Naivety is a lifelong struggle. Like IM, trust in the logical, loyal solution in accordance with the system is a major mistake that costs him much of his pride, integrity and identity. Despite the countless number of clues that hint people of their naivety and unwillingness to embrace more radical views, they refuse to see, and eventually learn their lesson, the hard way. This, too, is the struggle with the current system society dwells in. 

"In 2000, in the Middle Atlantic and East North Central regions, black families' median income was especially low relative to that of whites." In IM, a running truth that kept IM going was that "white men only allowed black people to go as far as the whites wish it to be." In this 2000 statistic, we can see that this is still happening, that even though there is parity between whites and blacks in terms of graduation rates, the median incomes, the lifestyles of millions of blacks living in the North East Central region of the country were significantly less than of their white counterparts. We were also introduced to the whole concept that racism seemed to be a distant issue when IM finds his way up north, but instead, he eventually realizes that the north was waging a secret racism war on itself, where the racism was in truth, more intense than it was in the more modest, and "well-mannered' south.

Interesting read about activists for anti-capitalism/environmentalist (ignore that fact) and their conclusion that working reform with the system doesn't work. Now, they see the light, and the only thing left for each of them, is subversiveness and action against the institution. 

Wealth changes people to become reckless snobs looking to have a little fun with what they have... but the minute you set heart to something and forget the rest, you are incompatible with the wealthy peers.

Notice the diction the author uses: the American dream... stereotype. For ages it has been the hope for many and reality for some that people can live the American dream. Presidents have used it for slogans, it is a catchphrase that glistens in everyone's eye-- but now it is nothing but a stereotype, a goal not-so-true anymore. 

Today, the valley of ashes represents not only a section of New York, but rather, moving to the rest of the country, where reports of deserted homes and communities by factories are simply abandoned, despite a history of economic growth in the path, the dreams and lives that people created for themselves is now nothing but a pile of dust on the ground. 

The American Dream is something many aspire to, but in the reality of things, it is fair to question how far someone can actually get to that dream. One can have wealth and go for it, but in reality, there are so many factors that make one seem like swimming against the current of the super rich and powerful.

The Times brings up an interesting point. Men struggled and still succeeded. Women struggled and got nowhere. Part of it must be the culture, where women often did not usually exert themselves to something ambitious, whereas men are expected to. For most of the women's rights movement, perhaps the goal wasn't to force the institution to create laws for equality, but in the bigger picture, sense that it was to show women had initiative, motivation and a purpose. 

This is sad. What Woolf describes in her essay, that a woman must have means and money to be able to think freely, one would think that a woman in a modern society, where no continent is neglected of technology and accessible tools for the creative space, is able to share her own thoughts and words to express her mind. No-- her concerns nearly a century ago ring true today, women are commodities, sold to slavery, prostitution, forced marriage, social censorship, many women of the world are trapped in a system constantly exploited by men. 

While many of modern society's economic talk, including Ehrenreich's experience, are of the injustice corporations and the government impose on the people with low wages that cannot even sustain a family for a month (or barely, at least)... they are overlooking the smarter state governments that do adjust their minimum wage policy to match inflation. Even if it may only be a few cents of a raise per hour, one can nearly earn a thousand, which definitely helps in sustaining a family. 

Though Ehrenreich includes some bias in her social experiment, the situation in which she puts herself in is very real and many people in the lower-class workforce deal with it. The corporation lures one into the trap, and when they're there, the poor workers are put under the mercy of the monster-- a beast of injustice. 

Reports are out: modern day meatpacking is still considered to be one imposing extreme hazard to the worker. This is only one of the many modern instances of ethical injustice as employers continue to intimidate their workers from creating unions, as described with Fast Food Nation and McDonald's. It is a marriage of Sinclair's eye-opening description of the meatpacking industry and Schlosser's depiction of contemporary business ethics. 

The argument of who is in more risk of an occupational hazard: a McDonald's part time employee or the chain manager, it's a difficult decision to realize... of course, that was a sarcastic statement. Corporate giants and its executives have been indulging themselves in countless benefits including the benefit of proper health care while its typical kitchen employees struggle to keep up with quota demands set by greedy managers, providing an education for themselves and trying to raise children in order to maintain a family. This excerpt is clear proof of the sickening business ethics large corporations now follow: not to protect its workers, but rather the privileged who wallow in their own wealth. 

In order to make money in today's society where lawmakers try to implement policies to protect workers, the corporation continuously finds ways to save themselves some dollars by cutting coverage to its typical worker. This is exactly what McDonald's has done to its workers. 

You know something wrong when someone cannot even assemble a frozen hamburger. When all it takes is to season a burger and a worker cannot even accomplish that property, it means that the workers are not so passionate in performing well in their job, which leads to a conclusion that perhaps there aren't too many incentives for the employee to even bother trying. 

Another act of ignorance on McDonald's part-- most employees are not trained to clean a flooded basement. Another question that should be raised is why allow a fast food joint to be operational when a basement is flooded and chemicals and bacteria float with all that stagnant water. Worker conditions are poor because of the poor environment the company is not so urgent on maintaining. 

This article displays the McDonald's ignorance when it comes to their workers. In this unfortunate case, a McDonald's employee was left to work long hours without rest, falling asleep on the wheel and colliding with another vehicle, claiming the employee's life. Should a worker at this fast food joint die because he was just working for minimum wage?