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A Week in the Life of a McDonald’s Cashier

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Re: A Week in the Life of a McDonald’s Cashier

#3
post #2

Americans: fix your healthcare system.

I vote and I protest, but yet those with money continue to corrupt the system. I feel much more like a victim of the system than a participant.

How would you suggest a typical American HN reader go about effecting change?

Re: A Week in the Life of a McDonald’s Cashier

#4
post #2

Americans: fix your healthcare system.

In many states, she would have free healthcare through Medicaid, due to the expansion. But many conservative states sabotaged it for their citizens and opted out. North Carolina is one such state.

Re: A Week in the Life of a McDonald’s Cashier

#5
post #2

Americans: fix your healthcare system.

If she’s only making $9.50 an hour she qualifies for some pretty cheap if not free healthcare. When I was in college working in a restaurant it was between $30-40 a month for healthcare I was making approx $20-25k a year.

Healthcare is mentioned exactly one time in the article.

Re: A Week in the Life of a McDonald’s Cashier

#6
post #3
post #2

Americans: fix your healthcare system.

I vote and I protest, but yet those with money continue to corrupt the system. I feel much more like a victim of the system than a participant. How would you suggest a typical American HN reader go about effecting change?

Probably emigrate, to be honest. A brain drain or loss of labor might do the trick. It's the ultimate peaceful vote of no confidence. The system isn't changing right now because it works for those in power. Without bodies to do the work, they'll change their tone.

I don't expect this to happen, though. A lot of engineers are comfy with the top-tier healthcare provided by their employers, so they're likely not willing to leave America. (There are a lot of other perks of our country too, I'm just highlighting this one dimension. I'm certainly not going to leave over this even though I also feel my efforts to affect change are futile.)

I suspect that there are even people who believe healthcare isn't a right.

Re: A Week in the Life of a McDonald’s Cashier

#7
post #5
post #2

Americans: fix your healthcare system.

If she’s only making $9.50 an hour she qualifies for some pretty cheap if not free healthcare. When I was in college working in a restaurant it was between $30-40 a month for healthcare I was making approx $20-25k a year. Healthcare is mentioned exactly one time in the article.

Yes, it's mentioned once, in the context of her not having affordable insurance options.

> At 29, Brown works approximately 40 hours a week, splitting her time between a McDonald’s in Durham, North Carolina, and a food-service gig a local hospital. “It’s still not enough,” she said. Both jobs are part-time, and she doesn’t receive health insurance through either employer. She can’t afford insurance on her own, either. That’s a problem since Brown is diabetic, and she has to pay for her medical expenses out of pocket. She’s trying to do all she can on her own—she receives no food stamps or other assistance, she notes—but it rarely feels like she’s doing enough.

Re: A Week in the Life of a McDonald’s Cashier

#8
post #3
post #2

Americans: fix your healthcare system.

I vote and I protest, but yet those with money continue to corrupt the system. I feel much more like a victim of the system than a participant. How would you suggest a typical American HN reader go about effecting change?

This is definitely a hard question to answer and I have been struggling with it myself. It can feel like a monumental effort when it feels like you are one person doing it. It does feel like the tide is turning though as issues like single-payer become more prevalent. I would say seek out more sophisticated associations/efforts that promote the issues you are passionate about and make sure they don't have a problem staying afloat, by contributing time or (more importantly) money to them. That might be a more effective way to support your cause.

Re: A Week in the Life of a McDonald’s Cashier

#10
> The bus stops running at 10 p.m. on Sunday, but McDonald's asked me to stay until close at 1 a.m. They asked me to stay because they need my help. I know it’s going to be rough to find a way home, but I need the money so I said yes.

Cannot she ask them to pay for a taxi then? Also I didn't understand why she lives so far away from work.

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