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.