Fast Food Nation QTPC #4

QUOTATION:  Page 267. “Congress should ban advertising that preys upon children, it should stop subsidizing dead-end jobs, it should pass tougher food safety laws, it should protect American workers from serious harm, it should fight against dangerous concentrations of economic power.”  This quote embodies everything the congress should do but does not have on top priority.

TALKING POINT:Every month almost 90% of  children in the United States eat at Mcdonalds, according to fast food nation.  Mcdonalds targets children with marketing and advertising because children bring in parents that bring in the money.  Is it wrong for the company to embed there tastes into a childs tastebuds?  Can those lifestyles really be altered to be healthy?  I think it is difficult to change eating habits that a person has had since they were able to change, but it is also possible and companies shouldn’t hold full responsibility for a persons decisions.

CONNECTION: I have tried to change my eating habits before like eating less fried food and drinking less pop.  But eventually if i get stressed or even just get a craving i usually return to my usual eating habits.  I never had a problem with obesity, but i know that fast food and unhealthy habits are bad for me.  Yet I still eat the foods because that is what I am used to and it just tastes good to me.

Fast Food Nation QTPC #3

QUOTATION:  Page 195 “Every day in the United States, roughly 200,000 people are sickened by a foodbourne disease, 900 are hospitalized and fourteen die.”  These numbers are ridiculous.  14 people a day are killed by carelessness in the food processing centers.  If people were more educated on precautions and took them serious, we would have a healthier country.

TALKING POINT:  The meatpacking companies sound disgusting and now I see why some people choose to be vegetarians.  The conditions are horrible for anybody and should be addressed.  The workers have to wade theirselves through ankle high blood and work so fast that they risk cutting their limbs off.  The supervisors are paid maybe 30,000 a year, so I don’t want to know what the average worker is paid.  If you had to travel through a meat packing plant would you still want to eat meat?

CONNECTION:  Page 222 Many workers would not eat anything at their restaurant unless they’d made it themselves.  I remember working at Mcdonalds. Before break I would always make my food first in the grill section and sit it aside.  It wasn’t that I didn’t trust the workers, I just wanted fresh food made the way I wanted it.  Everytime you order food, you are putting your trust into a stranger, that does not know or care about you.  It is really taking a risk.

Fast Food Nation QTPC #2

QUOTATION:  Pg. 94 “Becoming a franchisee is an odd combination of starting your own business and going to work for someone else.”  Becoming a franchisee is way more safe and secure when it comes to investing money.  But it also takes away the freedom of doing what you want with your business because you have to conform to the corporations rules and regulations.

TALKING POINT:  Many companies use artificial flavors and it is said that they use artificial smells to attract customers.  The thought of artificial flavors does not sit with me very well and it kind of makes me not want fast food.  But do you think more people would stop eating fast food if they new a lot of the smells and tastes of their food was manufactured in a laboratory?

CONNECTION:  On page 104 Dave Feamster, a franchisee of Little Ceasars, got tickets for his employees to see a inspirational speech and gave them the day off.  This reminds me of  a pharmacist, that came and spoke to us pre-pharmacy students, takes a portion of there very large pay and gives it to their best technician.  I strongly believe that a employer should treat its employees good in order to have great service at their establishment.

Fast Food Nation QTPC #1

QUOTATION:  Page 71 “Make the equipment intuitive make it so that the job is easier to do right than to do wrong.” -Jerry Sus ( Leading Equipment Systems Engineer at Mcdonalds).  The machines make everything easier which mean the employees have to be less skilled.  Equipment with one process allows very little error.  The instructions are also made so easy that a 5th grader can operate the machines.

TALKING POINT:  The start up cost of a restaurant was very low then.  Now start up cost of a business such as Mcdonalds is impossible for a regular person to obtain.  In order to start up a business you have to invest in the franchise.  You cannot just build a restaurant and call it Mcdonalds, because you will get sued.  Would it be wise for a business man to create his own fast-food chain or invest in an already franchised restaurant?

CONNECTION:  I was employed at Mcdonalds for 2 years from the age of 16 to 18.  The book says that 1 out of every 9 people have been employed previously by Mcdonalds.  I started working at the register, which is generally where the new hire girls work.  Boys are usually placed in the grill section to make food.  Mcdonalds is all about conformity and when a employee is out of uniform they will be sent home or forced to wear a uniform from downstairs.  I totally agree with the book about how much the company expects the brand to be represented a internationally, I have experienced it first hand.

Nickled and Dimed QTPC #4

QUOTATION: (pg. 194)  “Watch out for so and so, he’s a real asshole.”  The other employees warned the newcomer about telling the managers about everything you can do, because they will find other tasks for you to do.  Low wage workers tend to avoid managers that make you work more than the job description.  The money is never worth excellance performance, in the low wage environment.

TALKING POINT:  Many workers decide not to leave their low paying  jobs for higher paying jobs, because of lack of transportation or the lack of money to put in the gas.  Many people that have transportation do not understand why staying at a comfortable job is what seems best to the low wage worker.  The workers do not want to change environments and have to rebuild relationships.  Would you leave a comfortable job for a higher paying wage or no?

CONNECTION:  The economy when this book was written was very different from the economy today.  On page 199 she talks about how the rich are getting richer due to rising stock prices and executive salaries, and housing prices were going up.  Today the economy is the complete opposite and everything has taken a toll for the worse. 
Top executives are being laid off and almost everyone is doing more for less.

Aiki Jujutsu Rough Draft

Located in my blogroll to the right.

Nickled and Dimed QTPC #3

QUOTATION:” …not to mention my worry that the Latinos might be hogging all the crap jobs and substandard housing for themselves, as they often do.” Pg. 121 The author express many stereotypes throughout the book against all races. In this quote she is finger pointing at the latin community and how they are preconceived as the lowest of the working class because they take all the jobs that us Americans do not want.

TALKING POINT: The author is taking her drug test for Wal-Mart on pg. 135. She seems really naiive about why the nurses that facilitate the test are so cautious toward all the patients. The author basically says why should I trust you with my purse if you do not trust me not to put a drug dissolver in the urine sample. The companies take so much precaution because many people have come up with many ways to cheat the system. Do you believe that the precautions are too cautious, just right, or not enough.

CONNECTION: She starts her career at Wal-Mart and is introduced into how large corporations are run and how they train the employees to believe that they do not need a union. I previously worked at Mcdonalds and they generally train their employees the exact same way. The breaks are sparse and if you do not look busy, something more horrible will be found for you to do.

Nickled and Dimed QTPC #2

QUOTATION:  “They think we’re stupid.” (page 100).  The author is college educated and seems to sometimes look at the low wage class and judge them as much as the wealthy do.  But, when the author is put in the same position of being the low class she is seeing how normal most of these people are and she is becoming less judgemental.

TALKING POINT:  The author seems to believe that  a state full of white people will be nicer and more welcoming to an incoming white low wage worker.  The author makes alot of references as to how easy it is for a Caucasian, Blue-eyed, English speaking American to find work.  Yet, in the novel whenever she went looking for a job it seemed to be difficult.  I believe that it is difficult for anyone to get a job and it really is just being at the right place at the right time, in most cases.

CONNECTION: The author talkis about how one of the teammates is frantic because they have no healthcare insurance and their wisdom teeth are aching them.  The teammate is struggling calling doctors offices that may have free dental care.  This relates to the healthcare issues in America today.  Many poor Americans have been cut off from government assisted healthcare and has to live each day hoping nothing ,such as wisdom tooth pain, happens.

Nickled and Dimed QTPC #1

QUOTATION: (Page 18) ”If you are going to do something, do it well.  In fact well isn’t good enough by half.  Do it better than anyone has done before.” -Booker T  Washington.  The author feels as if she is not acting like a waitress she was actually a waitress and is afraid of doing a bad job at it.  She also says she wakes up in cold sweats afraid of not doing a good job, and does not even stress about making ends meet.

TALKING POINT: Living on a low wage income is very tough but a very large percentage of americans are considered below the poverty line.  How is it possible that so many people take care of families with such a low amount of means.  I believe families live together and help each other out plus the government provides welfare for many poor people.  What do you think families do to survive on minimum wage?

CONNECTION:  The author feels like she has just taken a shot of oxytocin because she feels like she is finally getting into the groove of being a waitress again.  I have actually recently found out what oxytocin is and it is the nurturance hormone that makes u feel comfortable.  I believe I have just become comfortable in my college surroundings, like she did in her new waitress position.

When the Levees Broke QTPC #6

QUOTATION: “You are not in good hands with all state.”-resident.  Many of the residents did not get the reimbursement from their insurance that they thought they would.  The insurance companies searched for any reason not to pay the residents.  If the residents had flood insurance the company would say they needed hurricane insurance and if they had hurricane insurance the company said they needed flood and water damage insurance.  Now the residents that have paid insurance for many many years have not faith in the companies.

TALKING POINT:  A few of the the residents said that out of all the fema trailers that were available maybe about 1% of them were livable.  The trailers were unsafe and they also take a very long time to even receive one after applying.  One woman said she applied and it was six months later and she still had not gotten one.  These people need a place to live they do not deserve to be treated like animals or prisoners don’t you think?

CONNECTION:  Many of the residents say that New Orleans is home and they do not want to leave the only place that they know.  They would feel like a failure and would lose everything they every worked for, but companies are trying to buy out the land and use it for business purposes.  The residents will not allow it.  I have a aunt that lives in a very bad neighborhood her children have offered many time to get her a house in a better neighborhood, but she refuses to leave what has been hers for so many years.