Revision of Essay #1

Living Wage V.S Fair Wage ( Essay #1 topic 2 )

Everyone has a different standard for the “fair wage”. Maybe employers think the wage that they pay employees are fair, but employees do not think so. And the opposite is not fair also. That is because they are at the different side although their goal is earning money. For employers, they just need to pay more than the “minimum wage” which is a law. They don't even care that you want to do the job or not because there are a lot of people want to get a job. For employees, I think the word “fair” does not exit. Because employees have to do their best to keep the job. If they do something wrong, employers might fire them. Some people work hard, but their wage are low. Some people work free and easy, but they get good paid. That is because employees have different abilities, jobs have different characters, and employers get more or less money to pay their employees. Therefore, I think right people get right job is important. Employees think they do the job they like, and employers pay them good, they just think the wage is fair. If they don't like like the job, and employers pay them good but not very much, they still think the wage is not fair. The “fair wage” is based on employees' contented mentality.

Everyone should consider about their “living wage”, both employers and employees. Employers must ponder their companies working and the business is good or not, how many people he should hire, and how much he should pay for the employees to make sure they can earn the money that they want to earn. Employees should contemplate their working time, and not only their job, but also their family, rent, and school. They must make sure that the money they earn could support their lives. Find the “fair wage” between employers' and employees' “living wage” is the workers always do.

How to find the “fair wage” between employers' and employees' “living wage”? I think it is difficult. Based on the “living wage”, people have to get enough money to support their live. More than the basic need, people are not just keep their live, they need to fill their life. There is a proverb in my country “Money isn't everything, but you can't do anything without money.” It says that money is important and it can do many things. People are not just live, they need to fill their life. Food, clothes, to live, to go, amusements, education. There are the things people always do in their lives. If they don't have enough money, they just can pick the most important thing to do and do its lowest level. Therefore, if the business is not good, and employers cannot get enough money from their companies, and they can't keep their lives better, how do they pay their employees good? If the business is good, and employers get a lot of money from their companies, and they still pay their employees the same, how do employees feel good? If business is not good, everyone just want to get money and that's it, there is no fair but living. If business is good, employers want to get much more and employees want to get much more also, how to find the fair? Employer should pay employees the same? But the business is good and employers get much more than before. Employers should pay them better? But employees still do the same job as before. Therefore, I think it is difficult to decide what is “fair wage”. But basically, it has to be based on “living wage” because there is no fair if there is no money.

In the book Nickel and Dimed, Ehrenreich finds a waitress position at a small restaurant at first. Then she finds a trailer to live in. However, she worries about her waitressing income is not enough to cover her rent. She says “So unless I want to start using my car as a residence, I have to find a second or an alternative job.(p28)” In order to keep the living place, she decides to find the second job which is a hotel housekeeper. Nevertheless, there are difficulties to do two jobs in a day. No one can keep both jobs long term. In fact, after one day of completing both jobs, Ehrenreich quits the housekeeper position because she is too tired to keep the second job. And her first job lasts only two weeks because of the problems with co-workers. At last, her income cannot cannot support her life. For the employer, the money he paid is “fair wage”, but the “fair wage” is not fair for her. That's because it is not reach her minimum “living wage”.

In the film Wal*mart: The High Cost of a Low Price, a girl named Princess said something about Wal*mart “Why do so many work for nothing, while a few have everything?'' It is really not fair for the workers, they work hard, but they get nothing; some people do nothing, but have everything. Although Wal*mart pays low, there are still a lot of people want to be hired. Because they don't have choice, if they don't do the job, and they won't get money. Although the salary is not good, but there is a income for their live. According to the healthcare statistics ( from http://www.walmartmovie.com/ ), there are 3,864 children of Wal*mart employees are enrolled in Medicaid in Alabama, 12,300 Wal*mart workers and their depends on Medicaid in Florida, and 4,172 Wal*mart workers and depends on state health care in Massachusetts. The statistics shows that many employees of Wal*mart do not have the ability to take care their health. They need the government to help them. Wal*mart pays low to the low level employees and the high level employees get much more than them. Different level do differentwork and get different salary, but Wal*mart is not fair to the low level employees. Most of them work hard, but they really get nothing. And I think it is not easy to change. There are so many people work for Wal*mart in the world, and Wal*mart cannot take care every worker. Wal*mart try to pay the workers less and less legally. Unless the boss of Wal*mart is willing to pay the employees more, or the situation will be continues.

Different employers treat their employees differently, and different job has different treatment. Actually, I think that met a right employer is important. If he/she pays you good, and that's good; if he/she pays you not high but treats you good, and you would feel better. Anyway, employers decide how much they will pay, and employees just work and accept the wage that employers give.

Post #2 ( Topic 1 )

I come from Taiwan which is a small island next to China. The government of Taiwan is confused. People of China always think that Taiwan is belongs to China, but many Taiwanese do not think so. People are always argue about that.

However, my community is very simple. I go to school, I work, I play with my friend. It is all my live. It is all because the things that are complex are dealed with by my parents. Although I am not a child anymore, my parents worry about everything I do.

All the people I meet are very friendly. No matter my friends, my relatives ,my neighbors, my colleagues, my classmates, or my teachers. They really treat me good. Like my cousins, some of them are students, and some of them has been married. They told me that what kind of major is better and the major has to be based on my interesting. They help me alot about my school.

I hope that I can participate something with my parents like deal with the finance of my family. I hope I can help them, not just know nothing and always do the things I like.

By the way, I am a Chinese, but I am not from China. I come from Taiwan.

Post #1 ( Topic 1 )

I work in a bubble milk tea store which called Quickly. I work in the kitchen. In the summer time, we are always very busy. I worked today, and let me tell you everything
happened.

Today is Saturday. I arrive the store at 8:30 am, actually, 9:00 am is the work time, but I always arrive early. I use the key that our manager gave me to open the door. The first thing that I have to do is boil tapioca. Then, I have to cut four bags chicken. We also sell crispy fried chicken in our store. I finish the chicken at noon. Then I make the green apple, strawberry, honey dew, mango, and passion fruit slush. And I make milk black tea, milk green tea, taro milk tea, and pudding. I have to fill them when they sold out. Today is a warm day. Although there is no sunshine, there are still a lot of people wait on line.

The employees there are young, and we have the same topic of conversation. We make fun of everything. We have meal together, we go to karaoke after work, we celebrate festivals, we say the filthy language when we are very busy, we complain the things that our employer asked. We are not only colleague, but friends.

Working in Quickly is happy although it is impossible to stay there all my life. I will treasure the time that I work there.

By the way, if it is possible, I hope our employer could raise our wage.