recovery from. This dilemma is one that shouldn't exist, it is the government's duty to its people to allow them to not have to decide between survival and curing of pain, but today we have made only small steps toward this ideal. Hospitals shouldn't try to be a business like they are today, the wellbeing of the people should be the number one concern of the hospital and the government.

Isabel Walker - 30 Days on Minimum Wage

3. Do you feel that race was a factor in getting hired or finding an apartment for Morgan and Alex? What about the fact they had no children?

Race was definitely a large factor for Morgan and Alex when searching for jobs and an apartment. Even when living in poverty, they still experienced “white privilege”. With these “white privileges” came unearned credibility. This credibility helped both Alex and Morgan, especially Alex, find a job within their first day of looking. Finding a job is not always as easy as it appeared to be for these two; for many people, finding a job can be a very difficult challenge, even when it is one paying minimum wage. When buying their apartment, Morgan and Alex were cut a lot of slack. The landlord allowed Morgan and Alex to pay half their payment at the start, trusting them to pay him back later. This trust he had for them, was not because they had steady jobs or a high credit score, but (it can be assumed it was) due to them being white. If he had not shown this unearned trust in them, Alex and Morgan would have not been able to find an apartment as quickly or as affordable for them. Throughout Alex's and Morgan’s thirty day challenge of living off minimum wage, their race played a large factor in their experiences and results. The other major factor that worked to Alex and Morgan's advantage was not having kids. Not having kids not only took away the stress of entertaining them and keeping them safe and happy, but also was substantially cheaper for them. Their debt would have been significantly larger, had they had kids. Extra food, clothes, furniture, and childcare would more than double their normal spendings, which would make their debt extremely larger.

2. Do you agree with Sen. Ted Kennedy’s argument that raising the minimum wage helps families?

Regarding minimum wage, I agree with Senator Ted Kennedy. Senator Ted Kennedy was a large advocate for raising minimum wage for the benefit of those who are living off it. Alex and Morgan’s experience over the 30 day period helped me see that living on only minimum wage really is not something that is achievable. Alex and Morgan did everything right: budgeting, finding jobs, and keeping track of their bills. Regardless of their responsibility and work ethics, they still ended their 30 day period with a debt of around $1,000. Raising minimum wage would allow minimum wage workers to pay their bills on time- resulting in higher credit scores, provide for their family, and hopefully lead a slightly less stressful life. Those who argued against Ted Kennedy, big businesses, are against for reasons solely based off selfishness. Yes, raising minimum wage would take away from their annual profits, but when you have billions and billions of dollars, like these big businesses, you can afford to spare a few dollars. It is not sensible or fair for people to be spending their whole lives working and yet always be in debt, it causes endless cycles of poverty for families. Raising the minimum wage would help these families escape debt and this seemingly endless cycle.