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.