QTPC 26

Quote: “Sinclair described a long list of practices in the meatpacking industry that threatened the health of consumers: the routine slaughter of diseased animals, the use of chemicals such as borax and glycerin to disguise the smell of spoiled beef, the deliberate mislabeling of canned meat, the tendency of workers to urinate and defecate on the kill floor” (204).

Talking Point: Since Sinclair’s novel was published over one hundred years ago, the FDA has been established and has set standards that food and drug companies must conform to. But the FDA does allow leeway, in ground beef production, there is a certain percentage of “junk” that can be in that mix.

Connection: I read Sinclair’s The Jungle when I was in fourth grade. Even though I do not remember it very well, I do remember that it was an interesting read.

QTPC 27

Quote: “When the first McDonald’s opened in East Germany, in December of 1990, the company was unsure how American food would be received there. On opening day the McDonald’s in Plauen served potato dumplings, aVogtland favorite, along with hamburgers and fries” (249).

Talking Point: It is quite interesting how McDonald’s, a privately held American company, can get into countries plagued with war, facing communism, or under oppression. The fact that McDonalds could enter East Germany so soon after the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union. It really shows the power that McDonald’s has and the “American” influence that they can put into different cultures.

Connection: Living in Montreal, Canada for three years allows me to have experience of witnessing the differences in the menu from country to country. I remember McD’s serving pizza, which was the weirdest thing, and they had a lot of different French inspired meals since Quebec is a mainly French speaking province.

QTPC 25

Quote: “Today it costs about $1.5 million to become a franchisee at Burger King or Carl’s Jr.; a McDonald’s franchisee pays roughly one-third that amount to open a restaurant (since the company owns or holds the lease on the property)” (98).

Talking Point: The capital investment is not the only thing one has to put into a franchise to become an owner. You also have to play a flat fee each month/quarter, pending on what corporate requires, and beyond that you have to pay a percentage fee to corporate for any profit that you make over the benchmarked amount set by corporate.

Connection: I have looked into different restaurants and chains that I could look at opening after graduation in the area that I am from—the area is mostly undeveloped in different eating establishments that are enjoyed in other big cities in the state. I was looking at Buffalo Wild Wings website one day, the closets BWW to me is in Delaware, and what they require to own a franchise is nothing compared to McDonalds. They require a certain number of years experience in the field, and a few million dollars, in illiquid and liquid assets, to even be considered as a potential owner.

QTPC 24

Quote: “The high turnover rates at fast food restaurants, the part-time nature of the jobs, and the marginal social status of the crew members have made it difficult to organize their workers. And the fast food chains have fought against unions with the same zeal they’ve displayed fighting hikes in minimum wage” (75).

Talking Point: It surprised me how McDonalds had “strike teams” to go out to different locations and calm down the talks of unionizing. It seems the teams would take advantage of the worker’s unintelligence to extract information from them about the union movement and to manipulate their feelings to make them feel more secure and happy.

Connection: Walmart has done the same thing today with workers, but instead of paying them minimum wage, Walmart is paying a few dollars over minimum wage to help resist the unionization of workers. It is hard for people without a common “skill” to unionize because the majority of unions are centered on a skill or general profession. Unskilled workers have too many broad bases to create an effective union that would encompass all of those traits and backgrounds.

QTPC 23

Quote: “I was baffled, initially, by what seemed like a certain lack of get-up-and-go on the part of my fellow workers. Why didn’t they just leave for a better paying job, as I did when I moved from the Hearthside to Jerry’s? Part of the answer is that actual humans experience a little more “friction” than marbles do, and the poorer they are, the more constrained their mobility usually is” (205).

Talking Point: The author references how in “more developed” countries, citizens do not suffer from poverty as much as the people of the US do. She says this, it seems, without any background knowledge on how those county’s systems works—reducing her credibility.

Connection: The countries that she is speaking of in my Talking Point are the countries of Scandinavia (Sweden, Norway, and Finland). The reason that the poverty levels in the mentioned countries of so low is because their wages are taxed more (over 50% of gross income) and the majority of citizens are employed by the public sector—governmental jobs. There are a fair amount of people here that work for the government, but you would be hard pressed to find people of the USA that are willing to give up more than half of their gross pay to taxes. The populations of each country in Scandinavia are miniscule to the population of the USA and the implementation of a socialist system would not be feasible—both because of the population and because of negative political pressure.

QTPC 22

Quote: “The Budget Lodging clerk, who seems to have some familiarity with the housing nightmares of low-wage workers, suggests I keep trying motels. He’s sure there must be some that cost less than $240 per week” (171).

Talking Point: She looks at both Menards and Wal-Mart for jobs, but takes the job at Wal-Mart for paying more than Menards. This surprises me because Wal-Mart is always being grilled for their low paying mages.

Connection: Currently, I believe, the lowest wage paid at Wal-Mart is around ten dollars per hour. This, compared to the minimum wage, is not bad. But the uprising of people against Wal-Mart is because of the mistreatment of their workers and the long hours that they make them work. The biggest issue is that they employ as many workers they can and work them all to the maximum without having to pay for their healthcare—working less than 40 hours per week is the qualification. This decreases the costs of employees and helps the bottom line, since healthcare is the biggest fringe cost a company faces

QTPC 21

Quote: “Will she be paid for the day when he sent her home, since se war, after all, injured on the job? ‘Oh yes, of course’—but his chuckle seems a little forced—‘What do you think I am, an ogre?’ Well, no, though I don’t say this, the word I am thinking of is pimp” (115).

Talking Point: During the time this books was written and as she went through her experiences, federal minimum wage was $5.15 per hour. Up until recently, there was no change in the minimum wage between 1997 and 2008. As of July 2009, federal minimum wage is set at $7.25 per hour.

Connection: When she was interviewing for most of her jobs, she said that most people didn’t even look at her during the interview. This is because the interviewer probably does a bunch of interviews each week. And the people that interview for these jobs are people that have problems and/or no higher education. Plus, the turnover at minimum wage jobs is very high. The reason that people are paid minimum wage is because the owners don’t want to make the investment in people, where the majority won’t be there more than a month. We are a capitalist economy that creates a lot more inequality and equity.

QTPC 20

Quote: “There are no secret economies that nourish the poor; on the contrary, there are a host of special costs. If you can’t put up the tow months’ rent you need to secure an apartment, you end up paying through the nose for a room by the week” (27).

Talking Point: I don’t like how the author would not do everything that people that are really poor do. She refused to sleep in her car as possible housing. She just seemed like she was reluctant to give up some of the personal “pleasures” of sophistication that she would not have had access to if she really did live like people who are truly impoverished.

Connection: The current recession has made a lot of people cut back on expenses that they would normally disregard in a good economy. People are not being put in the situations Ehrenreich is putting herself in, but it is enough to put people out of their comfort zones.

QTPC 19

Quote: “When the storm came, it blew away our citizenship too?” Speaking of how the people of New Orleans were called refugees.

Talking Point: My favorite part of the last part of the video was when that man and his friend went to see Dick Cheney and told him to “Fuck himself.” I can’t believe that guy had the balls to say that to the Vice President.

Connection: After Katrina hit in 2005, Former Presidents Bush and Clinton were the main people that went around and tried to raise money for the people in need. I was fortunate enough to go to the Super Bowl that year when it was held in Jacksonville, Florida. And prior to the game they spoke to the people in the stands—asking for the help of American citizens to help others in need.

QTPC 18

Quote: “We thought the state police would show up, the National Guard, the feds, but after two or three days, no one showed up.” Said by mayor of New Orleans.

Talking Point: I still can’t believe that after the people of New Orleans were finally evacuated, they were loaded onto busses and not told where they were going. Instead of being taken to other cities where they had family or in northern Louisiana, they were taken to Florida, Texas, and Oklahoma. Taking these people so far away from their homes makes me ask the government why? But many questions about the Katrina incident still have not been answered.

Connection: I was watching a biography of the rapper Lil Wayne on VH1 one evening. He is from New Orleans and expressed his shock when he first heard ht news of the devastation Hurricane Katrina caused. He said some along the lines of “yea, I lost my three hundred dollar house and everything in it, but I can replace that. My friends died. They can’t be replaced like my house can. I had people that I knew that died, and the government didn’t do anything about it.”