Distributive Equality

This project is designed to get you to think about what it means to have enough. 

Step 1- Write a budget for post-graduation that is consistent with the lowest amount of income you would plausibly have to live on. 

Step 2- Research housing, phone plans, car insurance, and meals that are consistent with that budget. 

Step 3- Spend no more than $10/day on food for three days and keep a diary of your meals.  

Evidence: Budgets, research, meals.

Visit three coffee shops that appear to occupy different market niches (e.g., a local cafe, a Starbucks, a discount chain in Target, or a convenience store). Ask the manager, or find out in some other way, the starting hourly wage for a barista. Record the prices of a small drip coffee, a latte, and a pastry from each store. Consider the price of rent at the store's location, their customer volume, the kinds of people who work there, their decor, and any other features that might the bottom line. 

In your reflection, explain why wages and prices differ across the businesses. Do higher prices seem to correspond to higher wages? What other factors might explain the differences? Should workers at businesses that charge more necessarily earn more? Is it fair that some baristas make more than others? 

Go to a coworking space where there are a lot of people doing office work or work on laptops. Observe the workers for 60 minutes, and write down the kinds of tasks they seem to be doing, if they are distraced, if they are taking breaks and talking, and if they seem to be having a good time. Then go to a place where the workers are doing a food service or retail job. Again, observe the workers for 60 minutes and write down the kinds of tasks that they seem to be doing, how many customers they serve, downtime, etc. 

In your reflection, estimate the income of workers at each location. If one kind of worker makes more than the other, what explains the difference? Does the more highly-paid worker seem to be working as hard as the lower-paid worker? If not, is that fair?