Sam Walton is the Man!

           There is no doubt that Wal-Mart is a great place to shop at. When I go shopping at Wal-Mart, I end up purchasing more things then usual. That of course is due to the prices their being relatively lower than, say for example Target. Furthermore, at Walmart customers can purchase a lot of packaged goods, that will last longer, and end up being cheaper. During black Friday I will not go shopping at Walmart, that is for sure. Essentially, for me black Friday is NOT a good time to shop anywhere. The amount of people there is too much for me to deal with. However, on most occasions, Wal-Mart will have a large number of customers shopping. That does not bother me as much.


          From reading Nickel and Dimed, Ehrenreich's standpoint was made clear. She believes the pay is not good enough. Her pay was ($7) an hour, but she felt that they should be paid triple that amount. Of course this book was written a long time ago, therefore $7 n hour perhaps was a good amount at that time period. Nonetheless Ehrenreich, wanted to start a union, with her co-workers. Her day to day routine working at Wal-Mart, the way it was described in the book was boring. Furthermore, her view was that a person working at Wal-Mart for a certain amount of time will "Age" quicker than your average worker.

          In our society today, I heard from friends that a employee at Wal-Mart will make about (10) dollars an hour, just starting off, regardless of the position. In a sense that is a good wage for an employee to begin with. Obviously, if one individual is to work hard, there is many promotions that are available. From the book Nickel and Dimed page 184, Ehrenreich states, that basically Wal-Mart is always seeking new employees, and they won't hesitate to fire anyone, because they always got someone else waiting to be hired. Even, though this retailer is usually busy most of the time, the employees are there for one reason, and that is to help the customers. Cashiers, for one can be seen as hardworking individuals, however at Wal-Mart it is a big amount of them. If one is to get a raise, others will want one as well.

          Therefore, should an employee at Wal-Mart be paid more? I would say it will all depend on what type of position the individual has, and exactly just what kind of work one is doing. Moreover Wal-Mart does pay there employees, a good wage compared to other retailers like Target. The low prices at Wal-Mart, and the slogan, "Save Money Live Better", attracts customers of all race, ethnicity, and income. It is all their for a reason, and that is so the Walton family can continue making $billions more. In the end employees at Wal-Mart may feel as if the $$ is not enough, compared to all the work put in. Moreover, the job itself can be stressful, but I think that's how is most paces.

Does the Dream still exist?

 

     George Carlin states that you must be dreaming to believe it. I agree with Carlin to a certain extent. For example, he states that the so called owners of this country want more for themselves and less for everyone else. It makes sense really, but isn't that the way its always been? Any country you go to, I think that the richer want more for themselves, and less for everyone else. I look at that as human nature. Furthermore Carlin states," the politicians are their to make you believe that you have freedom of choice, but you have no choice". I disagree with him on that one. After all, U.S. citizens can vote on whom they feel should be president. America is a free country.

         I believe that, the American dream still exists. However, it will depend on how you look at it.

Everybody's view on this topic, of course is different. Their are people currently living the dream, and you might be thinking only the rich and famous. No, I think that immigrants who came into this

country will be considered living the dream. Essentially, something that they were not able to achieve in their homeland. For example, immigrants still do come to this country and are able to raise a family, get jobs, and become independent. Almost every business I have seen, it was owned by someone who came from overseas. For example local franchises, like Dunkin Donuts, 7/11, restaurants, and many gas stations. America is still considered the land of opportunity.

 

        Essentially, I think that success can be achieved if you work hard enough. And honestly it seems

that some, if not a lot of people are not willing to put in long hours of work, labor, and or a college education. And then of course it is a tough time and the economy has been rough. America is in debt by trillions of dollars, yet people have freedom to do what they desire, regardless of who is president. Again, everybody's viewpoint on this topic is different. You might say, that to live this dream you have to be rich, whereas, I see it as just being able to have freedom and have a decent career, and a normal life. The United States can be seen as a melting pot, because it accepts many types of cultures, backgrounds, etc.. I think the bottom line is that, if you work hard in this country, and have determination and perseverance, you will succeed no matter what.

Class And Education.

          
             My family arrived in America approximately 14 years ago. At the time I was only six years
old. Both of my parents worked very difficult jobs. Back in those day's the economy was very
different, and jobs were a lot easier to get. Both of my parents had a college education in Yugoslavia,
but did it matter to the employers here? Not one, bit did it matter. Actually going back all those years
people would find work even without a G.E.D. Nonetheless my mother worked in a very busy
gas station in Texas, without any type of education obtained in America. She described her dead end job as being a living nightmare.

        If you are being interviewed for a dead end job employers don't seem to care if you have any
post-secondary training. Unless it is relevant to the job you applied to. All the restaurants I've
 worked in, only wanted to know if I was capable to do the job. Sure I would need my H.S. Diploma
or the employer made sure I was still in school. Employers want to know if you have common sense.  As I got older the economy became tougher and almost most places required a H.S. Diploma or equivalent. Stressful is the word that describes the places I worked. The manager constantly yelling, foul-mouthed, and disrespectful. And most of the times it wasn't even the employees fault, about the food being bad, customer's complaining etc... In reality I worked as a horse, and had to deal with that type of nonsense everyday. This was (1) establishment I worked in and as you can tell I wasn't treated nicely whatsoever. But all of the employers working their were treated the same. It was the manager who ran his business his way. Didn't matter much about the employee's working, or their education level.
  
      Same thing with my parents. All of the hard working labor they endured for minimum wage or
more, they described it as being treated horribly, regardless of how good of a worker you were.
Lastly, I don't believe that education should determine level of pay and/or respect. Let me make it
more clear. If someone receives a masters degree, and applies to a minimum. wage job, why should they be treated differently then anyone else working their? If you have that type of education you shouldn't be applying to a minimum wage job in the first place. The employer might be suspicious of that person. If they want a good salary, and better benefits, their is plenty of jobs out their, you just need the right schooling.

     On the other hand someone might have received a college degree, yet they can't find work in their chosen field. They might apply to a low - paying job and work their way up. Again all employees should be treated equally. If someone doesn't do the job correct, or is a nuisance, just simply get rid of them. Vice -versa their can be a promotion for good workers.  Going of topic a little bit I really liked the article " Work Smart. Not Hard". Actually their will always be a need for hard- working individuals. Similarly, not everyone is for college. Some people just like to work with their hands. What would America be like without, Plumbers, Construction. workers, roofers, welders, etc... I agree with Mike Rowe on, " We should work smarter and harder." It doesn't make sense for everyone to work only smarter.

Interview

                                                             Interview:

       During my first day of college, I was required to do an interview with a fellow peer. Her name is

Christine McMullen. When we begin to introduce ourselves I noticed Mrs. McMullen voice in the

way she talked. It was no ordinary women talking, her voice stood out for some reason. I understood

why when she begin to tell me she grew up in Philly. Perhaps growing up in a city that doesn't really

have a good reputation, is what made her the person she is today. As the conversation went on I

realized that Christine was intelligent. She was asking me intelligent questions, throughout the

interview.

         Mrs. McMullen currently resides in Briegsville, Pa. Essentially, she decided to attend college

in hopes of getting a better job/career that can come with a good salary. Mrs. McMullen is majoring

in Business Administration, however her concentration is hospitalization. Before attending Cedar

Crest College she did her general studies at Reading Area Community College. I found out right

away that Christine is a busy women. Currently she is a  Independent Resource Coordinator and is

self-employed. She has received the SunGard ACES award (Advancing the Cause of Excellent

Service). It was very nice meeting her, and having an interview.