My favorite part of the reading was the part that says "No one ever said that you could work hard -harder even than you ever thought possible -and still find yourself sinking ever deeper into poverty and debt."
I completely agree with her thoughts about how it isn't fair for someone to hard at something and not be able to support himself. Minimum wage cannot supply a person with enough money to support himself, and this is what so many people don't understand. It isn't fair. And, it should be a surprise to people why the welfare system is out of control. People are rewarded for doing nothing, and they are punished for working. I feel like most of the problems America faces right now is because of this problem. People in the working poor cannot afford or has the time to provide their family with a good, healthy meal. And, they probably cannot afford health insurance either, which all plays a part in our health care system. And, the shaky health care system plays a huge part in our economy.
How can we make people/employers understand the importance of paying people a salary that they can live off of?
I don't have a perfect answer to this question, but I do think that something is the country will give-in soon. I think if people do not realize the burden placed on these people, they will soon be forced to realize it.
1 comment:
Of course there is no right or wrong answer, but after reading "Black Men and Public Spaces" I think that one needs to realize that there a "burdens" everywhere, and it is not possible for the government to be responsible for fixing every single problem. Not to sound "righteous", but God doesn't even fix every single person's dilemma. Brent Staples dilemma for example is having to go out of his way and has to "take precautions to make himself less threatening" to white people. Also not to sound racist or prejudice, but I don't think anyone can deny that white people in general, feel "threatened" one way or another when approaching a black male. Today it may be less severe, but there are time when I see (any) man with a certain "thuggish" appearance, I try to stay clear of them--I don't mean to be rude, but there is a reputation that our society has made for black males that makes me feel anxious. But back to my main point, with Ehrenreich her burden was living off of minimum wage, and here Staples's is living with a pre-assumed ill-reputation. Both compromise their daily lives, and both can be seen as "unfair". But again, it is not possible for the government to fix all problems and burdens..in my opinion there are other things way more important than minimum wage and reputations.
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