Ajah Miller, Period 8 -Question 9

I think that Alex became so emotional at the free store because she was starting to reach her breaking point. She had to live in extreme conditions that she was not used to, she was running on no sleep and she was stressed. Also, without the free store they would not have been able to get themselves any furniture.  She finally realized how much her life was changed by their limited income. The free store was a reality check for her.

Question #9- Jocelyn Morales Martinez, period 7
         Alex became emotional since she felt the love of the people at the Free Store, and how generous they were, even though they sometimes don’t get anything in return. She realized that there are good people in this world that are wiling to help those in need.  That there’s a place where people who are financially unstable can go for help, and can be given a helping hand. I personally believe that this store isn’t getting much credit for their generosity and their help. She also felt emotional because people like her can rely on and not have to worry about structure in their home. Overall, this store makes homes feel like home for people who don’t own much. Because with the furniture they give they are building a home that people can go and relax in. A well-decorated house can prove relationships between families, and their friends. Alex and Morgan overall were filled with excitement and trust for their community. 

Sam Evans Blog

I think that if I were in the same position that Alex and Morgan were, I would have definitely left the horrible housing that I did not pay the landlord for. When you are living by the skin of your teeth, and you don't have much money, you have to save every penny that you earn. After a month of earning and all of the expenses that need to be paid, to go put your first payment down on the same apartment would not be the same as putting a new down payment on a different apartment… It could save you a lot of money. So, overall, if I were to be in this situation… With not much to my name, and a tough payment lurking around the corner, I would be out of that apartment quicker than you could think. Life is tough, but it is much tougher for the person paying the rent, rather than the one collecting it.

I feel for those that are put in this situation, because it probably does not feel very good to screw someone over, after they were nice enough to help you pay your down payment. Some people have it much rougher than you know. If I were the landlord, I would have not tried to find Alex and Morgan, I would have let them off. It is the right thing to do.. To help someone in need.

Davion Martinez: 30 days

3). I feel like race does play apart in getting things like houses and jobs, due to the fact they are white, they were able to get jobs easy. If they were black people then they would be looked at differently and probably wouldn't be accepted the same way a white person would. Also I feel that children does help probably get you a job quicker so you would be able to support them but being white and children are both benefits to getting a job easier. Now a days you see things like that happen, when its easier for whites to get jobs faster then blacks because society hasn't accepted the fact that blacks are going to overpower the world.

Ricardo Correa

#9 when alex started to cry when they were at the free store was because she was starting to lose it. this is because she has never lived a life like this before it was hard for her to adjust to the lives they were living for only 5 days at that time that is why i think she was crying

Ethan Hedman Period 8

3) Yes, I believe that Alex and Morgan being white absolutely helped them in finding and getting hired at a job, especially as quickly as they did. When getting a job on minimum wage is necessary, how fast you are able to get hired is a matter of life and death, especially if you have children. Had Alex or Morgan been a Person of Color, I doubt that they would have found work as quickly as they had. 

Jacob Greifer

In the film Living For 30 Days on Minimum Wage, Morgan Spurlock and his girlfriend Alex Jamieson spent a month living in Cleveland, OH working jobs on minimum wage. One person that Spurlock meets named Gerald talks about how the cost of living wage has devalued over the last 25 years. This is due to the minimum wage cost staying the same, but the cost of living rising. 25 years ago, prices for most everyday necessities were much cheaper, so the minimum wage was enough to pay for everything, but now as those prices have risen, it’s almost impossible to pay for them. Having a family and trying to live a happy, healthy life is hard to do on minimum wage, which is shown through this move.

Aisha Steele

3. There might of been a race factor in Morgan and Alex's job hunting because they were able to find jobs rather quickly, I feel that if they were of another race it would have been harder for them to find jobs. Having no children made it easier for them to get jobs because they didn't have to structure hours around getting home in time to feed kids or getting off to pick them up for day care or for a babysitter to go home, Morgan and Alex were more independent because they didn't have kids.
4. It would have been very unlikely for me to just walk away from a landlord without paying him the amount owed because I am african american.

I think that Alex became so emotional about the services she and Morgan were offered at the free store, because in our society today, the is a dehumanization of the poor. They are treated like dirt, and not real human beings. The genuine kindness and help that they got at the Free store was something very unexpected, and something that went against the grain of the poor experience. In addition, it provided a sense of stability in there lives, and the furnishings provided helped to make the dingy little apartment they were staying in become a home. It gave them a home, and a real place of comfort to come back to at the end of their long and strenuous days.

Shama Kipfer-Tessler

In the film 30 Days on Miniumum Wage, Morgan Spurlock and his girlfriend Alex Jamieson spend a month working minimum wage jobs. Morgan quickly finds work at a temp agency, and a man named Gerald says that he was paid better 25 years ago than now. He explains how the cost of living wage has devalued over the last 25 years. Meaning that although the amount of money he was paid has remained the same, the cost of living has increased. If the cost of everything has inreased, while minimum wage remains the same, it become harder to survive. It doesn’t make sense that while the price of everything has increased, minimum wage has remained so low and rarely is increased. Morgan and his girlfriend struggle to pay doctor bills, rent and buying food. Imagine having a kid on top of all of that. This film really highlights that minumum wage needs to be raised.

Julia Pettersen

Alex reacted like any warm blooded person would have when given such kindness in a time of such struggle. Being from a life of privilege, Alex is experiencing such a culture difference that is a shock to her system. On any other day the kind gesture would've been recognized and she would've continued on her day. This situation has placed Alex in a state with a huge amount of vulnerability. Seeing how giving these people, who have little to give themselves, is simply astounding.

Grace Carey

Question #8
In this documentary Alex and Morgan were living the life of the "working poor" for 30 days. They threw away everything and started a life from the beginning, renting an apartment and living all off of minimum wage. The whole idea of the documentary was to show the struggles of living as someone who is classified as "the working poor". People who apart of the "working poor" are people who have jobs and do work, but are only paid minimum wage and are living paycheck to paycheck. These people are working multiple low paying jobs to support themselves but still have barely any money.

Alma Leon

9.Living a good life is not a problem for any person. Having a nice house with electricity and gas to keep the house warm. Having enough food to eat and being able  to pay to go and eat at a restaurant. Morgan and Alex took the challenge of getting out of their comfort zone and living the life on minimum wage for 30 days. Alex and Morgan have to live with no heat, little food, and barely enough money to just waltz into a store and buy furniture. It has only been the first week and they are already struggling. Morgan and Alex feel mentally and physically exhausted for working several hours a day and figuring out how to pay the landlord. So Morgan is already feeling the pressure of living like this.
Both go to 'The Free Store' and get the furniture that they cannot afford in a regular store. Morgan then becomes emotional for being so thankful from the people at 'The Free Store' to take their time to help other people in need. Morgan is having the experience of having to depend on people that are being so generous and nice to others that are struggling to get things that they can't afford.

Kisjon Davis

How good were Morgan and Alex at budgeting for the 30 days period?

 There budgeting for the 30 days was good but not good enough. Morgan spent money on unnecessary things and Alex did good with her budgeting. Than they had to spend money on reasonable things like when they both had to go to the hospital. Budgeting for Alex was good because she didn't spend money on harley anything. Unlike Morgan he spent money on things like snacks.

Sadie Clayton

9.  Alex and Morgan needed a few furniture items but they couldn't find a cheap place to get those things. They did some looking and they found a store called The Free Store, this store is to help those who are living paycheck to paycheck. All items in the store were free. The store looks at your credit and your income and they give an estimate of whether or not you're aloud to be in that store. While Morgan was ecstatic about the amount of items were there for people to look at and possibly take home Alex was an emotional wreck. Alex seemed to have cracked under the stress of living on minimum wage, she's not used to this sort of living or maybe has never experienced it but has seen some of her friends in this situation. She felt that it was just a generous thing to do for those in need of clothes, furniture, pots and pans, and other items. Her eyes were opened in that moment from then on through out the 30 days.

                           

Sam Mulica

Question #4

I feel as if it would be extremely hard to walk away from a landlord who had been helping out me and my family without paying him the full amount owed. Morgan and Alex were put in a difficult position where they were unable to afford paying their landlord the full payment, and departed before doing so. I feel this would be an extremely difficult position to be put in, obviously no one wants to not pay people the money they deserve but sometimes things call for harsh measures. Morgan and Alex had little money while this landlord barley cared about his apartments, there had recently been a crack house discovered bellow. Being put in the same position Alex and Morgan were put in, I think I would have reacted the same exact way. Although I would have felt extremely guilty while doing so, I believe I would have left the landlord without paying him the entire sum owed.

Josue Infante

30 days off minimum wage

Raising the minimum wage would help a lot. I don't see how one could think that it wouldn't. So many families are struggling toe survive right now and I have family who are victims of minimum wage living. Most families living off minimum wage are BARELY MAKING IT. Raising the minimum wage would definitely help them. They would have enough money to make it, they could proudly say after a hard years work: "I made it" Those who are barely making it only think: "I made it…barely." They work so hard they deserve to have enough for themselves and their families they deserve the best future for their kids. This is why raising minimum wage would be such a good thing.

Lucy Sattler

3. I believe that race was factor in getting hired or finding an apartment for Morgan and Alex. This is based off of the unfortunate near-fact of white supremacy in our society. This means that there are underlying inclinations in our society that give white people more privileges than people of color. This is terrible and needs to be changed, but unfortunately racism is something incredibly difficult to erase. When we were doing practice interviews for buying our apartments, Ms.Gordon told us that landlords will scrutinize people of color more than whites. I also believe that not having kids contributed to their ability to get an apartment because less kids means less damage to the apartment.

7. I agree that raising minimum wage helps families. In the movie we learned that, due to inflation, the cost of living has significantly increased. This means that you need more money to survive, and minimum wage does not even come close to being enough. Minimum wage is the bare minimum needed to survive. These families are the ones that need money the most: for simple things like food, clothes, school supplies, and hospital bills. In the movie we saw how much a hospital bill can be without insurance. The big businesses, however, can do without the extra dollars and do not need it as much. Although it might throw their profits off at first, they should not have been relying on the low wages in the first place and will adjust accordingly. If this means raising prices, then that will be fine, since people will be getting paid more anyway.

Ezra Brown

10.   If I felt that it was an emergency, I would most definitely go to the doctor or ER.  With children, I would take them to the doctor if they need to go to the doctor for any reason, even if it does not mean staying in the black.

1    11. The electricity deposit does not surprise me.  This is one of the risks of buying or renting less expensive apartments.  Even though it may not be fair that the electricity company is forcing a deposit, they need to make money too.

Kyra Loew

9. When Alex received free but needed items from The Free Store, she broke down under both the shop’s uncommon gesture of generosity as well as the pressure and demands of the minimum wage lifestyle. Being used to the comfort of wealth, it was hard for Alex to suddenly adjust to living in an apartment with a downstairs crack house, carpets and counters crawling with roaches and ants, and eating rice and beans every night for dinner. Both Morgan and Alex experienced a lifestyle where their safety was not secure. Sudden medical ailments or property damages can easily build up an expensive pile of bills. They not only have to find balance in their budget, but also in their own well-being.