30 days on FX

[Neil D]

on a cable channel, specifically, FX, there is a program called 30 days. It focus' on social issues. It is produced by the same man who made "Super size me".

I just saw a segment that focused on minimum wage. Can a couple make money on minimum wage for 30 days?

This couple did not. Of course, they had to work the mimimum wage jobs, which involved manuel labor. Due to injuries, there were 2 ER visits, and the program chronicaled thier attempts to get health care thru the free clinics. Result, they lost a days wage, and it cost them nearly 3 months of work. The man took a second job, and he was was working nearly 18 hours a day away from his home.

To experience how couples with children make it on a minimum wages, He even had his brother send THIER kids down, to show how the working poor have fun. Their library showed that free 'fun' things to do included a tour of the bank, a tour of a bakery, a tour of the hospital. It was irony at it's mocking best for a poor family to view money that they will never obtain, food that they could not afford and the hospital that easily enslaves them thru thier health.

For them to go to the movies was a major cost in thier budget. The couple fought over the cost of a couple of donuts for the kids. Price was good, but again, they couldn't afford the expense. The question was, if these guys were fighting over a couple of kids during a weekend, how do the working poor do it continously???

There are free things available to people who are just starting out, but it is a chore to obtain furniture, dishes, and have them transported [no car], over to the apartment [the lowest cost in the area and with ants for pets!]. The apartment was a former crack house. The utility company charges a deposit due to the location of the apartment..[discrimination]. It's winter and the apartment is located in a troubled section of the city. They were dependant upon public transportation, and it quit transporting after 9pm on the weekends.

The program gave me some insight into the working poor...

I have heard arguements that our working poor have it better than other people in other time periods. To me, that is commparing apples to oranges. if you are comparing poor people to poor people in other time periods, then yes...it is a fair comparison...poor people now, are working two jobs to make ends meet, to have food to eat, and food for thier children. Health care, don't even consider this. It is easier to rescue a dying person than to prevent the thing that is killing the person. Often, prevention costs far less than the immediate treatment, and even then, it doesn't cure them. Our society can do better, but can it muster up the will...?

[Amelia]

I make a little better than minimum wage and I cannot make ends meet without assistance. One paycheck doesn't pay for my rent. One months pay doesn't cover all my obligations. Later this month I will begin paying for my company's partially paid benefits. That's even more out of my paycheck. Do I even think about saving money in a 401k? Hardly.