thanks anita;) Good job on the fast walk 5.5 miles in 1.5 hours;) I tend to walk fast in school so i tend to have to dodge people as i go. i’m nervous about the minimum wage debate for ap english tomorrow. i am going against my ap english friend who is great with science , he is really smart and confident and i am nervous. what do you think about this 2 minute rebuttal on supporting minimum wage? I’m on the side that says you can live on minimum wage and he’s on the side that says you can’t. we both are great at science and we might incorporate some scientific facts in our arguments. he claims he is better at me in using science to argue because he is very educated in mechanical and electrical physics, chemistry and biology. i am too, but sometimes he does make me feel inadequate in my knowledge because there are some subjects he would know more about. we tend to think similarly and agree on some points of science and economics, but on topics where we diverge, he is very eloquent and a great debater and quite persuasive on why his side is right over mine. we were practicing our debates after school today and there were times when he talked about human nature and politics so eloquently that i was at loss for words at times. i said that john locke had said it was man’s right to live together and help each other succeed. but he argued for survival of the fittest in social darwinism and how minimum wage workers wouldn’t make it. we went back and forth. He is great at reading people and so am i so sometimes we look for cues as to what the other may say, but since we know each one of us is doing that, we tend to hide any cues to avoid advantages to the other side’s argument. anyway, about my special friend there are times when i deny that i love him because i’m afraid to love and be betrayed.

Here it is:

“Work is supposed to save you from being an outcast” as stated by Pete, a manager in Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed. In our capitalistic society, working hard can get you far in life. According to Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations, if you work hard no matter how rich or poor you are, you can earn enough money for a steady life and thrive in the economy. In 2014, 77.2 million workers age 16 and older were paid by the hour, many of them earning the minimum wage of 7.25 an hour. An individual can survive and live off of minimum wage if they work hard, seek out low rent homes and use food stamps. A person working at a full time minimum wage job can earn $11,695 which is 65% above the poverty line. Although, minimum wage might not be pleasant to live on, by budgeting your income and expenses and picking out what you really need and what you want can help you save money. Basic necessities such as food can be provided by low costs from soup kitchens. In Barbara’s case she set herself up for failure by buying a $40 pair of pants and an expensive belt that she didn’t really need when she could have saved her money by getting cheaper clothes at a discounted price. In contrast, Adam Shepard left college with only $25, living in a homeless shelter and in ten months, he was able to have a car and buy an apartment. Even though, Barbara states that rent should only be 30% of your income to be affordable rent, there are 77.2 million workers who just seem to get by enough to survive who can still have lives and families if they work hard and have the right attitude. There for it is possible to live on minimum wage.