Dollar General and Sam's Club are two institutions that blindly accept widespread poverty, misrepresentation of blacks, gendered traditions, and sexual infidelity. Sociology is trying to fully understand how our places like these are influenced by class, race, gender, and sexuality. Only through scientific inquiry can this be achieved. The social classes of Dollar General customers range from poverty to middle class. The majority of Sam's Club customers are somewhere in between middle and upper class. Sam's Club allows food stamps, but EBT customers are more likely to buy items at a dollar store rather than spend extra for larger portions at a warehouse club. Those who pay with an EBT card have to meet specific requirements in order to use it. The maximum income allowed for card applicants is low enough to classify them as poor. Because cash, debit cards, credit cards, and checks can be used by anyone and there is no way for me to distinguish them, I put all of these customers in the same category: lower middle through upper class. During my observations, I assumed all of the customers using EBT have minimum wage jobs or don't work enough hours to provide for their families. Occupation is difficult to associate with certain classes, but it is clear that struggling parents who work minimum wage jobs are forced to apply for Food Stamps, TANK, and other welfare programs. According to charts in the notes, a family of four needs an annual salary of $37,66l in order to get by without using welfare. If both parents are working in full-time, minimum wage jobs, which pay $7.25 per hour, it is impossible for them to make ends meet. Their combined annual income in this circumstance would be $30,160. Their combined earnings would need to be $18.11 per hour to avoid welfare programs. This means that minimum wage should be at least $9.06 per hour. In other words, the current federal minimum wage would only need to be raised $1.
