Going off of Heather's feedback, yet again, she has a great point. Maybe Votec schools should be available to every age! If someone were to loose their job at an older age, it would be important to offer them another marketable skill. What kind of rules should there be regarding who is applicable, then?
First: I think that everyone who is interested in furthering their education should have one free chance to attend a program for a marketable skill, such as their CNA. However if later down the road, they decide that their career path is not for them, they should have to pay some amount of money to go through a second program.
Second: Obviously, there needs to be an application process helping those who need it most..

Maybe there should be two different branches of government sponsored Votecs.
My original idea was to address Votec for high school students in poverty who have no way of affording a college education. However, as many of you have expressed, there are so many people in poverty who could use the extra education, but are out of high school. With that being said, I don't think high school students and adults should fight for spots in the same program. Also, because of the age difference, there will be a difference in learning abilities and such.

So maybe I should look into making a high school votec, and sort of a "second chance" votec that focuses on those who have already been in the workforce and not succeeded or those who never made it in at all.

Last Project Post

I'm not sure if we had to do another project post or not. But here is one anyway.

I do believe I came up with a title that will fit in: Famili-Care.

I think this would be best because I am try to focus on child care to help with the family. I did some research and found out some information about Head-Start/Youth-in-Need. I will be sharing this in class tomorrow.

Now that I have this information I need to find a way to improve the funding they get now. Of course the way to get money is through taxing people more. One thing that I don't find fair is taxing those who can not have the service of these programs.

The first thing that needs to happen is that new locations need to be added, current locations need to be evaulated and fixed, taxes need to be raised locally in those areas, and there needs to be a better system or one at all the evaultes these locations yearly.

Doing this will create new jobs on many levels, help parents be able to have good child care, children will be feed at least two healthy meals a day, and education will be started earlier in lives of children who may have a troubled background.

-Heather

Funding

Funding tends to be the greatest problem for drug rehabilitation centers. However, I believe the best way to combat these problems would be to allow a certain percentage of those client's income who reside in the facility to subsidize the cost of the facility. For programs that run approximately 90 days, I believe this is the norm. However, programs that essentially run only 1 month have major issues with providing services, and although some healthcare covers treatment additional expenses are accrued. So, I believe 30-day programs should utilize the same process and therefore, reduce the government costs of some of the programs. However, this isn't to say that government would provide less funding, I just believe that this would be an outlet in which governmental funding can aid in other neccessities of the program besides just treatment alone.

Just so you all know, there are members of the House and Senate who are working on proposals that at least some of you would find acceptable.  The Progressive Caucus of the US House has a budget proposal called The Budget For All.  http://grijalva.house.gov/uploads/Executive%20Summary%20FINAL.pdf

Jobs and Unemployment 4

This post's solution is probably the best solution out there that the American government can use to get rid of poverty and unemployment once and for all.

Private sector is such a huge employer of a big portion of the American work force, therefore, if the unemployment rate is high, that also means the private sectors have stopped hiring new workers or they are laying off workers, considerably.

The approach to this is simple, the government needs to meet with the private sectors and discuss how they can work together to make them hire workers or stop laying them off.

One of the policies that can be changed is to stop giving the unemployment benefit money to unemployed people and give that money to the companies or corporations that will hire the unemployed people. 

By giving money to these companies to hire the people who got laid off, it will increase the productivity rate of an economy, but also it will considerably reduce the rate of fraud caused by people who secretly work, but yet claim to be unemployed just so they can receive the unemployment benefits.

There will not be any doubt that, unemployment will be significantly reduced by this technique and as a result the economic growth rate will rise too.

More solutions to come, y'all.

I have to admit, I am a little bit stuck. I want to figure out a way to not drastically cut funding from richer schools, but bring the poorer school closer to their level. I don't think it would be beneficial to even the playing field by simply redistributing the wealth, I think the taxes need to go up, especially for those who make more, and then slight budgeting cuts to the wealthier schools. I want to enable the poorer schools to be able to afford the same textbooks and teachers and technology as the wealthier schools. I think those three are the most prevalent needs right now. I am totally and completely open to suggestions, I'm kind of grasping at straws at how to actually go about working this program up.

After much thought I have come up with the basic outline of my AmeriCaid Health Care System.

1. All Americans will have affordable access to health care, from the richest to the poorest.
2. This will be achieved through public-private partnerships as well as a single payer system.  By this I mean that the federal government will raise taxes to pay for a new health care system, and some of the tax burden will be alleviated through private donations and funding.
3. There will be an initial block grant (of an undetermined amount at this time) to pay for the following measures.
4. In order to assure everyone has access to health care the government will install new clinics in the first 100 most critical "heath deserts" across the country.
5. In order to assure everyone can reach these new clinics, and already existing clinics and hospitals there will be transit services to and from the clinics and hospitals.  Not ambulance rides in case of an emergency, but a clinic car that will come and get you for a simple check up to having strep throat. 
6. I have yet to figure out how to convince doctors to take a pay cut in order to make the costs of this program more feasible. 

I think what I have outlined here will help, but it can't be my final solution.  There are still some bugs that I need to work out.  Mostly with private insurance and privately owned hospitals and clinics. 

To further my project, I think there should be rules regarding who can use the program and age limits.
There should be an avaliability to students and young adults up to age 30. (subject to change)  Some people get a late start in life and it is important for these programs to be avilable to them.
If someone would like to enter the program, butis older than said age limit, there should be credientials to determine their eligibility.

Project Post 4

I don't really know what to do from this point. In the last post I made statements about the many points that I wanted to focus on. I still don't have a name for the overall thing.

I guess you could say that I am just stuck were I am. If anyone has any advice that would be great! Otherwise I just need to write down the list that I have made and figure out how to put it in words. I don't really know what else I need to do and bring to class for next week.

-Heather

Ideas on how to increase the living wage

We mentioned in class the extremely outdated ways in which our government determines what is an acceptable minimum wage in America.  It was mentioned that for a short rule of thumb, take the average amount spent on food and triple it, which in today's culture just doesn't work.  No one spends a third of their money on food, more like between a fourth and a sixth.  I wouldn't automatically institute this as a new minimum wage, since that could prove disastrous to businesses.  What I would do instead is to perhaps institute a law that makes it mandatory that any corporation in the United States currently paying only the minimum wage to its employees must provide the option to unionize (outside of Right to Work states, of course).  Secondly, I would institute a departmental entity on the state level that would reconfigure the COLA adjustment in that state on a bi-annual basis, making changes accordingly.  This particular institution would be placed on every state, not just the ones free to unionize.  One other thing I thought about would be to add a section to the job training sector of AmeriCares that would, given the type of certificate the person holds, give the person information on companies that allow unionization, and maybe even take care of enrolling the person, relieving them of having to be educated on the subject.  Companies nowadays, as we discussed, sometimes manipulate their employees by not letting them know they are entitled to certain benefits.  A section of AmeriCares, which I would call the WBA, or Workers' Benefits Administration, would fight those companies in Right to Work states that prevent employees from being defended.  It could be a sector embedded in the judicial system, having an entire law-making and practicing infrastructure behind it to ensure its authority.

Okay, ideas about my final project.

First, I have decided that embarking on writing about the entirety of my envisioned AmeriCaid is simply going to be too much for me to handle, so I'm gong to center in and focus on providing access to affordable health care for all Americans.  I think that accomplishing that goal will be more than enough to keep me busy formulating for a while, and if I should discover that I am struck with brilliance about any of my other envisioned areas, I will write about them as well.

Transitional living

       Transitional living services provide much needed help to those who find themselves without shelter after leaving rehabilitation houses. However, recovery is still a necessity, so I would like to suggest a renovation of practices concerning transitional living services. I would like to provide transitional living homes with mandated outpatient services around the clock from morning to noon. As a way to boost attendance for these services I would mandate that clients attend at least two of the sessions a day. As an incentive for attending the services, I would use positive reinforcement as a way to encourage clients to maintain a free lifestyle while away from the facility. However, I would stipulate a maximum residence period. Clients are only allowed a period of only two years of residence before they must venture out into independent living after receiving the necessary tools to do so.

Project

Heather asked an excellent question about what I would want to do with Votec programs. I think now, they offer great programs with a variety of skills available to be learned. For example, at the votec school I attended there were programs for graphic design, printing, automobiles, welding, nurses assistant, etc. That is quite a bit of jobs. It is probably unrealistic to want tons of different classes available  because this is a high-cost idea. I think that maybe it would be good for the governor should figure out what jobs are most needed in that said state. Skills sometimes are enough when those jobs are in need.

The English System...

I did a little research into England's school system, originally looking for how the government sets up schools and how they are paid for, but stumbled across an article on their testing and became more engrossed in that. I was wondering if I should go back to focusing more on creating equal schooling or continue on this tangent of testing, or can I focus on both?

Heather brought up an extremely good point in her question on my previous post. I think that with a test reform, it will better equip teachers to fully comprehend the mastery and retention students have of the material learned that year, so they can better know whether the student should proceed with their schooling or be held back a year. (I attempted to respond on the previous post, but my phone wouldn't let me publish it so I answered it on here!)

Jobs and Unemployment 3

 

Another good solution that the government can do to reduce unemployment rate is to set good policies that will help lower taxes for companies and corporations that higher a considerably big portion of the American work force.

By lowering taxes, these companies and corporation will not out source jobs overseas where they can find lower tax rates for their operations and cheap workers too.

The government needs to recognize the impact and the importance of big companies decisions like these. Companies such as GM, Apple, Micro-soft or Ford are considerably big enough to present significant impacts on the economy due to out sourcing jobs and other major decisions that these companies can make and will result into a huge economic flow change.

One more solution that the government can make is reduce strict laws that binds others companies from other countries to operate in America. Having a good number of foreign countries companies will increase jobs options for our American workers, increase domestic business competition and will result into high quality of the products that are produced in our country.

More solutions on the way fellas...

The Newer Deal

"We should have learned a lesson from the New Deal and put 2 million people to work in twenty-first-century versions of the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration (59)."  I just had to start with this because I firmly believe that the New Deal, had it not been for the discriminating nature of it, would've been flawless.  I came up with an idea that would work as a pseudo-alphabet soup plan.  I'm calling it the HSRA, the Historical Site Restoration Administration, which would work in congruence with the National Register of Historic Places.  Its main goal would be to rehabilitate historic structures across the U.S.  Utilizing construction, interior design and landscaping skills, this association could put many people who either have degrees or certificates in these professions, or those who are being trained in these professions to work.  What do you all think?

Project Post 3

Okay. I don't really know what to do from this point. I have my idea. I don't have a name.

1. I want to increase the number of Head Starts/Youth in Need in the United States.
2. I want to increase aid to families who don't have Head Starts in the area to be able to send children to day care.
3. PAT, Parents as Teachers funding needs to be increased. (Emily, if you want to cover this you so can!)
4. Calling in abuse for children doesn't need to be a three strike thing, if it is reported then it needs to be invesgated and stronger action needs to be taken.

These are the main things that I want to address.

What do you guys think?

-Heather

Jobs and Unemployment

There are many solutions that both the government and the society would collectively decide to do to reduce unemployment rate.

One of them is creating government projects that will require hiring people. These projects can be in form of road construction, bridge repair programs or public schools renovation projects. All these projects will create more jobs for people who mostly need jobs but at the same time it will help improve our infrastructural systems. I personally do not feel comfortable driving on an old bridge worrying whether i will be safe, while there is a good number of unemployed construction workers waiting to be hired to do something.

I will keep posting more solutions as new posts come up.

Thank you

Another idea, though much more contraversial

After talking about unions today, I considered a new option for increasing jobs.  What if we give unions a little more slack?  Perhaps set a ceiling on the amount unions can charge for dues, or something to that effect?  It's just that in my mind, and from the information provided in Massey's book, one thing that most successful industrialized nations seem to have in common is a significantly unionized manufacturing sector.  Giving more power to the employee would allow them to bargain for better wages.  This, in turn, may not be increasing jobs, but it is increasing the amount we currently have that offer wages one can live on, which is a start.

Rehabilitation Centers

I find that the major problem is the focus of rehabilitation centers. With my years working at a detox facility the common theme and problem is the revolving door. It is a reoccurring theme present in drug rehabilitation centers, in which clients promise to make changes in their use of drugs and alcohol, however, a couple months or less the client returns worse off than before. However, I would like to put stipulations on reforming rehabilitation centers in which clients who refuse after care services are only allotted three visits to detox centers. If each visit results in the client not seeking after care treatment or preventative programs they will not be allowed to seek treatment again. Although this may seem harsh, it will hopefully solve the problem of funding by giving others a chance of overcoming their addiction. Currently new clients are turned away because of the lack of funding which undoubtedly been used of previous clients again and again. The overflow of clients and little funds can destroy any possible future funds for mental health services for drug and alcohol addiction. So I believe this to be a possible way of solving this problem.

We all know that our Education system in America has some serious flaws. That is not a debatable topic. But what is debatable is how to fix those flaws. One of my main concerns is the unequal education. I want to look into some of Europe's education systems to try and find a better way for America to structure their school system. Another problem I have with our system is the standardized testing craze that we have. I do not feel they test a students intelligence, rather they test a students memory. I want to look into designing a more "real life" assessment that shows truly if the student has mastered the material.

Le project

In regards to my project, I want to start with how important a votec program would be for all ages. I think that there should be a fund that pays for classes and offers free supplies and uniforms, and there should be at least 50 hours of job shadowing where students can make job connections. This would give students a fresh take on school, because they are studying something they like. I do not think that each school should offer a technical school, but there should be one that other students from different schools could be bused to in a timely manner. These schools should also be available to adults who want to go back to school, but cannot afford to do so.

Project Post 2

The decision has been made that I am going to do something withe helping children.

First and foremost I need a good name. This part is not something I am good at. Anyone have an ideas?

First I would like to make a fedral packet of information about all programs avaiable after a women gives birth. I would imagine that the packet would be given to a women when she gets her dicharge papers at the hospital. A staff memeber would go over the information with the women informing her of what is out there.

Next I would like to do something to increase the funding of Youth in Need/Head Start. I need to look more into what they do now and see what needs to be improved or changed. At this point I just know they need more funding to take more children.

I also want to increase the amount of money avaible to families who do not have a Head Start or Youth in Need in their hometown area so they can get their children in daycare.

Doing this will allow parent's to be able to work a full time job, the children to get a good start on their education, and to make sure that the children are at least getting one healthy meal a day (I would like to make sure breakfast, two snacks, and lunch are served to the children in child care for a full day).

What do you guys think?

-Heather

SO RICH, SO POOR

One of the greatest things about this book is that fact the author seems to offer more solutions to problems than just telling us what is wrong with this world and leave everyone hanging not knowing what or how to solve the problems surrounding different situations.

Just in the beginning i could already tell that this book will be useful in my final project which has more to do with jobs and unemployment.

This book is very different from the two previous in that Edelman is more directly linked, and is not simply reading facts or talking about people's stories. So far I have actually really enjoyed the way he has broken down different policies and what the different administrations have done with said policies. I look forward to the rest of this book!

I haven't put much thinking into my final project this weekend... oops!  Way too busy.  However I will put a bit of planning in before Thursday.

You all have heard my platform before, that everyone should have access to all of the things to keep their family healthy.  Now I just have to figure out how to go about achieving that.....

Drug and Alcohol addiction Project postings

         I have decided to focus on the problems of drug and alcohol addiction as it pertains to poverty. What I would like to include in my presentation is the inner workings of mental health clinics and how the lack of funding results in the revolving door complex that is commonly seen within drug recovery centers, such as detoxes, and transitional living houses. I would also like to include within my presentation some possible reforms that could aid in better results for the victims of drug and alcohol addiction. Finally, I would conclude with the benefits of these reforms, defending the reasons I believe them to be a positive change in the mental health treatment of drug and alcohol addiction. Also because we are working from the point of Ameri Cares, I thought Ameri Free would be a great subtitle of this particular problem, which emphasizes a life free from the constraints of drugs and alcohol.

Collars for Collars (I know, not as cool as AmeriCares)

Okay guys, here's what I'm thinking, hopefully this will work.  If not, then back to the drawing table.  How about an organization, maybe as a suppliment to food stamps, or a sister-organization or something to that effect, that, once poor people graduate from training for jobs, gives them professional looking suits and dress clothes that other people and stores donate?  Call it Collars for Collars, you know, like the job distinction.  Have a catch fraise and some famous person to endorse it, like George Clooney, just standing there saying something like, "no matter the collar job, blue, white or pink, we got a collar for you!"  Corny, yet effective.  Took me a while to come up with a name for it.  And then maybe include a taxi-type service that can take people to their interviews?  I think that could work.  Maybe hire people that can act as self-esteem builders, kinda like the coaches in a boxing match, helping people tying their ties, helping them work on their first impressions, giving them pep talks, something cool.  What do you all think?

This was fantastic book, i wish Shipler offered more solutions to the issues he was raising in this book. This is still a wonderful and a great book that i would recommend for people especially my friends who constantly provoke me with their arguments about how star-spangled awesome America is.
My full attention goes to my final project about jobs and unemployment, that's all i need to worry about.
It been real, Mr Shipler.

Project Post 1

So, I don't have a topic for my project yet! Haha!

I have been thinking though and after reading the first two chapters in So Rich, So Poor I would like to look more into some of the programs tha Peter Edelman talked about. I have also had a somewhat negative veiw of Youth In Need but after reading something sparked an interest in me.

Maybe fore my project I could do something on funding for programs for children in America? I don't know this is an idea and it might spill over in some others topics... It's just an idea.

What do you guys think I should do for my project?

-Heather

Finito

Bravo, Shipler, bravo.  I feel that he concluded this perspective-changing book very well.  I guess I never truly realized that every single problem the working poor face are interrelated.  I knew that there was a vicious cycle, as we have discussed in class before, but literally EVERY aspect that hinders the ability of the working poor to ascend from poverty seem to coerse.  I would also like to add that I'm all for how Dr. Myer is doing the paper for this book.  They need to hear what Shipler has to say.

My last one apparently didn't post, so here's a very quick response to a very short chapter.

I loved how Shipler called us out at the end--what a phenomenal conclusion!

I like that Shipler suggests that we have to change the whole SYSTEM, I think that is just brilliant.

Thanks,
Joe

Just the Basics!

       While reading the last chapter I get a feeling that low wages seem to be the greatest problem of the working poor. These individuals are not making enough to scrape by and because so their burdens become almost unbearable. Minimum wage which was discussed throughout the reading poses a barrier to these families struggling to make ends meet as they progress from the beginning of the month towards the end which adds stress and produces extreme difficulties to the family and especially those who head the household. The word "minimum" is such a striking word in this sense. Minimum the bare basic wage you are allowed to pay someone, yet this wage can't even account for the basic necessities of those who earn it. The answer to why companies and business stick to this small wage earning capacity is clear. However, in paying these individuals such a low wage it says something about the position of which they are paid. It says that this position is meaningless, anyone can do it, and that anyone fulfilling these positions can be replaced. Yet, again these positions are ones that serve Americans everyday from the cook behind the counter, the housekeeper and maintenance staff of the hotel, and the babysitter. All are service positions that aid to make life easier for American consumers. In paying these positions such a low and bare minimum wage are we sending the American consumer the message that they are not highly valued either in comparison to the person who just served them a Big Mac and fries on their way out of the drive-thru. Food for thought.

I think supporting a family on minimum wage. The thought of caring for myself, and paying my own bills on minimum wage when I am fully insured and I make tips as well, also, I only pay for myself. I feel hopeless when I imagine if I was in that position. These people cannot survive without help. They are unable to save money. Minimum wage is not enough.

And We Come To An End

I feel like the final chapter in Shippler's book really brought things to a close. I like how he admits to the fact that not everything that happens to the working poor is the government's fault. I think that this will make Emma a little happy to know that Shippler admits some working poor don't have the drive.

Shippler's statement about how we have to attack all the issues that are affecting the working poor and not just one makes sense. Though attacking everything at once is easier said then done. I believe that there are many issues that need to be dealt and it is going to take time to deal with them all, even though we don't have time.

The last paragraph in the book is a strong one. We should all really be ashamed.

I don't really have much to say about this chapter because I feel like Shipler is just summing up his book. But I agree with him on the fact that it's not entirely the governments fault. Some does lie with the working poor, they have have skills to do better, the lack of programs and their own will is holding them back. The numbers on how few people vote in the lower classes surprised me, I didn't think they would be that low. If these people don't vote, and vote with knowledge of what is actually going on, they will not have any voice in their own lack of programs and assistance. They cannot move up in the world if there are not people fighting for them, and they cannot fight for them if the working poor doesn't elect them. The rich are excellent at suppressing the politicians that want to help the poor, because it means more taxes for them to pay.

chapter 9: Dreams

This chapter in my opinion addresses one of the toughest or hot button topics in America that not so many people want to talk about.

Raising children to realize their dreams is one of the toughest jobs in the world that, both teachers and parents needs to work jointly and hand to hand.

Children are innocent souls, they have the right to dream bigger on whatever they want, however they want. As an older generation, it is our responsibility to make sure that we provide our children with all the necessary resources to help them achieve their dreams.

There is no doubt that at some points life circumstances may change children's dream, these circumstances may be in or out of our control, but that does not take away our responsibilities as an older generation or the people our children look up to. 

We are obligated as the people and the government to create better policies that will help our children achieve their goals, let us recognize that this is a problem before we start solving it.

LET THE CHILDREN DREAM BIGGER

Chapter 9 really hit me. We all know that the education system in America is unfair. Wealthier areas have more taxes to support the schools with, making those school better than the schools in poor areas. But the fact that this teacher, who knows most of her students won't achieve their dreams, actually tells them that fact is part of the reason that they won't! These kids already are kept down by their environments, but if they do not believe that their dreams are attainable, they won't try at all!

When reading this to chapters there was a little spark of hope inside of me.

Chapter 9 was interesting to me and something that I am very passionate about-education. I believe that everyone needs to have good well rounded education. The fact of it is that not everyone in America get a good and fair education. In this chapter I really liked reading the sections from teachers that teach in some of these lower income schools. I see where some of them are coming from. I do think that some of the teachers Shippler talked to had good educates themselves.

Chapter 10 really made the point to me that people who are in poverty need to have support and training. They need to be able to build themselves up and get out of the poverty that seems to be a cycle that they are stuck in. One little thing that Shippler mentioned was the fact of prostitution. I wonder if there are any numbers on home many prostitutes were homeless so they joined that working field to make money.

Excited for class!!

It is painfully obvious how difficult it is to dream and see those dreams come true in life. Poverty ridden families have no way to better their children's education due to lack of funds and lack of education on their part. Therefore if a poverty ridden child is going to fight their way out, they have to exceed the norm. I wish it was realistic to say that each child could make it to being doctors and famous athletes, but it isn't true. Even rich children struggle to reach their dreams, even with all of the extras their parents can afford.

Realism is a Neccessity!

      Today's reading struck a chord with me as I was reminded of the public educational system of which I am from. Throughout the course of grade school, we all started out with specific dreams and goals that we wanted to accomplish. I had one goal my entire life. Looking back it is so different from what I envision now for myself. As a young girl I wanted to be a gynecologist with an emphasis in obstetrics, and I was sticking with that "dream" up until several years ago when I decided that practicing medicine in the "traditional" sense was no longer the path that I wanted walk. I can't lie and say that I got this aspiration to be a physician from knowing someone in my family with this specific career choice. However, I was influenced by Bill Cosby's show "The Cosby Show", in which the actor/comedian portrayed Heaf-Cliff Huxtable, a gynecologist or obstetrician who lived an upper middle-class lifestyle in a prominent neighborhood with several children along with his powerful attorney wife, Claire Huxtable. I wanted this lifestyle and career and it followed me well into my twenties. Although I didn't ultimately choose this path, I have a future career in behavioral health and I'm happy with this decision.
       However, although I was motivated by my "dream" to be a doctor, my dream alone wasn't enough fuel to gas me up and force me through the many barriers and obstacles that lied ahead of me. Realism, is extremely important to dreams. Dreams are titled "dreams" because they are aspirations, that should be paved with hard work. They are not miracles that just happen to happen to us. No one reaches a dream on pure talent alone, motivation and skill, and most importantly effort is a necessity. The reading very much hinted at the inner city children, which is telling not only regarding the book but regarding the population in which the context of this chapter is targeted. The inner city is filled with everlasting dreams. Some are simple, some more complex, but all are dreams nonetheless. However, what makes some dreams obtainable and other void of true ambition and attainment is the hard work and dedication to the dream itself. We can't instill within our children the power of dreaming without instilling the importance of putting effort behind those dreams. I have been friend and classmate to those who have had both realistic dreams that are backed by the much needed hard work and I have also witnessed those with highly ambitious dreams with no means of attainment. However, it is those with the skill to back their realistic dreams who are graduating from college, entering into successful careers, and starting their families on the road to what could be that middle class lifestyle that their parents could only "dream" of. Empty dreams with little to any work or realism are the true killers of the poor Americans' spirit. It robs them of the truth and slaves them to a life of "I should have" and "I could have".
        I'm grateful for the "harsh teachers" that I have encountered while in my youth as a child growing up in the inner city school system. They held a mirror to my face and other students like me so that we can see the truth behind the work of turning our future dreams into realizations. Instilling within us the importance of having great verbal skills, writing skills, and the ability to grasp more than just the basics were the tools that they provided us. They were not the nicest teachers, or people for that matter, they yelled and screamed and pushed and sometimes cursed and used profanity to get to some of our classmates who through the lack of discipline at home needed an authority figure to rectify their chaotic lifestyle. I'm the product of these "harsh teaching methods", but no way in the world would a soft-spoken laid back teacher have changed the students of my youth. For some students where I come from, soft methods produce few if any results. However, strict and brutally honest, forward and invasive, and tough loving teachers leave everlasting impressions and produce everlasting positive results that can aid an inner city child to reaching their true potential and most importantly their dreams.

Chapters 9 & 10 were less depressing, which was nice.  I am particularly interested to hear our future educator's opinions on chapter 9, since that is an issue I am not as familiar with as some of the others Shipler has covered.

No questions left after reading, sorry for my lack of guidance :(.

Excited to bring more together in class!

Thanks,
Joe

Chapter 10

I really liked the SOME organization, and the whole "welfare to work" movement.  I had never heard of an organization that could evolve with the social problems, as opposed to the single-problem initiatives that I've heard of before.  It's not hard to understand how difficult it must be to replace an entire social institution such as the family with a government association, yet it is comforting to see that change is happening.  Leary's story was really sad.  Just when you think the depressing stuff's over, it happens again.  And yet, it ended well.  I think all those Republican senators that are pushing for spending cuts should read this book and see what that spending is really doing, and how many people it is helping.

Chapter 9

There is something wonderful about hearing a young child's dreams of a bright future.  In their minds, it is so simple, so perfect.  The world to them is one that is honest, fair, efficient, goal-driven and nice.  Why it cannot be that way bothers me.  It makes no sense.  Reading about that teacher that was, to put it bluntly, crushing the hopes of the kids who dreamed of such a world was angering.  Our schools are home to many social issues covered in this chapter.  Shipler explains that teachers need to be supportive, yet firm.  In my opinion, it is WRONG to tell any person, young or old that they cannot do something.  Being encouraging would probably do more good than people realize.  Instead, teachers tell these kids that they cannot achieve these dreams, they can't do what they want to do because it isn't realistic.  That's stupid as hell in my mind because it is US that make it how it is, WE are the ones that make life how it is.  If the world was how we wanted it, we would never have to tell a kid they couldn't do something.  And I'm not trying to be hard on teachers, I understand that it is a very rigorous profession.  It's not just them, it's the void that exists between them and the kid's home lives.  Shipler makes a good point about the obvious void between home and school.  This is one of those things like Joe talked about with the vicious cycle, parents have no money, have to work, the kids have to fend for themselves, their grades suffer, they can't get into college, they're poor, and so on.  In my opinion, if we start fixing these smaller problems, such as being advocates for associations such as Home and School (St. Mary's Elementary in Glasgow has this) these will act as stepping stones, and turn the cycle around.

Challenges facing poor people in America

According to the discussion we had in class, I chose to disagree that in America the problem for poor people is not lack of food. It is poor distribution of food among people.

According to the documentary we watched in SO101H about this guy who was dumpster diving, he found out and reported that in America 11 billion pounds of food are thrown every month, which as a results accounts for an average of 130 billion pounds of food thrown every year.

He continued to report that in Los Angeles county alone there are approximately 10 million people who are not sure where their next meal is going to come from.

If the government constructed better policies on food distribution before the owners of big stores decide throw all the food away, it would have helped these poor people and the situation wouldn't be as bad.

Extended Families

      I wanted to touch on the importance of extended families. As I was reading the chapter, the idea of familial ties aroused in my thoughts as I was reminded of the necessities of extended family ties within some households. While taking a psychology class some semesters back concerning the family and the changing of familial roles within and outside the household, I discovered some families rely more heavily on extended family ties and maintaining those ties. For instance, pooling of income from outside the immediate family unit into the extended family was greatly important for African Americans. However, this was less important for White American households. I am a witness to this particular family construct. In my family, which is clearly an African American family, my aunt's, uncles, and cousins are seen as viable members to our family so much so that my relationship with my cousins are similar to brothers and sisters. However, upon coming to college and baring witness to similar ties between to family ties between White family members the bind seemed or appeared less significant. Also I was reminded within the chapter on kinship of how important managing ties outside of one's family are also very important, and are the most fragile to maintain. however, because they require so much "workmanship" they are some of our most strongest ties. I was reading and I immediately thought of my sorority as a prime example of this particular relationship.

These two chapters really pulled at my heart strings. Especially chapter 8. Every year I do a fundraiser called 30 hour famine that raises awareness and money for children without food. But we always focus on other countries, countries that are much worse off than America, but we don't ever talk about the fact that even though we are a rich nation, we have hungry. That just kills me. I know that we have poor and we have hungry, I just never stopped my group from it's focus of other countries.

Seven and Eight

These chapters were somewhat easier for me to read but there were still parts that upset me.

Chapter 7 made sense to me with the idea of Kinship. The story of the family with the mother who had cancer was a sad story but it made something clear to me,  some people who are barely making it don't want to ask for help. The part where the truck driver paid for their meal without saying anything put a smile on my face. What I didn't think about was the fact that the mother would be so upset by the action that the trucker made. I'm glad that she made the call and seen why the trucker did what he did.

Chapter 8 made me more upset then chapter 7. No one hears about children being malnourished in the United States. It's truly sad and the fact that some of the parent's don't seem know what to do or don't want to tell people helping them what goes on it ticks me off. The other part of the chapter where Shippler talks about the fact that some children don't get the physical care causes them to close in on themselves and not interact is very upsetting.

--I just wanted to say that I have done things like pay for others meals without informing the people who did it. I never thought that the family might be upset by my actions.

7/8

I feel that this chapter breeds a bit of hope in those who live in poverty. Although the two main families Shipler focused on lived in extreme poverty with little to no money to their name at any given time, their community was willing to give back to them and make sure that they made it through the tough months. Another thing that stuck out to me was the positivity through their entire process. These families were so cheerful and full of hope, if it weren't for the fact that poverty is based off of money, these people would have never been poor. It is worrisome that the second family had an income of around $23,600 a year, and were still struggling to afford housing. It makes me wonder how any family based off of a minimum wage salary survives.

Chapter 7 was just entirely too much for this young man to handle.  I cried and I have not yet cried at this book yet, but it was just so sad.  I simply cannot imagine why there are people who have to live these awful stories.

Despite the sadness, the chapter did give me a little hope.  To know there are communities who will reach out and help these people is an amazing thing.

Connecting to last class's discussion regrading projects and other poorer neighborhoods, I wonder if the same sort of kinship occurs there, I'm sure that there isn't nearly as much financial assistance, but there must be help among neighbors--bartering, etc.

Chapter 8 I was right on board with as a health care pusher.  I did however think Shipler dragged on a little bit.

Also, are there any more up-to-date numbers on people who have access to these clinics, and people who are under that malnourished study?

Thanks,
Joe

  3/26/2013

The first step towards successfully solving a problem, is to recognize there is one. I feel like this should be the one phrase that should be used more often in this class because it represents the heart of major objective for this class.

I will start by recognizing that we have a problem in America, that is, we don't allocate the resources  properly in America.

For example, inmates in American prisons receive all the necessities of life, that is food, clean and safe water, clothing (even though its just one pair), utilities all these are for free, given to these individuals or in other words criminals.

On the other side It will not be unusual to find a good number of good and descent citizens who literary struggle everyday to cover these costs. 

No one seems to talk about this because no one recognizes that there is a problem with resources allocation by the government.

America spends more than any other country in the world in defense. It spends more than the next 25 countries which all are allies.

If America would instead spend more in making sure that all its citizens have access to health care and spend less in defense against our own allies, it would ensure a much better life condition to the working poor people in America.

But like i mentioned in the beginning, no one seems to recognize this as a problem, and that is why no one can solve this problem.

Body and Mind

Chapter 8 was sad.  I'm starting to notice a patern here.  This chapter brought back memories of McMillan's American Way of Eating.  Poor people, unable to afford healthy food for themselves or their children, if any food at all, resort to the cheapest, most unhealthy food imaginable.  The unbreakable barrier between poor and the educated also made itself apparent here.  The fact that poor people tend to be resentful against people of higher class and occupation causes a barrier that can prevent doctors from properly treating their patients, as well as the language barrier that is found in America.  Also, I can understand the problem with taking an accurate role of how many people are malnourished in the United States.  With it being an embarassing ordeal, along with being poor in general, it must be very difficult to truly measure the scope of this epidemic.  Despite these problems, it is definitely an issue that must be solved.

Kinship

Chapter 7 was sad, even more so than chapter 6.  One thing it did show was that despite the hardships of these people, they were still happy and loved eachother.  In this chapter, we are introduced to a family that,  although poor and sick at times, had plenty of love for eachother, which quite possibly was the glue holding them together, even through great loss.  I personally think that we need more people like that truck driver in this world.  It's not hard to see that it is family and friends that best help poor relatives in this world.  Another good measure of character that showed itself was honesty.  Tom quitting his job seemed to me to be a very honourable decision.

5/6

I would have to agree that soft skills are something that is common sense based. I don't know if I truly buy into having to learn those social skills. Showering, and brushing your teeth before work, and arriving on time is something every employee should do without being told! However, it was eye opening to see how many people are afraid of working due to their self esteem. I am not sure if that is 100% accurate, either. People should always take oppurtunities when they are presented. It would be interesting to be able to speak to someone in this situation in person to further my understanding.

Work after incarceration

      This week's reading reminded me of former prisoners who seek work after years of incarceration. Imprisonment can have detrimental effects on one's future work prospects, which can limit one's access to financial capital capable of lifting one from the torment of poverty. However, these particular individuals upon their release from correctional institutions become scrutinized by their past mistakes and failures similar to the men in the beginning of chapter five. Yet, graciously governmental programs have added the incentive of government funds to businesses that hire felons and give them the opportunity for advancement. Ultimately, these individuals become less likely to "recidivate" and are allowed the ability of providing for their families in a legal manner. Although this isn't the central story of the two chapters, I believe the tales of former prisoners paint a similar picture of Americans without work. The story also accounts for the reason crime is considered an option in order to gain access to limited resources, and how one's past can be calculated into one's present affecting their will and need to provide and self sustain.

Shipler did a fine job explaining the employer's fault in the system of occupational oppression so many underclassed citizens face today.  I was horrified at how few employers realized the massive role they play in these people's fate.  I was also rather alarmed at how close to home Shipler's examples were--Kansas City, Missouri.  Right there to the west, and certainly right here in Fayette, these horrible oppressive forces keep people in their place. 

Chapter 6 was actually too much for me to handle.  I mean what an entirely depressing chapter. However, with that said I never thought of how strongly the emotional baggage these individuals carry around weighs them down.  But it certainly does and acts as quite the oppressive system.  

I didn't title this piece because I just don't know what to say.

Chapter five made sense. One thing that I thought was that these people living in the projects don't want to leave makes sense. Those living in the projects now were most likely raised and spent their childhood in the projects. That is most likely all the know and have ever know. It anyone's life, rather they lived in the projects or not, change is a scary thing. I can see where the people in this chapter come from with being scared of change and wondering if they will be judged or if they will succeed. I know in my life I have felt this way at times.

Chapter six from the very start made me sick to my stomach. Sexual abuse is a huge problem, and I believe that those who are the ones that inflict the abuse should have very harsh punishment. I know that this isn't what the whole chapter was talking about but it is so stuck in my head! Alcohol, drugs, and abuse are a huge problem and I have experienced some of these things first hand and have a very strong dislike for those who indulge in these from of activities. These stories are just another straw added to the camels back.

The working poor: class reaction (for thursday 3/21/2013)

A better way to help the working poor is to change government policies. The main reason why American economy has not had a very steady growth over the past decade since 9/11/2001 is the fact that the government has so many engagement on foreign affairs than domestic affairs. The two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan costs alot of money, the money that would actually be used to fund more projects that would create more jobs for people. However, the question about national security cannot be ignored, without security the economy cannot operate at its best. I would suggest the government should engage itself in reasonable wars but the bigger focus should be on domestic affairs, to improve the lives of citizens at home and the economy at large. But like i always say, patience is the key to everything, its gonna take time but we will get there, our unemployement rate is at historically lowest compared to 12 years ago, and i have more faith that there is more good to come ahead.

The working poor (for tuesday 3/19/2013)

 

 

 

According to the class discussion and reading book by David Shipler, i believe the biggest problem in America is manifested by the income gap between the very rich people who usually are refered to as 1% and the remaining population including the rich, middle class and the poor people. The presence of this huge income gap is similar to what happened to back in the 1929 during the great depression where by the people who owned the major means of production such as steel mills by that time never cared for the welfare of their customers. All they cared about was how to maximize their profits while the rest of the majority was pludging into poverty.

There is a very technical way to solve this problem, one of them is to nationalize all major means of production like how FDR did, if the government would gain control over the ridiculous price rises, the consumers welfare would be put into consideration, more jobs will be created and people would have more money in their pockets and the economy will have a much more steady growth.

Chapter 5 and 6

Shipler discussed a topic in chapter 5 that in my opinion is quite significant in the U.S.; the rampant unemployment of felons and people who live in the projects.  Personally, I think it is a sad, never-ending cycle for these people.  Whether it be from lack of understanding on the employer level, or self-esteem issues among these people themselves, this is beginning to become a crippling issue in the United States.  One would think that due to the high level of incarceration in the U.S., we would at least invest a little time in helping them get back on their feet, especially those who were detained for drug problems.  It seems useless to spend money starting up 12 step programs, just to have the people they cure fail as soon as they leave, unable to get a job and support themselves.  The project programs aren't much better.  With such high crime rates in these areas, those who can't find a job (which, let's be realistic, is damn near all of them) find themselves falling back into the lives of addiction they struggled so hard to get out of.  As far as the work-place goes, I think that we need to invest more in training the managerial level to be more effective with people who have had rough pasts.  Shipler explains that most of these people who aren't used to the environment of the workplace find it hostile due to managerial misunderstanding.
Chapter 6 was horrible.  As if the poor aren't part of enough depressing statistics, child molestation and abuse in the foster system have to be part of it too.  Not gonna lie, it was really hard to read.

Trapped!

Reading chapter three I couldn't help but to feel that the female garage cashier was trapped in the U.S. by the wants of her husband and by the limited mobility offered by the U.S. She can't go home and she is barely making it in America. I was wondering, while reading the chapter, what makes people stay in America who are forced to face these conditions, when conditions in their homeland were much better or much the same. Is it the dream that America propels to the people or the opportunity and possibility for advancement?  When is enough enough? I find it so crazy that people dream of coming to America and doing well, while Americans themselves starve in the streets. If a country can't promise opportunities to its own people, what makes one believe that they will be afforded to you. I understand that success is so important, but when the cost out weigh the benefits, I doubt that it is worth it!

3-4

While reading this section, the Thailand situation stuck out and was absolutely horrific. How does this happen in the United States? The thought of working up to eighteen hours a day exhausts me, alone. Not to mention they worked in areas surrounded by razor wire and plywood. I think some form of protection needsto be created to protect the helpless immigrants so the fear of speaking out will be eliminated.

This book just keeps getting more and more depressing. We all know that this sort of thing happens, we know undocumented workers get paid next to nothing and have horrid work conditions. But then when the numbers and wages are written out so blatantly, it's like a kick in the face. If something that cost 60 to make cost 300, how much did the person making my $10 shirt make off of it? That just makes me think...

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/03/20/1748921/economic-boost-immigration-reform/

I thought this was an interesting little find after reading chapter 4.

Anyway,  I suppose it is time again to reflect on what I just read.  Similar to our last reading, I don't have a lot of left over questions--I feel like the knowledge I gained in Massey was enough to cover any questions I have here.

In the way of reflection, however, I really enjoyed reading chapter 3.  I mean, I didn't enjoy the discriminatory practices of the textile industry, but learning more about it was wonderful.  I work in the textile industry and I am not surprised to discover the amount of discrimination that happens in it.  I am always rather "blahed" when I think about how much I earn in comparison to the person who earns X dollars for making the clothes.  I was also led to think about how much each garment must actually be worth.  If it is $150 storeside, and we follow Shipley's text to discover what it was originally worth; its rather depressing.

Excited for class,
Joe

No Matter the Color Everyone is Human

In chapter three and four the same thought kept coming into by head: HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO A FELLOW HUMAN?! No matter their gender, age, race, or soci-economic status! I understand that the main point of this book is to point out how horrible poverty is, but these stories were more like a horror story. From the amount of pay to the living conditions these stories were sad and disgusting. I can't see how these stories are any different then slavery, besides for a couple cents of pay an hour.

I don't even know what to say about this because I'm angry with the fact that this happens in America. I'm angry that this happens in the world. I know that this happens in the world, I mean I have heard about sweat shops but I guess I haven't thought about it that much. I most likely haven't thought about it because it is so dang upsetting!!

Shipler Chapter 3 and 4

Wow.  And I thought chapter 2 was depressing, but chapter 3 simply blows it out of the water.  Having worked in a textile factory, I can appreciate the work these people do.  I was blessed enough to work in one that provided a good wage and breaks.  I can understand that a lot of this type of work coming from 3rd world countries is inevitable, but there must be something we can do to make it a decent career, one that people can live off of.  It's no surprise that when you put a middle man in the space between manufacturer and consumer that the prices skyrocket.  It doesn't surprise me that clothing made for like $60 sells for around $300.  That's what happens when there is more than one person trying to get paid off that one item.  Of course, chapter 4 only gets worse.  As if low wages weren't enough, let's cram all the workers into a dilapidated disease infested hut!  Seriously, who is at the head of this?  They should be thrown in a cell for the rest of their lives for things like this!  Being forced to pay only God knows how much to cross the border, just to find yourself, for all intensive purposes, a slave is not worth it in my mind.  Mexico may be bad, but there's always Europe.  Then again, it doesn't seem all that good for the owners of the fields.  From their point of view, I can understand wanting to minimize their costs due to the hazardous gamble the farming represents, but there is a fine line between cost management and manipulation.  He has definitely crossed that line here.

These two chapters sort of opened my eyes a little bit to exactly how much the odds are stacked against the working poor. I know it's a vicious cycle, not being able to pay your bills, they continue to stack up and it's impossible to get out from under it. But I didn't realize how many agencies there are that prey on these people.
Another thing that made me think was the whole people who can't buy food but have cable and phones. I know I had friends who were on food stamps but had blackberries and iPhones and it drove me up a wall. I could not understand how they did not have money to buy food, but they could afford such an expensive luxury. I guess it's just priorities...

Greed is One of the Seven Deadly Sins!!!

      I believe the first two chapters of the book, especially chapter one, are so pertinent to this time of year. Tax season is so important to many low income families, for many of these families it can mean the difference of paying a car payment, much needed home repairs, purchasing items that ordinarily they would be denied because of histories of bad or low credit ratings. However, because of such a necessity for these returned funds, the problem arises when individual tax payers are exploited for the money that they are owed by the government. As easy targets for companies advertising easy credit opportunities these taxpayers become unwilling victims in a relentless scheme constructed by companies in an attempt to profit off of the needs of the working poor. However, sadly tax season isn't the only time when this occurs, being classified in a strata defined by poverty makes these individuals susceptible to numerous financial traps that prey on the helpless and needy who suffer from financial ruin. These companies disable the consumers of their loans the ability to escape by concentrating them within the downward spiral perpetuated by their need and financial obligations. By charging high interest rates on small sums of borrowed money these businesses continue to ensure that these individuals will consistently need them for future years to come. Although the process weakens poor American citizens, similar to the prey of a black mamba spider caught in a web, the system functions through ensuring the maintenance of an underclass of which the powerful can feed, without the burden of having to account for of how scarce the helpings may be. 

This just drives home how difficult it is to succeed in the United States. When people refer to our country has the country of abundant oppurtunity, they were simply misled. It amazes me to think that there are families who survive on minimum wage. How do families survive when their car breaks down, for example, and they can't afford to fix their only form of transportation? That struggle is unbelievable. If so many are struggling, why isn't something being done about it?

I am not entirely certain about what to say about what I just read.  I don't have any questions about it, as much of what Shipler mentions here was covered in Categorically Unequal, but I will say that this is one completely depressing book.

If I am just to reflect on the emotional aspect of what I just read it really is quite awful.  I want to believe that these sorts of stories don't exist, and that we live in a society where the stories of Dawn, and Caroline are just entirely unacceptable.  However, after reading the first to chapters of The Working Poor this is obviously not the case.

I just think about all the people in Fayette for whom this sort of thing must be their life, and I am just saddened that I have been so blind.  I mean, I know people are poor and struggling, that can be seen by a walk though many parts of town, but to know that these are indeed the stories of the people surrounding you, and knowing that it is, to a large extent, entirely out of your control is wildly depressing.

One thing I would be interested in seeing are some numbers on how many people live these stories.  I know it is probably a large number of people, but I still would like to know specifics.  I am more than certain you will provide some lovely graphs to document these struggles numerically.

I would also quickly note how refreshing it is to read stories without lots of numbers in the way.  Not that these stories are at all good, but I just love the way which Shipler goes about this.

Excited to learn more,
Joe

Shipler Chapter 1

I found the beginning chapter of The Working Poor to be very well done.  I can see why we read Massey's book first, as it perfectly ties into what Shipler is summarizing in this chapter.  I found the idea of the American Anti-Myth very interesting.  We always hear about the American Dream, but never the paradox that is poverty in America.  What was particularly astounding to me was the fact that the U.S. still uses a system developed in 1964 to determine what the poverty line should be.  It astonishes me that no president since, especially those who claimed they would fight to help the poor, have not seen the obvious issue here.  Although, I do believe that Shipler summed it up perfectly when he said, "The first step is to see the problems, and the first problem is the failure to see the people." (page 11)  Chapter 2 showed the worse, human side of this truth.  We are introduced to a number of people who find themselves, like so many other Americans, members of the working poor.  Reading chapter 2 was painful.  Hearing their  extremely depressing stories would hopefully make anyone strive for change.  It certainly lit a fire under me.

Working Poor

By just reading the preface, introduction, and chapter one I am excited to read more! I also think that the video Prof. Myer posted went very well with the opening reading of this book. In the video it said something about working towards the "American Dream" it was also mentioned in the preface of The Working Poor. It really made clicked when watching the video. The video's use of graphs and data from people at all levels of socio-economic status really blew my mind.

When Shipler introduced us to Sarah and Willie was the most upsetting section of reading. I say it is upsetting because it is people doing those type of things that make me not feel sorry for those on welfare. Sarah and Willie are the kinds of people others see on welfare and think that everyone on welfare are like them, which is in not true at all.

One question I had from the reading was when Shipler wrote about how the government determine the poverty line. Is it still the same process to determine the poverty line as it was in 2006? How has determining the poverty line changed over time?

Video on Inequality

Hey everyone, check out this well done video on economic inequality.

http://mashable.com/2013/03/02/wealth-inequality/

Chapter 7: fin

Haha, mother nature, couldn't keep me off the blog forever!  Anyway, chapter 7 opened up with the 3 main necessities for inequality on a national scale: separating people into groups based on status, may it be achieved or ascribed; the labeling of these groups in either an in- or out-group; government structured around giving out limited resources to these groups in a biased form of descrimination, may it be either due to race, gender, or class.  In essence, this is America defined.  All the questions about why such stratification can occur are answered when looking at those needs, then looking at America.  Massey ended the book very strongly, pointing out that this is a flawed nation, yet not beyond repair.  Serious reform is what needs to happen, and with the horrifying cuts to the social sector going on right now, the future certainly isn't all that bright.

Equal Status Contact is the Solution

I believe today's chapter can make great use of Allport's Contact Hypothesis, which states that equal status contact can help to relieve prejudice thoughts, acts, and stereotypes. The chapter places an emphasis of the fact that we as humans have a natural inclination to categorize and subdivide individuals and things into specific categories, and then attach meanings to these categories. However these meanings, which are socially constructed, become worked into a frame of thought that is adamant and rigid and inherent into the thinking process. Yet, like Allport I agree that equal status contact, coupled with a common goal can help to destruct these sexist, classist, and racist thoughts and beliefs. I can't recall the sociologist at the moment, but he established two competing boys camps experimentally, in which two groups of boys resided at either of the two camps, he then gave the camps bonding experiences, of which they used to develop in group cohesion. When told that they would be competing against one another, their in group cohesion was significantly strong, and they favored their group to the other, distinguishing the differences between their group through positive descriptors, and the out-group through negative descriptors. It is through the membership of simply being in one group or another that developed a negative perception of the two groups, which resembled racist talk among in-groups when referring to racial out-groups. However, when time came for them to have to ban together in order to get a broken-down bus back onto the road, it was through the collective efforts of the two groups that changed their perceptions of one another. Through joining their strengths they were able to debunk any negative beliefs of one another, because they had developed equal status contact. Therefore, the two groups now believed the other to be both competent and warm, allowing the groups to come together establishing mutual friendships between the two groups. This chapter sparked my thought on this subject because I believe that the chapter in some way was searching for a solution to the problems of stratification and Allport's theory got my wheels turning as a number of possible solutions. 

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/02/27/justices-offer-split-views-on-voting-rights-act-enforcement/?hpt=hp_t2

Oh dear...

"Stratification does not just happen."

The title I used for this post are Massey's opening words for chapter seven (page 242). And his words ring true... stratification just doesn't happen. In the United States stratification is part of our history, it always has been and it probably always will be. I don't think there will ever be a "cure" to stratification. I do feel as though there can be great improvements to our society to decrease the amount of stratification there is in today's world. What these changes need to be I'm not sure, and I don't really think anyone knows.

With this overall book I have learned a lot but I have also learned that I don't really care for Massey's writing style. I like that he breaks up the reading into parts but to me it seems like he repeats a lot. Though the information that he was giving us was interesting and valid I feel like he has over researched/analyzed some areas of stratification and it is time for him to look into other areas! But he does know his stuff! That is for sure!

77 Cents for very Dollar!!!!

I wanted to talk briefly again about gender inequality and work. Sorry for such a late post, but due to a loss of power today and having to make an emergency run to Columbia I couldn't post until now. I want to address the average pay of women in the workforce compared to that of men in similar lines of work. The thought of 77 cents per every dollar a man makes is such a drastic difference in the rate of pay that it has now become a very problematic situation. I personally disagree with this basis. The explanation behind paying women less for similar work is embedded in the belief that a woman must have a man somewhere to provide for her and it disregards those individual women who are the sole and or only provider for their households. It is no shock that many households today are primarily ran by women who must care for an entire family on their own. Yet, we love to assume that women can sufficiently provide as much as any man or dual family owners on less than adequate pay. I am most confused as to why this hasn't been ratified to this very day, the thought of sexism affecting the outcome of women's lives financially is beyond ridiculous and that's a fact.

Some more interesting data on gender inequality in the workplace.

http://www.upworthy.com/this-is-why-women-have-the-right-to-complain-about-their-paychecks?c=cd1

Well, I'm glad we've wrapped that up.  

I will just say I, for one, am happy to be finished with Massey, and I'm glad that last chapter was quite the easy review read.

Since this can be about anything I thought I might reflect on the conversations we've been having in class in the context of Categorically Unequal as a review for myself over what we've discussed.

I must say that a lot of the discussions we've had in class have opened my eyes to some new and rather unfortunate facts which have helped me to paint the picture of inequality in the United States.

I feel like now I can be a soldier against inequality on the streets--not really, but still I feel much better equipped to grapple with the issue of inequality.

A note on Massey's final chapter; I may have read him wrong but I thought it was interesting how he suddenly shifted to a very strong stance on education as the primary form of stratification on the country.  I am interested as to why he did that?  Was it a sub-text all along and he's just tying the laces up now, or did I miss it entirely though the text.  It seemed to me that all along he was more interested in discussing schemas and boundary work instead of education--just wondering why the change?

Also, as a quick reply to Heather's post:

I completely agree with you about the whole DQ hiring deal.  I see the same thing at my workplace!

This is worth watching.  It's about economic inequality.

http://billmoyers.com/segment/richard-wolff-on-fighting-for-economic-justice-and-fair-wages/

You Said Anything...

This is my post for Tuesday... I will not be in class due to the fact that I lost a family member this week and I need to be home. You said that this post could be about anything... I think!

I want to talk about my home town and how I think that some work places discriminate against men. In my hometown, Montgomery City, we have a DQ. At this DQ there is no men/boys that work there. I know plenty of guys who were in need of jobs and said what the heck I might as well apply at DQ. Not a single one of them got a call back or a job at DQ. I know for a fact that some of them are better works then the girls/women that work at DQ now. When talking to the girls that work there they say that there boss hates guys and said she would never high one! I don't see how this is right at all.

Another work place that I have never seen hire men until about two years ago is the elementary school in my home town. I have lived my whole life in Montgomery City and I never had a male teacher until I was in middle school. I don't really know why this was the case but now there is a male gym teacher and a male fifth grade teacher at the elementary school.

I think that it is great that there is male teachers on staff because if a boy/young man is having a hard time they may feel that they can talk more openly with another male then a female.

Just something I thought about while reading chapter six.

Getting closer...

I think that, of the three types of stratification this book focuses on, gender is the least cumbersome. While it is a problem, I feel that it is a shrinking problem, while the race and class forms of stratification, if they are not growing, they are at least stagnant. I feel like the barriers between men and women aren't as strong as the ones between races, and especially between classes.

More stuff

I hope you all are reading each other's posts!  There is a lot to learn from each other. I want to share with you all a couple links you might find interesting.  But first, I think you should pay attention to Geofrey's post about the Lilly LedBetter Act.  I appreciate him bringing this up.  The Act was a modification to the Equal rights Act and makes it easier for women to file law suits against companies that discriminate against them.

Here is a link to a blog with an interesting chart about wage differences.  The gender wage gap is a complicated problem.  As far as we can tell, much of the gap is explained by the difference careers men and women choose.  We will talk more about this on Tuesday.  But if you ever get really interested in this subject, one of the leading experts on the wage gap is Joan Hermsen, and she is a faculty member at U. of Missouri-Columbia. http://familyinequality.wordpress.com/2013/02/15/gender-wage-gap-2012-edition/ Also, the above blog post has a link to the BLS data release which has a ton of information to explore.

Here is a link to the most current data on how we spend our time (also think about Shamika's post).  http://www.bls.gov/news.release/atus.t01.htm

Sweden looks inviting, but they have issues with gender equality.  Sweden has one of the highest level of reported rape out of other countries in Europe. Obviously, this is a huge problem.

However, you all might find this short article interesting.  Like Sweden, Norway is more progressive on issues of gender than the United States.  This article talks about a few of the policies that Norway has that allow for more women to participate in the economy.  It should be noted that a majority of the women who work in Norway, work part time. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/29/world/europe/29iht-letter29.html?pagewanted=all

Chapter 6

Geofrey C Bilabaye

In this chapter i would prefer if we discuss more about figures 6.6, 6.7 and 6.8. I think these three figures present very interesting information that will be great if we discuss them in class.

But also, i would like to point the example given in the book about the income inequality in Sweden compared to the United States.

The truth is, even though United States is the richest country in the world, it is still growing. But also this does not mean we shouldn't feel bad for discriminating women in wages, i think that is wrong. 

As a country, United states has had its weaknesses in how the government is being run, and how bad the political system has always affected the lives of people, but eventually things will always get in straight line.

I mentioned in previous posts that Brown vs Board of Education was signed in 1954, it wasn't until 11 years later when the first voting rights for African Americans was signed in 1965.

Recently President Obama has just signed into law the Lilly LedBetter act, which is the law that will allow women to receive the same payment for the same job that men do. 

In my opinion there isn't a better evidence for the constantly growing United States than this. When this law is finally in practice, women will be able to receive the same payment as men for the same job the do.

No Thank You. I Don't Need the Overtime!

           I believe in class we were approaching an interesting topic known as the second shift. The second shift refers to the work, usually performed by women, concentrated in the home after leaving a job of pay outside of the home. I find it interesting that regardless of this progressive day in age that women are still the individuals mainly working the second shift. We have come so far as a society to including the importance of women in the workforce, realizing that a single income within the house is no longer able to sustain the family. However, we are no closer to understanding as a group of people that we cannot expect women to delegate themselves to performing an extra set of duties within the home, as well as outside of the home, alone. When will we learn that the home is a collective effort? Personally, I believe that our expectations of women to take on this second shift, lessens the importance of their work outside of the home, aiding in the beliefs of some individuals that the work women perform while on the clock is meaningless. We don't expect men to take on as many duties upon re-entering the home. Is it because his work is seen as far more important than his female companion in importance and necessity?
          Secondly, it continues to engender work that is meant for women and work meant for men. When we assign specific duties to one sex over another we ingrain those duties to the roles that are assumed under them. So, even if a woman is a C.E.O. or "head boss" at a company, having to fulfill the second shift when she returns home, signals that her career outside the home is less important in comparison to her "true atmosphere" of the house and her more important identity as a "caring wife". Yet again, a form of sexism is dispersed. However, benevolent sexism is at play, not only is the idea of women taking on the "second shift" a form of seeing them as the only means of perfection concerning the well oiled machine of a properly taken care of home, which speaks to the belief that women are nurturing, caring, loving, all the things that many men believe themselves not to be. Benevolent sexism, also gives the impression that women who are able to pull off such heavily involved duties as working outside and inside the home are "Superwomen", leaving women who are incapable of doing the same feeling "Super-lacking" and unable to measure up.  The major issue with this particular form of sexism, isn't that it is blatant like that of hostile sexism. The problem lies in it's ability of making women feel like total shit, but in a round-a-bout nice way, which is far worse than just putting it out there for the world to see!

Sprechen sie Equality?

One thing I do appreciate is the graph on page 236.  It appears that women, as of 2005, are at their peak employment percentage in almost all categories, which is a good sign of statistics to come.  However, the graph on page 231 brings us back to the ugly truth.  The separation between male and female pay is not getting any thinner; as a matter of fact, it appears to be getting wider.  What's more appaulling is that only 59% of this gap is attributed to education or job status.  The rest has no explanation whatsoever! As far as politics go, I do believe that we will see a woman president before too long.  Although, I can only hope that she is like Clinton, and not like Palin.  If it turns out to be the latter of the two, I'm gone.  I'll go put my 2 years of high school German to good use!

I'm Moving to Sweden!!

My favorite line in this chapter is on page 234. It states "In Sweden, of course, earning inequality is much lower than in the United States, and medical care is socialized so that a high level of gender segregation carries few implications for the earnings and well-being of women versus men."

The bottom of page 238 is also something that I find an interesting point that Massey brings up. I guess I never really thought about things in the concept. I still think some women try to keep a man around by being pregnant, which ticks me off when I hear about it sometimes.

There are so many different things that separate person to person, gender is just one of those things. It drives me crazy that after years of struggle women are still looked at as lower then men. I am an independent women and have been raised to survive and succeed without a man standing next to me.

I am currently looking into moving to Sweden. :) HAHA

The data with the ambivalent sexism inventory was intriguing. The scores that were reported interested me. The fact that generally people with high scores on the benevolent sexism scale had positive attitudes toward homemaker and people with high scores on the hostile sexism scale had negative attitudes of career women but not vice versa intrigued me. I would like to discuss this more. The chart on page 216, figure 6.1 was interesting and I would like to discuss it. I feel it is very accurate, and not only for males view on women, but other women's view on each other as well.

This chapter focused on women stratification. Although, this isn't the happiest of topics, I think there is positivity in it. If you look at how far women have come. Women have grown to become independent. Although all progress is slow, it is still progress. Therefore, I think it is fair to have hope that all groups can rise above stratification and achieve higher standards of norm for themselves.

Sorry, Rosie... We're all outta' rivets

I was happy to find that in most of this chapter Massey was very straight forward with what he was trying to say.

The only questions I find myself asking after reading the chapter have to do with the first study he discussed in "Ambivalent Sexism", I was confused by the way he presented the results--a whole lot of numbers and words that I don't really have the context to understand.  I am very interested in understanding the results, but unfortunately with the way he's presented them I can't.

Beyond comprehending the results I thought the study between hostile and benevolent sexism was quite interesting.

I really enjoyed the graph on the top of page 216.  I love this model for understanding the various groups that Massey wants to show stratification in.  This method of classifying women, while not necessarily good, was very interesting and I enjoyed seeing the results.

The section on "occupational ghettos" was fascinating.   If we could talk about horizontal and vertical segregation that would be nice.

As I read I was glad to see Massey define women into upper-class and lower-class segments.  I was worried he was going to try to lump all women together which I thought would be tough because, as he says, women at the top face less discrimination.

I am interested to understand the pay gap more as well, how does each of the things in the breakdown affect it, etc.

Thanks,
Joe

Weakness is Not in My Nature!

           Specifically for the chapter this week I wanted to write on hostile and benevolent sexism. As a reminder, benevolent sexism centers on limiting the constitution of women through belittling their capabilities portraying one's sex as a defining characteristic of one's vulnerable and weak nature. This defense is used as a means for placing one on a pedestal believing women to be too sensitive and enslaved to their nature to protect and care for themselves. However, hostile sexism maintains sexual domination and exploitation of women by men. Although, these two types of sexism in form may seem to diverge on the continuum, as extremes on either end, one thing is certain each takes for granted the supposed "weak"nature of women and reacts in a way indicative of this weakness. Benevolent sexism, takes a very protective means of sexism due to this weakness, while hostile sexism merely takes advantage. Yet, both forms of sexism makes a faulty judgment that women somehow are flawed in their inherent design and are predisposed to be in some way weak or fragile because of their nature. This becomes a problem when we take these misguided beliefs into work and partner relationships, in which women are viewed as incapable of making decisions concerning the well-being of companies, corporations, and other forms of business creating institutional sexism that becomes ingrained within certain institutions of employment. Women, due to these practices, become concentrated in "pink collar" employment opportunities, in which they are paid less than men who also are within these fields, which continues to fuel these negative stereotypes of women and their contributions in the workplace. Also, concerning partner violence, in which men are disproportionately the offender, hostile sexism takes place in and outside the home in which a concentration of male power leads to beliefs that women should be controlled and exploited because their sex is weaker in comparison to men. Undoubtedly, this yet again misguided belief has led to many cases of intimate partner violence, in which women continue to be the victims and men the perpetrators. However, it has also led to numerous accounts of rape and sexual abuse experienced by women overall. When it is all said and done these beliefs and practices, which are not believed by all men nor practiced by all men, have been instilled in us from the day we were able to learn and model behaviors of our society. Its perplexing, who would have thought that one's genitalia, or the mere presence of a "Y"or extra "X" chromosome could make such a major difference in privilege and treatment in our culture.     

Chapter 6: Additional points

 

Geofrey C Bilabaye

 

 

In my previous post i already discussed the very important things that i believe i needed to point out about the gender tension that exists in America since this is a problem that affects nearly all the aspects of our daily lives.

One more thing i would prefer to point out is that, for some reason's i don't understand why women should be paid less for the same job and same hours that men do.

I would like to mention specifically that, I have come across some really outstanding and really hard working women in my life.

I have a strong conviction that if our society would recognize the contribution of women in our society by giving them more opportunities to succeed just like men, our communities would be better off.

 







Chapter 6 Revisited

As I mentioned on my last post (my bad), chapter 6 was very interesting.  I still stand behind everything I said, and would like to add that I would like to see the newest figures for average income difference between men and women in not only America but in all the industrialized countries.  Also, I am curious as to whether or not President Obama has addressed this issue in recent speeches.  On a final and somewhat unrelated note, I heard somewhere (not sure where exactly) that one loophole that employers have and most likely will use again to counter a minimum wage increase is hour reduction.  I am curious to see if Obama addresses this issue, if it even becomes one (it probably will, us Americans are a caniving bunch!)

It's Been A Long Time Coming...

As most can guess chapter six sparked my interest. There is no hiding the fact that women have been discriminated against and looked at as lower then men. Women and men are classified in different groups in many different ways. One way men and women are divided, I would believe is the most common, is that men and women are separated by gender essentialism. Massey makes this point on page 217. When people think about women in general most of the time they think mother, caregiver, and carer of the home. There are also general ideas of what men are: the bread winner.

Over the years I do believe that the thoughts of where women stand in society have changed. We now have successful jobs, run businesses, and have power. Though women now have these standings in society we are still separated from men; one example is that we work the same job as men but get paid less! Women have worked for many years to get to where we are today, but there is still a long way to go.

I really like the chart on page 216 and would to get others opinions on the chart.

And here is a the link I was talking about regarding public opinion.

http://thesocietypages.org/graphicsociology/2010/10/07/americans-estimate-our-wealth-distribution-and-fail-horribly/

Maybe this blog was a good idea.  It's so easy to post information!


http://www.forbes.com/sites/leonardburman/2012/03/15/capital-gains-tax-rates-and-economic-growth-or-not/

No Opportunity. No way!

     I believe the other day the conversation which was sparked by the chapter aroused some tensions in the room and many of us were not able to express the entirety of our arguments. Personally, I believe the argument proposed centered on opportunity, who has it and who doesn't. Opportunity, like employment in the U.S., is hard to find. Similar to the concentration of wealth, which is located in the top one percent, opportunity is hoarded just as well with little availability for those in the working class. This particular knowledge is becoming a common understanding among many Americans because we bear witness to the everyday workings of homelessness, poverty, and the daily struggles of our society. However, as a collective people we somehow hold on dogmatically to the ever- promising ideals of the "American Dream" in hopes of one day obtaining our piece of the pie. However, this illusion only serves one purpose, which is to keep the underclass disabled and
un-knowledgeable of the facts, allowing the top one percent to hold control of the greatest power: wealth and opportunity. Being ignorant to the facts continues to foster this rigid belief in anyone can obtain great things, if and only if, he or she works and believes hard enough. Yet we see this is not true, men and women in the U.S. have worked their lives trying to achieve more only to discover in their later years that they are going to die in the class of which they were born. Therefore, believing that one can pull themselves up by their bootstraps alone blinds us to the truth.  The truth being, until change is brought to our economic structure and political ideologies we will continue to be disabled, lacking opportunity, and chasing after a dream that no longer can manifest itself.