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Income inequality in the united states the causes and effects
Why can all men be created equal
Income inequality in the united states the causes and effects
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There’s always been some thought and consideration on whether all men are created equal. It seems to be a standout topic that many have their own opinions on. I am here to argue that no, all men in America are not created equal. My opinion may bother some, mostly because it’s something that we as Americans should take pride in. That by living in this country you are able to achieve any dream you have and there is no segregation or tolerance for making others feel little. Although, especially in this time, things have changed including our rights. There are families living on the streets or in their cars, barely able to afford food. Sad thing is, they work 5 times harder than any wealthy man or women out there. It seems that hard work is no longer the thing that opens your passage into wealth and success, it starts as early as when you’re born. Most who are born into rich families, continue to have money once they grow up and are on their own. Those unfortunate children that are born into poor families, most likely can’t afford college or a chance to make a better life for themselves, so they continue to do what their parents did. As said in the documentary, Hard Times Generation, “ The number of kids in poverty in America is pushing towards 25%, 1 out of 4”, (Pelley). That proves that things are not getting better, but taking a different turn for the worse. What seems to be the most intriguing part of this whole debate is the fact that those who don’t work hard at all make more money than the hardest workers around. In an article, American Dream Differed: Homeless & Working Two Jobs in NYC, it tells how the number of working homeless New Yorkers has risen dramatically in recent years. Between November 2012 and July 2013, the num...
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...r King but aspires to be a school teacher. This warms my heart because even though she is barely getting by and can’t even afford transportation, she believes in herself when her kids don’t even believe in her. Tammy Crabtree represents the American dream and hope that low wage workers have. These hard working people show that the American dream can still live. They continue to carry on this pride in their country as we all should.
Works Cited
Del Signore, John, “American Dream Differed: Homeless & Working 2 Jobs in NYC”. Gothamist, 18 Sep 2013. Web. 12 Dec 2013.
Enrenreich, Barbara. Nickel and Dimed. Holt: New York, 2001. Print.
Pelley, Scott, “Hard Times Generation: Family Living in Cars”. New York Times, 4 Jun 2012. Web. 12 Dec 2013.
Smith, Peter, “Homeless: Can You Build a Life from $25?”. The Christian Science Monitor, 11 Feb 2008. Web. 12 Dec 2013.
Ehrenreich, B. (2011). Nicke and dimed: On (not) getting by in america. New York, NY: Picador.
This is a very prideful way to view society. I believe that if a man works hard, he should be rewarded and can accumulate wealth that way. Not given money from the rich who worked hard to get wealth.
When people see the homeless, they are quick to assume whether the homeless are where they’re at because of drugs, or not being in a stable environment. However, homeless people rarely receive an opportunity to tell their life stories or even have the chance to explain how they ended up in the situations they are in. Homelessness in Boston has persisted and increased for decades. Though there have been efforts to combating the issues of homelessness and housing, it appears that there is no solution in sight. Winter have become nightmares for most of the homeless population in Boston. Weather ranges from thirty degrees down to ten, sometimes single numbers. Weather that is below freezing are moments where people like myself, need to be in warm places. Kourtney McLean is a woman financially and emotionally not stable enough to take care of herself. Ms. McLean has been living on the streets for almost all her life --homeless and struggling to get on her
Tunstall, L. (2009). Homelessness: an overview. EBSCO Publishing Service Selection Page. Retrieved February 5, 2011, from http://web.ebscohost.com/pov/detail?hid=119&sid=d5f751fa-0d0d-4ed1-8deb-483e701af50c%40sessionmgr111&vid=3&bdata=Jmxhbmc9ZW4tY2Emc2l0ZT1wb3YtY2Fu#db=p3h&AN=28674966
A Rebuttal of “Brother, Don’t Spare a Dime” In “Brother, Don’t Spare a Dime,” L. Christopher Awalt says that homeless people are homeless on their own accord. He believes “many of them seem to have chosen the lifestyles they lead” (Awalt))).. This article states that most homeless people would prefer to escape responsibility rather than fix their social and economic problems. Awalt uses an example of a man who had been on the streets for about 10 years. He provided this man with resources to improve his life and within four months he was making progress.
The concept of the "working poor" has gained prominence in the post-welfare reform era. As welfare rolls shrunk, the focus shifted from the dependent poor to the working poor. It was obvious that without substantial outside support, even families with full-time low-wage workers were still earning less than the official poverty line. And while American society purports that anyone can prosper if they work hard enough, it became apparent that with inadequate opportunity or bad luck, a growing number of families could not attain the American dream, or even break the cycle of poverty. The new challenge for American social policy is to help the working poor lift themselves out of poverty. That's why progressives who supported ending welfare as we know it have set a new goal -- the government should "make work pay" so that no one who works full time is poor.
In the early hours of the morning on Thursday, January 3, 2013, James G. Fulmer was found frozen to death on the steps of a Nashville Church. James Fulmer was 50 years old, homeless, and physically handicapped (wsmv.com). His tragic story is just one of almost 1,000 homeless men and women will suffer death caused by hypothermia each year. (nationalhomeless.org). Every night in the United States, over 600,000 people encounter homelessness. Their stories are diverse and their paths to homelessness, varied. Many have found themselves on the streets due to domestic violence, job loss and mental illness (npr.org). Some were teachers, accountants, musicians, painters, and even doctors. So many of the homeless population once lead normal lives. Yet, there is a social stigma that views the homeless as lazy, unwilling to work, uneducated and even untrustworthy. In a Capitalist society that places the highest value on image and the almighty dollar, there seems to be little desire to interact with these “outcasts”.
"Overview of Homelessness In America." Homelessness In America. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2013. .
This great nation of awesome power and abundant resources is losing the battle against homelessness. The casualties can be seen on the street corners of every city in American holding an ?I will work for food? sign. Homeless shelters and rescue missions are at full capacity. There is no room at the inn for the nation?s indigent. Anyone who has studied this issue understands that homelessness is a complex problem. Communities continue to struggle with this socio-economic problem while attempting to understand its causes and implement solutions. The public and private sectors of this country are making a difference in the lives of the homeless by addressing the issues of housing, poverty and education.
One would expect that social equality would just be the norm in society today. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Three similar stories of how inequality and the hard reality of how America’s society and workforce is ran shows a bigger picture of the problems American’s have trying to make an honest living in today’s world. When someone thinks about the American dream, is this the way they pictured it? Is this what was envisioned for American’s when thinking about what the future held? The three authors in these articles don’t believe so, and they are pretty sure American’s didn’t either. Bob Herbert in his article “Hiding from Reality” probably makes the most honest and correct statement, “We’re in denial about the extent of the rot in the system, and the effort that would be required to turn things around” (564).
It is estimated that, “each year, more than 3 million people experience homelessness, including 1.3 million children” (NLCHP). Clearly poverty and Homelessness come hand in hand, and the economy downfall has only contributed to this growing crisis. “Homelessness stems from a lack of affordable housing. Increasing rents, destruction of traditional low-income housing, and cuts in federal housing programs threaten affordable housing with extinction” (NLCHP). Most people in poverty have a housing affordability crisis, which means that they pay more than half of their income for rent, so therefore they have to buffer to deal with unforeseen expenses.
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
“Homeless is more than being without a home. It is tied into education needs, food, security; health issues both mental and physical, employment issues, etc. Don’t forget the whole picture.” (“Boxed In” 2005 pg. 108)
Homelessness has become a serious problem in today’s society. Despite the organizations that help multitudes of homeless people, homelessness is continually increasing. In recent years, America’s culture has been changing due to economic, political, and social issues. These issues have caused a lot of stress on America resulting in abject poverty in several cities. Poverty is not nationwide, but if dealt with lightly, the affects can be catastrophic. Homelessness is increasing more than ever, and research proves that changing culture contributes to rising amount of homelessness.
Haymes, Allan. "Without Rent Control, a Homeless Generation." New York Times (1923-Current file): 1. Jan 09 1987.ProQuest. Web. 12 Mar. 2014 .