 Tags: class, inequality, minimum wage, poverty, 21 to 60 mins Year: 2005 Length: 44:20 Access: no online access Summary: This is the first episode of Morgan Spurlock's (creator of Supersize Me) show, 30 Days. In this epdisode, Spurlock and his fiancee spend 30 days living on minimum wage. They begin the experience with a week's pay ($178 in 2005 dollars, after taxes) and start looking for an apartment (they find a dilapidated apartment in a bad neighborhood) and jobs. The show covers their experiences on minimum wage, including battling hunger, navigating the unreliable bus system, issues of neighborhood safety, the physical and emotional stresses of minimum wage work, difficult budgeting decisions, dealing with no health insurance, the hidden costs of poverty (e.g. paying deposits not charged to others), and challenges finding affordable activities for kids and family. Throughout the video, it also briefly explores the structural conditions shaping these experiences: the meaning behind the minimum wage, debates around increasing the minimum wage, programs for the working poor, and the relationship between family structure and poverty. When using this in class, you may note that the minimum wage has increased since the filming of this video. Submitted By: Paul Dean
3 Comments
Paul Dean
2/11/2011 09:54:06 pm
While the minimum wage has increased since the filming of this video, these increases have not kept pace with inflation and the cost of living. The Economic Policy Institute offers a variety of resources on minimum wage, including updated facts, FAQs, and graphs and charts. Information may be found here: http://epi.3cdn.net/1010456170680f8fc7_lem6b99v9.pdf. 6/20/2013 07:49:35 pm
"Can you at least pay me what I got thirty years ago?" This was a sad comment by one of the day workers in the video that probably represent the plight of a lot of occupations in the U.S. today. Another critical point was that no matter how hard you work, an accident or medical bill can break you financially. You don't have to be getting minimum wage for this to happen. For newslinks related to financial problems, also see http://www.moneyspork.com
Lindsay Hamm
10/20/2017 08:27:33 am
You can find the link on youtube right now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmSGEGOVI34 Leave a Reply. |
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