“America: Not as Great as You’d Expect” Dinesh D’Souza addresses in his article, “What’s So Great About America,” the economic understanding that Americans, regardless of economic status, have a great life and are doing well. He goes on to write… In “What’s So Great About America,” Dinesh D’Souza claims that all Americans, regardless of social economic status, have seemingly endless resources and face little to no problems. D’Souza claims that even the poor seem to have no problems when it comes to eating, dressing, and finances. However, I don’t believe someone should generalize that it is all well in the States. I believe, while America is a great country with a fascinating history, we still have Americans living on the street, going to …show more content…
I recognize that in years past, the financial and physical security of Americans was great. However, with things such as the 2008 recession, extreme cost of university, and loans for cars, houses, etc., financial security is a thing of the past. I think it is dangerous to generalize all Americans in that, however, it seems like quite a few Americans are struggling. Job security is not a given anymore. You never know when a factory will shut down or when a company will need to let people go to save money. I never knew a time in my life when my parents were financially stable. Times were tough with a car loan, house loan, and student loans on top of bills and trying to raise three kids. Even with a Masters degree, my father has a tough time finding work. D’Souza mentions, “Every child is given an education, and most have the chance to go to college.” I agree most people have the opportunity to attend college, however, once out of university, a degree does not automatically mean you have a job. The problem comes when you spend thousands attending university, only to come out of school with no job, significant amount of loans, and bills to be paid. Not all Americans have the security D’Souza speaks of. In many cases, security is something that is hoped for, not necessarily
Inter-reliant poverty comes with its own stresses- and certainly isn’t the American ideal- but it’s much closer to our evolutionary heritage than affluence.” (Junger 21)
“Michelle earned six small scholarships, two of which are renewable for next year, and took out a federal loan. She also works 16 hours a week in the financial – aid office at the university.” (61). With Wallechinsky providing Michelle and her mother’s story it helps many relate or agree of the high payment for our education. Immigrants come to the U.S hoping for an education and opportunities. To have opportunities, for example jobs, a family, and social mobility an education is needed. Our education is the key to many of our dreams but on the other hand it’s one of the main things holding many back. That doesn’t mean that all people have given up for example Wallechinsky states, “Middle class respondents surveyed say they take responsibility for their own financial destiny and believe that they will succeed or fail based on their own efforts. Still, many are downsizing their dreams” (61). This states that many have positive mindsets that believe that the effort and determination to work is the reason for their financial status. But by them downgrading their dreams it shows how our effort and hard work isn’t going to make wages get higher. However, David Wallechinsky has a point to question the existent of the American Dream as many blame
Dinesh D’Souza constructs an argument in his essay “What’s so great about America” that is convincing to the average reader. His essay was published 15 years ago and American culture has seen some changes since then. However, nothing that he mentions specifically in the essay has changed drastically. His extrinsic ethos is strong because he is from India and the audience may perceive that he can compare his knowledge of living elsewhere to an immigrant’s knowledge. This view of looking at America from an outsider’s point of view and how others view living in America is essential in D’Souza’s fundamental argument. He compares living in America to living in other less developed countries and appeals to the common citizen in his style, logic, and development of his essay. His arguments are sound and he convinces the average citizen that America is the best place to live, although his lack of facts and statistics to back up his statements could be seen as a weakness.
America has the highest overall and childhood poverty rate of any major industrialized country on earth. Nearly 45,000 people die in the United States each year, mostly because they lack health insurance and cannot get beneficial care. From an economic perspective and as the government tries to fight its way out of this terrible recession, it makes no sense that the United States ignores numerous citizens who could be of such great help (Sen. Bernie Sanders). Poverty in America is about a lack of basic necessities and an uncertainty as to where to get food, an uncertainty how to pay your most bills, and it's about a dependence on either imperfect government institutions or overwhelmed private charities. Even though the United States does not have starvation,...
In The Working Poor: Invisible in America, David K. Shipler describes the lives of United States citizens who live within poverty. He highlights the U.S.’s disregard for its working poor, the nature of poverty, and the causes of poverty faced by low-wage earners. Shipler performs an amazing job of describing the factors that play their parts into the lives of U.S. citizens who live in poverty and are in poverty. Shipler explains the effects of tax payments and refunds, the abuse of the poor by private and public institutions, the spending habits of the working poor, the culture of the U.S., and the presence of money as a factor in the lives of the working poor. In dealing with government bureaucracy or private business, the working poor are vulnerable to the abuse of con-artists, employers, financial service providers, and public service providers.
At first glance I thought the essay was about the reason why he feels America is falling apart, but after reading more I now understand it better as his posing a question for the reader to answer on his own. Anthony Burgess never really takes a definite side on the topic. He gives many reasons why America is “falling apart at the seams”; on the other hand, he makes it clear that he likes America for what it is and would return. Throughout the essay, Burgess switches tones in order to give the reader a better understanding of his view. There are many stands that he takes that are biased and based solely on his one year stay in New Jersey. He makes references to other cities that he visited within the States, but all within that one year stay. Due to that reason I answer the title question with no. To understand his essay I had to understand his use of the term falling apart. When anything is falling apart it is on a path to destruction, not necessarily reaching it but on its way in that direction. Considering this, there is not enough evidence to agree that America is falling apart then nor now.
In "Class in America", Gregory Mantsios says that "when politicians and social commentators draw attention to the plight of the poor, they do so in a manner that obscures the class structure and denies any sense of exploitation." Based off our readings, class discussion and films, income inequality is known to be erased or ignore. Our society frowns upon the expression of income in our daily conversations, as it could be seen braggy or a complaint depending on your status of income. Because it's frowned upon to talk about, the topic of income inequality becomes erased or ignored. In addition, income inequality in America's class structure can affect people's ability to reach their American Dream.
After substantial decreases in the 1990s, poverty rates stopped their decline in 2000 and have actually started to again creep upward. The great conundrum of how one simultaneously alleviates the multiple causes of poverty has become a central obstacle to poverty reduction. Into this debate comes author David Shipler, a former New York Times Pulitzer Prize winner, with an aptly titled look at the state of poverty in America today, The Working Poor. Shipler's book is more anecdotal and descriptive than analytical and prescriptive. Yet it is a valuable portrait of poverty in America, just as Michael Harrington's landmark book, The Other America, was in 1962. While he does not offer many concrete solutions, Shipler provides readers with an intimate glimpse of the plight of the working poor, whose lives are in sharp contrast to the images of excess w...
As stated by Franklin D. Roosevelt, “the test of our progression is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” Many people may agree with this statement considering that the United States is such a wealthy country and in 2012, 46.5 million people were living in poverty in the United States and 15% of all Americans and 21.8% of children under age eighteen were in poverty.The honest truth is that many people do not know the conditions this group of people must live in on a daily basis because of the small number of people who realize the struggle there is not a great amount of service. In the article Too stressed for Success, the author Kevin Clarke asks the question “What is the cost of being poor in America?” and follows the question by explaining the great deals of problems the community of poverty goes through daily by saying, “Researchers have long known that because of a broad reduction in retail and other consumer choices experienced by America's poor, it is often simply more expensive to be poor in the United States.
The poem “America” by Tony Hoagland reflects on how peoples’ minds are clouded by small-scale items, money, and the unimportance of those items. Metaphors and imagery are utilized to emphasize the unimportance of materialistic items in America. How America is being flooded with unnecessary goods. The poem uses examples of people to create an example and connection to the overall meaning.
The essay titled America Remain the World’s Beacon of Success by Tim Roemer discusses the positive position America placed as a leader in many of its endeavors in the fields of technology, sciences, and healthcare. In Roemer’s opinion, America regarded upon by other countries as the litmus test comparing their success. Roemer enumerated the many achievements and discoveries America accomplished as new country at only 700 years old. Now the question remains, will the success of America continue to be sustainable? I believe it will be, and I agree with Roemer’s opinion despite the internal issues the country face on a regular basis. After all, success is a daily repeated effort in small sum.
While the the 1%, are secured, no one is addressing the rest of the people. As the economy flourishes, housing, higher education and health care, and child care increases with it to the point where 30 percent of a person’s income goes towards housing. People are finding it impossible to purchase a house with their middle class incomes. People begin to fall out of the once stable middle class because too much is needed to be sacrificed in order to live in a stable home. In the shrinking middle class, “40% or more of the residents live below the poverty
Again in the documentary Bill Moyers comes and visits the families after everyone is all grown up, he gets to see what their daily jobs are and their new families. Only one child out of both families made it through college and received a degree. Even with a degree none of the children were successful and were all going through the same struggle their parents faced while raising them. Its all a cycle until someone becomes financially successful to break the chain and from there comes positive results. If you come from a family that is financially stable you are more likely to be financially stable as well. Based on data from “The Equality of Opportunity Project” it states that “children's prospects of earning more than their parents have fallen from 90% to 50% over the past half
America is in a Great Recession, and the American Dream seems to be dying (if not already dead) for many Americans. I don’t think that the American Dream is dead; it just needs rehabilitation due to the injuries it sustained at the hands of an unregulated government. Though we are in a Great Recession, every American can progress their lives for the betterment of themselves and future generations. Brandon King (2011) in The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold? : “.the most worrisome problem is inequality: that wealth is concentrated into the hands of a rich minority.” Because of this, many Americans and politicians are arguing about either “raising the taxes on the rich” or “supporting the richest sectors in America” (Thomas, 2011) to stimulate the economy.
Looking at the bigger picture, 16.4 million of our nation’s future is technically poor. Living in poverty is defined by: An individual living alone has to make $11,770 or less per year to be considered living in poverty; two people living together has to make $15,930 or less in a year; for each household member you have to add $4,160 starting from $11,770. For example, if a household has nine members then the income has to total over $45,050, otherwise that household would by definition be living under the poverty line. All though many numbers, facts, and statistics have been presented, people may never truly understand what it is like to live in poverty until they themselves are unfortunate enough to live in poverty. America, a country which people are free to pursue all of their life dreams, a country which people enjoy success beyond anyone’s wildest dreams, a country where everyone who inhabits it is equal, yet America is a country plagued by poverty which takes a toll on health, education, and our