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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Barbara will keep driving a beat up ____________ car, though she knows many minimum wage workers can not.

2. Barbara will take the ____________ paying minimum wage job she can find when she's off on assignment.

3. Later it is rumored that Stu was guilty of stealing money to support his __________ habit.

4. Gail reveals that she had to live in _______ and pee into a plastic bottle after her boyfriend she lives with suddenly dies.

5. Barbara makes the common that the ____________ is too low and that someone used to more should try to live with it.

Short Essay Questions

1. How much does Barbara think she will have to make in order to pay her rent and for food during her stay in Florida?

2. What does Barbara find out about Gail and what she has to do when her boyfriend suddenly dies?

3. What kind of job does Barbara say that she will take, money-wise, at least at the start of the experiment?

4. What does the bad tempered cook like to do sometimes back in the kitchen, according to Barbara?

5. What does the interviewer at a grocery store warn Barbara about when she puts in her application?

6. What happens if Barbara thinks she will have to go homeless, even for one night during this experiment?

7. What does Barbara feel she is compelled to do with the patrons at Hearthside, where she works as a waitress?

8. Describe the first apartment that Barbara finds when she is out looking for her first new 'home' for the assignment.

9. What are some of the other reasons why Barbara doesn't really want to take on the assignment of working for minimum wage?

10. If things get too rough during this experiment, what does Barbara say she will do in order to feel herself or to support herself?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Many times, the workers Barbara is with seem resigned to the life in which they have been a part.

Part 1: Why do you think the workers Barbara meets don't really understand that things could be better?

Part 2: Why do you think the workers around Barbara don't know their rights and don't believe them when Barbara tells them what they should expect?

Part 3: Why do you think the workers aren't motivated to do more for themselves?

Essay Topic 2

The idea of a living wage is something that is hotly debated these days.

Part 1: Why do you think a living wage is necessary?

Part 2: What do you think a good living wage would be for your current location today? Why did you choose this number?

Part 3: If prices keep rising, but the living wage does not, how can a minimum wage worker ever get ahead? What might you suggest as a plan to keep people from living off of fast food and avoiding healthcare?

Essay Topic 3

The costs of housing seem to be higher than one might expect, even for the year in which the author attempted this study.

Part 1: Why do you think housing costs are so high for such horrible apartments?

Part 2: Why do you think society and the government doesn't seem to recognize how exorbitant the housing prices are?

Part 3: Do you think housing prices can ever be completely fair? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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