Eliza McDaniel

Erin is certainly pushy in getting a job, but her job pursuit is motivated by the fact that she has three small mouths to feed.  In order to do her first job, be a good mom, she has to get a second job, one that pays.  Regardless of one’s situation however, the average american knows that you wait till payday to get your earnings.  Due to her situation I think her definition of right and wrong in the workplace is skewed to ‘whatever gets me paid’.  However, this ideology changes as she discovers the plight of Hinckley and the people there.  As time goes on, Erin becomes dedicated and resolute in getting help, recognition, and money to the people in Hinckley.  This culminates in treating and seeing the people in Hinckley as human beings in a rough situation.  Eventually, she sees her job as a way to help others and support herself.

I thought Ed Masry made promises he didn’t keep at the start of the film.  I don’t think he worked as hard for Erin’s case as he would have for a client whose pockets were lined with gold.  Simply because his firm has so much more on the line with rich clients than with clients that can’t pay for services.  While I don’t think he was unjustified, I still think he could have advised Erin more about the proceedings of cort and worked harder to win the case.  Stepping outside the context of the movie for a bit, I think that every attorney should give the same service to everyone.  Reason being that currently, money is one of the biggest rulers of the court, not evidence or testimony.  Because of this money centric justice system, many get off that shouldn’t and many more don’t get the compensation they deserve.  

I think Erin sees herself as an employee to pay the bills and potentially move up the ranks. At the start of the movie, she is out of options for employment. Her primary concern is being able to pay the bills, keep her house, and feed her kids. I don't think Erin sees Ed Masry as someone other than her boss. I think they do become friends over the course of the movie, but I don't think there is a romantic air between Erin and Ed.  Because she's working for her kids, she does the best job she possibly can. When this case intrigued her, she started to investigate to find answers.

I agree with Erin.  In appealing to the attorney's humanity and sense of self, Erin took the corporation and money out of the law and made it personal. It's not right what happened to the plaintiffs. The question is, what does the organization at fault have to do, to make up for their misdeeds. I think it is right to ask for payment for all expenses on medical bills, and and enough money to buy a house where water is not being poisoned, plus more for compensation. If I can't have kids because of the drinking water that I had as a child, I would people responsible for that drinking water filtration to pay big. It is unquantifiable the potential kids I could have had if I became infernal through poisoned water.  Erin has a point and she makes it.

Natalie Chamberlain's Responce

7.  I do agree with Sen. Ted Kennedy’s argument that raising the minimum wage helps families. This is because the federal minimum wage was established in 1938 to insure that workers could maintain a minimum standard of living.  But the cost of living has dramatically increased over the years, yet the minimum wage has not increased at the same rate.  Sen. Kennedy proposed multiple bills to congress attempting to raise the minimum wage.  He believed that we should increase the minimum wage which would increase productivity, bring children out of poverty, and then strengthen the whole economy.  Opponents argue that raising the minimum wage would cripple businesses forcing them to cut employment and lay off workers.  Multi-billion dollar companies take this position because they want to have a as much money as possible and do not consider the needs of their working poor.

12. Towards the end of the month, when his niece and nephew came, Morgan and Alex started arguing about finances. Morgan wanted to make the kids happy by taking them to a movie and getting treats, but Alex thought they shouldn't be spending money on things that were not crucial to their survival.  They both had good intentions, and it's hard to say which one was right. But the underlying feeling was the stress and worry about living paycheck to paycheck on minimum wage.  That kind of payment is not enough to cover all their needs, which is why their relationship was under a lot of stress.