7 Days @ Minimum Wage: Jeffrey (Day 3)

[laillusion100]

After applying for food stamp, Florida granted me $14.00 a month. How in the hell am I suppose to eat.  If you take 31 days and divided by 14.00 comes out to .45. I cant even by a candy bar to sustain myself. I have no family, so Merry Christmas to me.

[fixitjamie]

He didn't mention what position he holds. Minimum wage is a BAD idea. Perhaps people should do a search here for Walter Williams and learn a few things. Minimum wage since 1938 and poverty hasn't been solved. It never will folks. In the meantime, employers hire less leaving even more people on government dole or worse, hungry or HOMELESS unlike the sap in this video. He should be thankful he gets government (the money stolen from us) help instead of bitching about how little he has!

[jinx300003]

I can`t believe how strange the shift in comments become when it`s someone white whining. when it`s a latin or a black it`s downright hateful, but now he sounds white and southern every comment is about how sad his situation is.But I guess that`s eugenics at work.

[moonyob]

minimum wage in australia is up to $15.25 per hour plus overtime, weekend and public holiday penalty rates. if an employer here can afford to pay that and they cant pay it in the "richest country in the world" what a fuckin joke. probably stop spending billions on defence and stirring up middle eastern countries and start to look out for its people with a wage structure that you could live on considering the cost of living.

[tshelby123]

am whit you all the way.and i live here in USA it's these asshole as leaders we got

[wibarm]

My god. This makes me feel so sad for this guy.

[randy95023]

Living Wage AND basic national Health Care would be an investment in America's future. I'm a Conservative, Libertarian but still am certain that providing for basic human dignity is an important part of being an American.

We could return to being the envy of the world if we would treat our own citizens humanely!

[WorkingMotherof2]

Man ... Rosey looks like hell ...

And I have to say .. Jeffrey here - looks and sounds like a redneck crackhead. Maybe someone else should get a job in jeffreys house ... "we get assistance for the baby ..." I bet... thats rent and food right there! Maybe you shoulda stayed in school .. or started working high steel 5-10 years ago ... you'd be makin good money.

Did she go to a rehab and find these people?

[twisterwiper]

It's appalling to see how cold and judgmental some of you commentators are. You don't know these people's background. It has always been beyond me how why a country would allow it's wealthiest people to live in excess while it's poorest can't even afford healthcare or an education. It's greed at work and it is sooo disgusting! The very rich needs to be taxed heavily.

[linhh82]

I'm sorry that I'm responsible for his problems....I wasn't born in this country so ALL Americans that were born here should have a better start then me right??? So you would think.  Go ahead and raise the minimum wage you'll regret it later and you'll want even more cause then everything else will go up.

[melish]

were not all responsible for some guy who failed high school his parents are at fault so stop trying to use your nation as a scapegoat and why dont you ask all of these minimum wage workers how far they went in highschool we might just nnotice a trend

[bluballzzz]

that as nothing to do with anything if a person works they should get what they are owed

[jtnorg]

Rosanne! thats not true. you said that 70% of people working for the minimum wage support families! the actual number is less then 8%

[Rexanglorum]

The reason why the AFL-CIO is making these videos is because they want minimum wage imposed so that employers will find it uneconomical to hire the unskilled and will switch to hiring more semi-skilled workers who just so happen to be ALF-CIO memebers. A negative income tax is a much more effective way of helping the poor.

[noseMF]

we will change and rise the minimum wage at least to $25h ,we will implant a 3/12h work week with pay of 40h that way the parents have time to spend with the kids so for FREEDOM LIBERTY HAPPYNESS AND A LOT MORE VOTE ED BROWN AND ME 2008

[hypervexbliss]

The reason most low wage jobs are less than 40 hours is simple. Employers don't want to pay health benefit costs. If we had universal health care, employers would be willing to take on more full time employees.

[ifranqui58]

if you can't afford to have a child - PLEASE have an ABORTION; It's very unfair to make society pay for your irresponsible behavior!

[ifranqui58]

It's cheaper to buy condoms than to have kids!

[linhh82]

condoms.........well it sucks to wear one.

[ifranqui58]

WHY the hell does he have a 2 month old baby??????????? STOP HAVING FUCKIN KIDS PEOPLE!!!!!!

[linhh82]

cause it's fun

[Goobian]

I did the math, he makes 2.50 an hour, here in Oregon we get 7.60 an hour I think min. wage, but what he makes is pathetic. Something needs to get done. His job is sucking the life outta him for what?

[Kaycee31516]

It is easy to judge others negatively. I wonder though how many of you goody good people would fair if all of a sudden you were hit with a catastrophic illness that forced you out of work and into a minimum wage job. Please don't say it could never happen to you, because it damned sure can.

[KINKINC4]

People put themselves in bad situations and they want the rest of us to feel sorry for them. Please

[adaddyrockstar]

He works 35hr's a week because his empoyer knows that if he gives him 40 he will become full time and receive partially paid medical benifits. That is what the employer cant afford. If the burdon of health insurance could be shifted somehow this poor sap would have a chance and we wouldn't even have a minimum wage.

[eg135687]

Then why have a baby when you can't even afford to take care of yourself???? And why only work 35 hours a week???? Pathetic.

[Cherandy]

I see... so you have never heard of Birth Control failing to prevent a pregnancy? Here, let me introduce you to both of my kids - they were both birth control babies.

Should I assume you think people shouldn't be allowed to fall in love or marry unless they're making enough money?

[eg135687]

So you had a baby because of your bc pills failing and then proceeded to still use that as your form of birth control and had another baby? Wow what an idiot! You probably were not taking them right or are overweight, bc pills do not work in heavy women. And of course poor people should be able to fall in love! But NO they should not have kids when they can't even take care of themselves! I thought that was common sense?

[eg135687]

I also thought it was common sense to educate yourself on the form of birth control you choose, you obviously did not if it failed you twice. How pathetic. Those poor kids.

[Cherandy]

Wow, what a judgemental, presumptuous bunch. Before you call someone an idiot, why don't you find out what the hell you're talking about? For your information, NO, I wasn't using the same form of BC when I conceived my second child as I was when I conceived my first. The first time I was using Today sponges on the advice of my previous doctor. After my daughter was born, I began using The Pill and backing that up with condoms. The condom broke and the Pill failed.

[Cherandy]

And no, I wasn't overweight, thank you very much, I was within the optimal weight span for my height and age. Oh, and I was married to the kids' dad for eleven years.

Should I now assume that it makes you feel good about yourself to presume you are superior to others via your snap judgments assuming the worst?

[Cherandy]

Oh, and thanks for your concern, but don't worry about my 'poor kids'.  We're financially poor, but they have more love, acceptance, guidance and stability than most. We'll be just fine.

[eg135687]

So you're not an idiot with birth control methods it's just that the sponge didn't work for you and then the pilled failed you and the condom broke? LOL, that's either a lie or, once again, you need to educate yourself on the proper use of the forms of birth control you are using.

[eg135687]

Also, when I said, "Those poor kids." I didn't mean the literal term of "poor", Einstein. I meant that I feel sorry for them because they were both born to parents who apparantly were trying like crazy not to have kids. Idiot! Those poor kids.

[Cherandy]

I used them correctly, they failed, then end. I was trying like crazy not to have kids YET. I wanted to wait another 2-5 years, to be more financially stable first. But, whatever you want to think.

My point was never to prove my bad-luck story to you. It was to open your eyes to the fact that you cannot assume that everything is cut and dried black and white simple. It isn't. Your presumptuous judgement of others is unfair.

[iamtheedickymint]

At least this guy is out there working for a living. Fair play to him, he is not ulike most working class people, lets not knock him for trying, we all cant have good well paid jobs.

[AMP721]

You know-it's really easy to look at someone (or a 4 ana half min video of them) and judge. But if something doesn't change this man's quality of life, then nothing will change his child's quality of life. If the child comes to accept this quality as all there is-then we have another generation of theives, drug addicts, etc. Does it make more sense to try and be supportive and make change?

[Elmonellie]

Yep, it is easy to judge a video. That is why it is here...to view and judge. Have a child, YOU impact the child more than anything. Does society care? Yes. Still, the choice to have kids when you can't take care of them is squarely on the shoulders of the parents. I think most in American society are supportive of negelected kids....Don't think a force in the minimum wage will help these sad situations.

[AMP721]

I really appreciate your sense of responsibility when it comes to parents taking care of their families, and not having a family until they can care for them-I share it. Unfortunately, not everyone does. So much of the negative aspects of our society arise from people being poor-plain and simple. If we can improve just a few lives, isn't there a chance that in the long run it could improve life for everyone?

[Elmonellie]

Well, I am lovin' me some Roseann...She is such a good guy. Still...As heartrending as this vid is...I think hiking the min wage will put this guy out of work. Honestly, if you had to pay MORE than the current min wage per hour would you hire him or someone that had more on their mind than "assistance for the baby hasn't come yet".

[selbeer]

A lot of people I know that make above 60k a year work upwards of 60 hours a week, how can this guy complain about having to work 35-40 hours a week? Also why the hell does he have a family on that kind of income? It's hard to have compassion for people that shoot themselves in the foot like that.