30 Days | Golden Skate

30 Days

heyang

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Hi, all.

Did anyone watch this show? It's produced by the guy who did Supersize Me. In the documentary, he spent 30 days eating at McDonald's. In this 1 hour episodic show, he or someone else lives a different lifestyle for 30 days.

In today's premier episode, he and his fiance lived on minimum wage jobs. They started with one week's net income ($166) of a household with 2 minimum wage earners. They had to rent an apartment and find jobs, etc. In a sense, it was easier for them because they knew it would only be for 30 days, but they really did a very good job at sticking within the guidelines. Even when they had to get medical treatment, they didn't use their health insurance.

During his 1st day working for a temp agency, he had take home pay of $46 after 11 hours of work - the rate was $7/hr minus taxes and minus the agency's fees. He spoke with someone who was also working at the same agency - the older man said that he is now getting paid less than his 1st job at a GM plant, which included insurance.

At one point, the guy is working 2 full time jobs. With 3 full time minimum wage jobs, they are barely making ends meet. At the end of the 30 days they are in debt due to the hospital needs.

They also added a twist by having 2 of his brother's kids visit. He thought of this after meeting a guy who is working at 3 to 4 different jobs to support 4 kids.

There was also comment how Edward Kennedy has been trying to get minimum wage raised since 1997, but has been unable to get the bill passed through Congress. The opposition says this would damage business, decrease jobs, and that tax cuts are the way to generate jobs and revenue.

IMHO, small business's would suffer if minimum wage was increased, but the large corporations who are the recipients of the biggest tax cuts wouldn't be impacted as much by a minimum wage increase (except corporations like McD's, etc.). With few exceptions in my employer's US offices, most people earn well over minimum wage/hour.

The show really made me appreciate the education and opportunities provided by my parents and my hard work.

The show is called "30 Days" and it's on FX network. Each week is a different topic. Next week is Anti-Aging. Another week will be a Christian living as a Muslim for 30 days. Some are more serious than others, but it's definitely interesting to see how someone else lives.
 

brad640

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 8, 2004
I was so excited to see this, but tivo failed me. It's coming on again on Saturday night, so I'll get to see it then. I loved Suoer Size Me, and Morgan Spurlock has a great approach to documentary film making.
 
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