Morgan Spurlock 30 Days: Minimum Wage part 1

[estory76]

This aired in 2005, before the worst of the financial crisis. This is so relevant to everyone nowadays, rich or poor. Everyone should watch this. It is only the tip of the iceburg.

[estory76]

I applaud Spurlock for looking intimately at these critical issues in America.

[ajd1211]

My brother watched this show tonight and called it ridiculous. I think the whole point of this series was that in this land that's supposed to be the most plentiful nation on Earth, we have citizens that work that have to go on public aid simply because their jobs don't pay enough, while the CEO's at the top are refusing to dig into their millions of dollars in profits in order to pay their employees an honest day's wage for an honest day's work. When the Walmart kids live in luxury, while

[ajd1211]

@ajd1211 telling their employees that if they want to make more to go on public aid, to me there's a problem. How can someone like Mitt Romney whose lived in wealth his entire life relate to someone who's struggling to get by? Simple answer, he can't. I've worked for minimum wage. I've worked in factories that pay $7.25/hr through temp agencies. My last job I was a temp making $10.00/hr with no benefits. I went through what Morgan Spurlock went through. 2 weeks after I was married, I lost my job

[ajd1211]

@ajd1211 knocked on 25 doors, and thankfully, God blessed me with a job at the temp agency where I went to work for 12 hours a day for $10.00/hr with no benefits. I was fortunate to be unemployed for only 3 weeks until I found another job. That was almost 4 years ago and I'm happy to say I'm doing alot better than I was then. But when we live in the land of plenty and people have to go on public aid while working just to make ends meet. That really says something about the shape of our country.

[theworks98]

@ajd1211 SHUT UP!!!

[ajd1211]

@theworks98 No.

[MoldytoasterMedia]

this show would have been a million times better if morgan was the star of every episode.

[TheDearbornPolice4]

hey man Oscars mean nothing. People like Morgan and Moore and true people, I don't care about what religion they are or they're color. People like that deserve to be famous. They risk almost everything to expose the truth. I don't know about everyone else but if any of them were to run for President or governor or anything like that; I'd be one of the first people to vote. Just my opinion.

[IrbySaisHello]

@TheDearbornPolice4 i agree with the first part but voting for them for president? hell no. that's just stupid.

[Tokoroegao]

30 days on minimum wage is not the problem - because your closet is full of clothes, you already have all the necessary houshold appliances, you have your TV, you have your sports equipment... means you can use a lot of stuff you already own. But after months on minimum wage the effects start. You clothes are worn down, your TV breaks... you get my point.

[mrphamful]

Oh well education is so important!

[DemonosZXZ]

why would you eat pickles low calorie food man go for bread man

[Cashback13]

I like how the Girlfriend's Vegan Stir Fry costs more than what the minimum wage was at the time. Just goes to show a 'healthey lifestyle' is a rich man's lifestyle.

[TranceLuvr69]

HOLY SHIT! his fiance looks like jenna marbles!!

[MrCantor1994]

I literally lived in this neighborhood of Columbus

[BriisMars]

I Live in columbus. :D



[TheSupermonkey123456]

240p we meet again XD

[MrEddieswife]

its sad to think his wife (the vegan chef lady) and him divorced last year :(

[TRASHRAVEN]

they split why?

[vertstylus]

It's sad that Morgan and Alex are divorced now :(

[turkeynerd35]

@vertstylus WHAAAAT? I did not know that! How sad for them...

[BoneMachine0]

Hmmm. This portrayal isn't so accurate. I've spent the last 3 months searching desperately for minimum wage jobs in the city. Even if they were hiring, I never got hired that same day. Finding a jobs takes times, sometimes over 30 days.

[purplevolcano]

@BoneMachine0 - as he says he went to a temp agency to get the work fast. Temping is the worst as there is no job security or benefits whatsoever.

[BoneMachine0]

@purplevolcano Well obviously. I'm talking about his girlfriend.

[DebisisRobustus]

doesn't do a very good rendition of what it really is like to work for low wages based on a corrupt federal minimum wage. please check out my channel of me meeting Micheal Moore and his sort of apathetic attitude over the subject. ALL IN ALL WE SHOULD ALL DEMAND A SUBSTANTIAL HIGHER MIN WAGE...and for people like Morgan Spurlock, Warrior Poets to pay his interns AN ACTUAL WAGE.

[crazypants88]

@DebisisRobustus A higher minimum wage will just at worst increase unemployment and make it harder for unskilled labor to get a job or at best raise costs and negate much of the increased wage, since where else do businesses get their income from other than consumers? They will then have to raise prices to be able to pay those new higher wages.

Raising the minimum wage helps no one, least of all the poorest of the poor.

[purplevolcano]

@crazypants88 - that is the typical capitalist answer! Of course the employer will (mostly) pay as little as they can possibly get away with. The really big companies could EASILY pay a higher min wage. The smaller companies would find it harder. In the UK a min wage earner gets extra from the gov - basically a subsidy to the businesses who will not pay a living wage. I am glad of the money, but the tax payer subsidising big business so that big business can pay their CEOs million £ bonuses?!

[crazypants88]

@purplevolcano Yes employers want to pay as low as possible, employees want to be paid as high as possible. Wages are not just decided by employers, they're decided by the would be employee too as well as supply and demand of his type of labor.

You could be the richest company in the world, you still wouldn't be able to pay worker more than what they bring in without going bankrupt. It's conceivable to raise prices but it's far from guaranteed that people will....

contd.

[crazypants88]

@purplevolcano contd.

...still trade with you under the new inflated prices.

Same problems exist with how UK handles the MW. That money has to come from somewhere, so you're just taking the money a business would have used to hire another worker or expand their business.

[alisher1984]

@crazypants88 Yes, wages are determined by supply and demand. But what exactly keeps employers from lowering their wages without limits? Nothing. Employees would still have to accept whatever wage is offered just to stay alive. Companies keep trimming salaries and benefits until we all have to work our butt's off and make just enough money to avoid starving to death.

[crazypants88]

@alisher1984 No supply & demand as well as the fact that would-be employees have to consent to the wage.

Honestly you blatantly contradict yourself here, you say that wages are determined by S&D but yet nothing is to stop employees from lowering wages.

Contradictions aside, that's not true as you yourself seemed to sort of concede.

Let's assume you're right and employees can just dictate whatever wage they want.

Why are there any wages above the MW then?

[alisher1984]

@crazypants88 I oppose total government control of the economy, but a pure laissez faire market system is quite intimidating too. Either accept the system or you as well just might have to jump off the bridge. Scary.

[DebisisRobustus]

dunno seems like a dork to me...along with side kick Jeremy (biz partner) a geeky Jew pretendin he's a stud and an actual producer. i used to work in thier office (warrior poets) as an over qualified cleaning lady. mostly geeky snobs...fickle, filthy, stinky and too lazy to clean their dishes. i met morgan spurlock once, seemed to take himself and others very official and very serious. this is not what i call talent or quality. but hey, good luck with more interviews with Fox News.

[fishinawafflemaker]

My grandma lives right next door there

[BEARARMZ]

There are people in america who want no minimum wage. I wonder if this guy ever did 30 days in prison I would have seen that.

[furyofdeth]

@BEARARMZ lol ya that'd be cool

[purplevolcano]

@BEARARMZ Those people don't seem to realise that this will simply increase the likelihood of 'illegals' and the very young and inexperienced getting the work as no one else will be prepared to take it - only the absolute rock bottom most desperate will take it and they are not going to be in any way loyal to the company, high turnover as they will not want to stay a second longer than absolutely necessary.

[HummingbirdKrista]

I just switched from a job going from 7.25(Min here in NC) to 8.00.... i cant imagine the difference its going to make. I've never gotten paid more then 7.25.

[staceybrennan]

minimum wage is so low in the States no wonder you can't live off that :(

[sarzamineiran]

Why is minimum wage so low in America?

In Canada it is 10.25

[furyofdeth]

@sarzamineiran Maybe because Canada's taxes are way higher!! :s

[Delacresse]

It takes 7 days to get a callback from a job it takes 7 days to get hired and it takes 15 days to get your first paycheck since most jobs only give about 20 hours for the first two weeks there is no way they could afford their apartment for the next month. Talk about bullshit.

[parth719]

Morgan Spurlock is the biggest jackass ever

[hunny2224]

If they had no money how'd they fly to Ohio

[DeannaVlogs]

When i worked at mcdonalds ( quit cuz of sexual harassment and them breaking child labor laws) in 2007 ( I was 17), i would get like $170 from my $250 check after taxes. And when I worked for a security company in 2006 I would make over $750 for 2 weeks, but my check would be around $500 . And I worked at a pizza place for one day ( quit after the very crappy pay) in 2007, 5 hours for $20 and some change ( I got paid .50c less than minimum wage).

[yentalin12345]

*Morgan walks into Mcdonalds*

"Hi I'm applying for a job"

"Get. Out. Now."

[burtonboy96]

240p- we meet again

[kataisa3]

This is a good episode, it would be a good companion to the book Nickel & Dimed.

[lover3344]

No sleeping on the Job lmao

[tusepagliacco]

Just wait till they take the taxes out of your min wage check!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ACZeroZero]

Thumbs up! if you want politicians or any other higher ups who spout "understanding and helping people" to do this for 30 days!

[GoldenColts]

NIGHTMARE MODE: Live in NYC on Minimum Wage

[unholychunk]

holy fuck a 1 bedroom for under 400? wtf

[nneighbour]

I can't help but feel a little put off by this. To make this documentary they used a lot of resources that could have been used by someone else (like the free store). I sincerely hope they gave a donation to these groups after they were done.

[Nanaknows60]

The answer isn't for big government to spend more than it has. Just like people can't/shouldn't live beyond their means.

[Nanaknows60]

Have you ever heard of Amy Dacyzian? (don't know how to spell it) She can beat anyone at saving money and living. She has written books called Tightwade Gazette I, II, III.

[Nanaknows60]

We saw McDonald's documentary twice. It was amazing. I wish they should it at schools.

[Nanaknows60]

We saw this documentary twice. I wish they should it at schools.

[lunatike2]

@Nanaknows60 they do...in sociology class



[ThorandTrevor]

The fact is that he had all these advantages when he went into this and still suffered. I think it just shows how bad the problem is.

[samantha34ize]

one advantage they have is they are white which is easier to get a job and u think this suk try to live in minum wage with a criminal record and a wife

[kagriffin1]

lexy, you are smart to save as early as possible! If UR a college Frosh, take a course in Personal Finance, it'll be the best tuition money you've ever spent. If your school doesn't offer a Personal Finance course, you can take one online at MoneyU.com.

HS grads' starting salary avg = $30K/yr. AA degree starting salary avg = $38K/yr. BS degree, starting salary avg = $45K/yr. Be sure to check out avg salaries for specific careers, before you pay for a degree for that career. Good Luck!

[lexyraerae]

I already live like this. It isn't easy at all.

[lexyraerae]

I should start thinking about saving my money. I have a feeling Freshman year is going to go by fast, and my family won't be able to help me :(

[Sanhadrin]

@2realtvofficiallol I wouldn't say it's a slap in the face. In fact, it's probably the best way to do it, if it's done honestly - otherwise, you're following around a real low-income person or family, which I think can be somewhat denigrating if done improperly, or seen that way in hindsight. It's imperfect, definitely, especially without the long-term effects becoming apparent. But, it's something more Americans should look at.

[Idiomatick]

He only got that apartment because he was with a camera crew so rent payment was guaranteed. You would be looking for months before you found a place for $200 down. It would NEVER happen. Srsly. Even getting a place for 1 months rent is tough. It also ignored the problem of credit rating which could screw you even harder.

[Sanhadrin]

@Idiomatick Those are all valid points, but I think he was trying to illustrate the life of someone who at least got basically settled. 30 days of him not finding an apartment wouldn't do much to show the lives of people who are already in that situation.

[Sanhadrin]

@2realtvofficiallol Yup, there definitely aren't millions of poor white Americans.

[xxdiogenescynicxx]

@Sanhadrin Sure there are. I grew up in a poor white family and my neighborhood was surrounded by them.

[omgdan23]

Holy shit, she looks like JennaMarbles.

[CamillaCalamity]

Wow rent is expensive in...wherever they are. You could get a safe, clean (though small) one-bedroom where I live for 400-500 per month.

[Ryanxclarke]

right down here was a crack house?.... yeah your really not selling it to me....

[FemmeBaer]

Thanks for putting this up, watched all the parts when they aired in here Finland, but missed this first one!