Session 7

It costs an adult $1,449 a month to live a comfortable lifestyle in Atlanta.  This seems to be relatively high in my eyes.  After doing the Budget Exercise, I feel way more informed on how things cost.  Since I am still a college student, I was misinformed on all the extra expenses such as insurance and taxes that take a large chunk out of adult's paychecks.  After learning that 63% of all hourly job in Atlanta pay a staggering $5.15 to $7.25/ hr , I was shocked.  Minimum wage is not a suffient income for a family with two parents to live off of.  It forces people to have to work up to 2 or even 3 jobs to be able to make ends meet.  While parents are juggling their multiple jobs, they also have to pay for childcare if they have children.  With childcare so expensive, they are lucky if they can save a small percentage of their paycheck. 

Georgia needs to raise minimum wage to AT LEAST $10/hr to help poor families get out of poverty and be able to manage their time.  While many people believe that this pay raise of minimum wage has helped over 672,000 workers, it still is not an adequate pay.  According to Georgia Policy and Budget Institute, a common myth is that teenagers are the main workers who recieve minimum wage pay.  With this economy, many of my teenage friends cannot even find a job due to them compeating with adults that are out of work.  Many adults who have lost there 6 figure paying jobs are now working as cashiers earning minimum wage.  I believe that if the government raised minimum wage even higher to $10/hr, we could cut poverty percentages in half as well as boosting our economy back up.

After watching the video clip of 9 to 5 Tip Workers, I felt sympathy for restaurant servers and tip workers.  I personally have avoided working at a restaurant because I feel that many people are cheap.  Plus, it is hard being a server and standing on your feet all day.  My friends that are servers have told me that some days when no one comes in, their earning around $3/hr.  This is ridiculously low and a complete waste of time.  I feel that restaurants need to pay their workers triple this amount.  A server can be a deciding factor of whether customers come back or not.  Wouldn't a restaurant owner want to make their workers happy but providing them with an adequate pay?