VTMBH Article: Body
Last week, I went into a coffee shop in Queens to try the Cuban sandwich advertised as the new menu sensation. It wasnt very good and I let the waitress, María, know.
María is from Mexico and has lived in the Bronx for six years. She speaks very little English, just enough to hold down her job at the restaurant. The money she earns there, $400 a week, goes to help support her husband and two children. Carlos, Marías husband, works in construction and brings home about $300 a week.
María and Carlos share an apartment with another Mexican family; their share of the rent is $800. Other expenses, like utilities, food, childcare and transportation add up to an additional $1,600 a month. This means that Carlos and Marías monthly expenses for the essentials needed to clothe and feed their family add up to $2,400 a month.
Of the $2,800 a month they earn, $400 is left over to buy clothing, rent Mexican movies when they are homesick, and buy toys and other extras for the children.
For this reason, it disgusts me when Mayor Bloomberg talks of budget cuts and tax increases while no one talks of raising the minimum wage or creating new social service organizations.
María is from Mexico and has lived in the Bronx for six years. She speaks very little English, just enough to hold down her job at the restaurant. The money she earns there, $400 a week, goes to help support her husband and two children. Carlos, Marías husband, works in construction and brings home about $300 a week.
María and Carlos share an apartment with another Mexican family; their share of the rent is $800. Other expenses, like utilities, food, childcare and transportation add up to an additional $1,600 a month. This means that Carlos and Marías monthly expenses for the essentials needed to clothe and feed their family add up to $2,400 a month.
Of the $2,800 a month they earn, $400 is left over to buy clothing, rent Mexican movies when they are homesick, and buy toys and other extras for the children.
For this reason, it disgusts me when Mayor Bloomberg talks of budget cuts and tax increases while no one talks of raising the minimum wage or creating new social service organizations.