[Starlenie Erner] 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?
I believe Alex became so emotional because after taking on the lifestyle of someone in the working-poor class, she witnessed how unfortunate people can be. Living day-to-day, depending on each paycheck was really stressful for Alex and Morgan as that isn't at all how they lived before. They had to deprive themselves of many things (i.e. medical attention, common groceries, etc.) just to get by. Alex felt an overwhelming sense of happiness when she and Morgan received services, amazed that people with so little could still be willing to give so much. When you're coming from a low-income background you depend on the help of others and you feel fortunate about having it. During the scene at The Free Store, there was an adult who who spoke on his daily struggles as a low-income, single parent. The man was homeless with a daughter. He said he struggled to provide for her as he was making so little money and he didn't even have a home of his own. The working poor struggle daily to care for themselves without the resources needed to do so. In one scene, a man who Morgan worked a job with explained that he was making less than he did 25 years ago - and even then he wasn't making much. When you have children involved, your entire paycheck goes towards their needs. On the daily, you have to make sure they're being fed and clothed making it even harder to take care of yourself if you need medical attention or want something for yourself.
#12: What was the underlying feeling that you think is at the cause of the conflict?
It was easy for Morgan and Alex to to get into arguments because they were both really stressed out. Bringing in the little money that were gaining created a lot of pressure. Morgan, for example, waited for awhile before he went to see a doctor about his wrist because they didn't have the money to spare. He depended on stray pickles that he took from his job because they weren't making enough for him to buy food whenever he felt like it. They weren't used to budgeting and shared different views when it came down to bonding time with his brother's kids. That tension created by financial stress can easily cultivate into spite and other negative emotions towards others when you don't have a healthy balance of positivity in your life. Morgan, spending 18 hours away from home, and Alex with her urinary tract infection had more downs than ups. They often had more to disagree on or complain about than anything else because of stress.
I completely agree with you star. I mean we know that Morgan is worth literally millions of dollars and budgeting isn't natural for people of their status. The working poor are people who work on or two minimum wage jobs to support their families. Which they can't do, but somehow still manage to survive. Moran and Alex aren't use to struggling and that created so much tension. It started off as an experiment but it became their life and that was frustrating because of the real life problems they faced and couldn't avoid. Their quality of life was decreased by 100 percent or more. Their first few nights they slept on the floor, ate on the floor and had infestation of ants. That situation is depressing and could cause anyone to fall below the standard happiness and standard quality of living.
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