The Poor and the Rich Essays

The Poor and the Rich Essays The Poor and the Rich Essay The Poor and the Rich Essay Name: Instructor: Course: Date: The Poor and the Rich The book â€Å"Nickel and Dimed† was written by Barbara Ehrenreich from a real life experience as an undercover journalist who decided to investigate the impacts of the 1996 welfare reform Act on the working class in the United States. In contrast, much of Barbara’s ideas in this book revolve around the societal aspects. The dominant themes include working class mentality, poverty as well as the ivied between the rich and the poor. Barbara draws out her experiences from working casual jobs in Florida, Maine up to Minnesota to come up with first-hand stories of the real conditions that most wage workers go through in America. Barbara starts her quest to discover the wageworker livelihood in Key West, Florida where she worked as a waiter in a diner-style restaurant. She also got a rental trailer to live in. Soon, she discovered that the salary at the restaurant could support her rent pushing her into taking a second job as a hotel house cleaner. The workload became too much to handle forcing her to quit the hotel job just as fast as she had taken it but things became unbearable even at the diner, forcing her to quit her second job before the month was over. She then moved to Portland in Maine where she again took up a job as a house cleaner but now with a residential housekeeping service. Her experiences at making ends meet in Florida prompted her to take another job as a dietary aide in a nursing home. Here, Barbara worked all the days of the week, draining her physically and paying her peanuts. Lastly, she moved to Minnesota to work in Wal-Mart but again faced the challenge of getting affordable, good re ntal houses. The Personal responsibility Act of 1996 was expected to boost employment among the jobless as well as giving federal cash assistance to the poor. It was intended to end welfare and support struggling citizens in their attempts at seeking jobs. Class awareness in America is mainly defined by the income brackets of the citizens. Such criteria create the lower, middle and rich class. The promotion or demotion from one class to another depends on many factors but a dominant one is the obtaining of necessary skills to perform important work. In the process, one achieves a substantial income as well as influence that place them in a higher class than before. The class divisions result in class cultures. These are clearly displayed in the way different social classes run their businesses, educate their children culminating in even their choices of places of residences. A good example is the lower class live in the projects, which are in reality, government subsidized houses, or in very inha bitable conditions. Houses do not meet health and security in addition to other state standards. The middle class can afford to live in urban apartments, which have proper housing while the rich class possesses huge villas that occupy large tracts of land and access to public goods. (Ehrenreich 87) Belonging to a certain social class in America especially in the mid 1970’s had many consequences. The rich, upper class consisted mostly of wealthy families earning over $250,000 who owned most of the corporate America while exercising indirect power through the investment of capital. Most of the upper class also had inherited privileges .In addition, this class was the best compensated as compared to the three. The middle class consisted mainly of high-salaried workers who went to prominent universities and earned from around $40,000 to $180,000 or thereabout. Lastly, the lower class consisted of jobless or low wage earning workers who took home the least incomes of up to $7 a day. These class differentiations in America set the main theme in the Nickel and Dimed. Barbara Ehrenreich attempts, largely, to illustrate the similarities and differences between classes. During her time experiencing different jobs, she describes her findings satisfactorily enough to describe the state of affairs in the labor sector as well as the class differences in America. Barbara brings out the differences between the lower class and the upper class by illustrating the housing problem in America. She talks of dwindling housing opportunities especially for low-income workers as inevitable. The rising rent rates only served to worsen the situation, as the rise in pay was not as steep. The managers of many firms, who were mostly upper class, intentionally used various methods to keep wages low while lowering the dignity of their workers to keep them coming back. Barbara also described how the lower class had little privileges as opposed to many disadvantages therefore making it hard for them to progress along their careers or business ventures. Where she worked, the lower class had very few options, little education and transport problems, all of which served to entrench their position at the bottom of the food chain. This is opposed to the rich categories that have access to business information alongside capital to grow financially. They also have access to the best state services like sanitation, transport amid other public amenities. (Ehrenreich, Bait and Switch 87) Within the world today, the divide between the rich, upper class in relation to the lower class continues to grow. Globally, the class divide has distinguished the Western countries, which continue to live comfortable lives from the Southern countries that continue to languish in poverty, diseases and poor leadership. The promise to eradicate poverty by the state through the Welfare Act is just one of the many promises that are made by the government even today. However, it is clear that the interests of the poor, lower class plus the lower middle class are not really the priority of the government or any other body for that matter. In conclusion, the â€Å"state of emergency’ suggested by Barbara has finally come into realization in the 21st century. Ehrenreich, Barbara. Bait and Switch: The (futile) Pursuit of the American Dream. New York: Metropolitan Books, 2005. Print. Ehrenreich, Barbara. Nickel and Dimed: On (not) Getting by in America. New York: Metropolitan Books, 2001. Print.

Candide. Everything Has a Cause Essay -- voltaire, philosophy

Pangloss is one of the most significant figures around Candide. His central philosophy that â€Å"things cannot be other than they are, since everything was made for a purpose† (Voltaire 20) has been attacked by Voltaire in Candide. Voltaire criticized Pangloss’s philosophy by using the story of Candide killing Baron’s son – Cunà ©gonde’s brother. Candide told Baron that he wanted to marry his sister, and Baron exclaimed to disagree. Irritated by Baron’s words, Candide killed him. Later Candide and his servant escaped, but they were caught by Oreillons and were ready to be eaten until Candide told them that he was not a Jesuit as he killed one Jesuit – Baron. Because of this, Candide was freed from being eaten, and he said: What grand people they are! What fine fellows! And what culture! If I had not been lucky enough to spit Lady Cunà ©gonde’s brother, I should infallibly have been eaten. What all is said and done, there is a sterling goodness in an unsophisticated Nature†¦ Candide believed that the effect of him not being eaten is caused by the fact that he killed Baron and hence he was naively â€Å"full of admiration† to those peoplongly influenced by scientific revolution, the spirit of skepticism, brought forward by Pierre Bayle, also showed to us that there is cause and effect. He emphasized that nothing can ever be known beyond all doubt, and being skeptic encourages people to discover people why things take place. In other words, people should begin to focus more on reasoning rather than accepting the fact that â€Å"natural force† affects our life. From scientific revolution to our current era of Enlightenment to the emergence of skepticism, cause and effect kept playing a great role in leading scientists and philosophers to move forward. Consequently, Voltaire’s attack of cause and effect seemed to be gossamer and powerless since in our daily life, cause and effect can help us understand things that happen in our life and its impact on everyone living in Enlightenment cannot be overlooked.

Anderson County School District 3 Election Research Paper

Anderson County School District 3 Election - Research Paper Example Many may wonder what kind of job or task exactly the candidate is up for. Members of the Board are expected to consign themselves to regular turnout at Board meetings, which entails 3 half-day meetings and 1 full-day meeting a year at the school. It is expected that members serve on at least one Board committee, working group or occasional task force during their term of office. Board committees normally meet 3-4 times a year at the school. Members are encouraged to attend other events and activities that are held by the school, including Graduation Day in mid-September. Members may also be required to attend occasionally special activities to be held at schools, such as audit visits by outside agencies. The role is expected to require an average of 12 days annually, in addition to reading and travelling time. This is just but a tip of what the post entails. The school board exists to ensure that the mission of the school is attained. To do this, members of the Board need to keep themselves informed of progress in the school, higher education, and most significantly, the performance of the school. Members of the Board are expected to participate fully in the development of the school’s corporate and operating plans and to ensure proper allocation and use of the school’s resources in meeting the objectives of those plans is assured. Curiosity might be on the rise on what exactly Danny Davis and Ray Graham are contending for, or rather why each found it within their means to vie for an assistant governor’s position. Well, it is nothing other than to assist in the Governing Board of Anderson School District Three. It is rather clear to note what this means as the election winner had a straight seat in the Board Governing Anderson School. This would earn him control, which is noted as one of the key aspects that candidates always go for in a given election (Parker 29) In brief highlight of the candidates for these election posts comes the first candidate Danny Davis. Danny Davis is an IT technician, currently working as a transportation manager and a board member of the same school at present. On the other hand, our second man Ray Graham works in the Anderson County Sheriff’s Investigation Department. By this time, it might be true to conclude that Ray Graham commands larger grounds than his mate, and this might end up playing a vital role in the outcome of the elections. Both Danny and Ray are renowned members of the society and either of them can make a good governing assistant in the school board. This election is undoubtedly of great importance. First and foremost, each candidate has outspokenly laid out his points and what he intends to manifest once elected to the position. Just to point out one of each, Ray Graham intends to introduce t he fair treatment of all kids in the district, in an equal manner, as opposed to fair treatment for a few as it may be said to be as of now. He also promised to ensure equal opportunities for all students in matters and issues concerning them. Ray Graham also promises to move Anderson County School District forward in matters pertaining to resources, teachers and the faculty’s need to educate their children at higher levels, allowing them to further their opportunities for success at completion of their education. Danny Davis, on his part, maintains that with the election outcome in his favor, he

Perceptions on Death as the Inevitable Cessation of Life in a Living O Essay

Perceptions on Death as the Inevitable Cessation of Life in a Living Organism - Essay Example From nine through adolescence, children begin to comprehend fully that death is irreversible, that all living things die, and that they too will die someday. (www.hospicenet.org). The death of close relatives or other significant persons in an adolescent’s life can be a quite distressing event for teenagers. Most teens conceptualize death as irreversible and universal. They also understand that death is an inevitable part of life. They, however, do not fully realize that death could be a reality for themselves or their peers. There is, therefore, an acute sense of adventure in them during this period and they don’t mind taking risks. They may also act as if they want to challenge death and defy death. As they grow and mature as adults, their concept of death gets modified by the personal experiences they undergo. Some adolescents’ perception of death is not realistic and hence their response to grief also becomes unreasonable or illogical. On the other hand, teens are usually aware that when a person has a fatal illness death is a logical event in the case. If a parent, sibling or other close relative has a terminal illness, some counseling may help the adolescent to cope with the situation better. However, there is no absolutely correct way to educate a teen about the concept of death. The efforts that a family has to make in helping a teen to cope with a relative’s death can reduce the distress and anxiety of a teen. It will be better to allow them to attend the funeral if they wish to do so if the family’s values value and culture permit that. This would give them a reassurance that they are at least doing something for the departed. â€Å"Grief is a very painful process for both adults and children, but grieving should be encouraged. How a child grieves or reacts to the loss will depend  on age, previous experience with death and his/her preparedness for the event.† (http://www.cfc)

Free Essays - Troubled Holden in Catcher in the Rye :: Catcher Rye Essays

Troubled Holden in Catcher in the Rye In J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is portrayed as a young, troubled individual. He tells us his story from the mental institution where he is currently residing. Holden refuses to acknowledge his emotions in regard to the death of his brother Allie. In reaction to Allie's death, Holden hides from himself, his true feelings about change, death and relationships with other people. He does not realize that his Allie died of leukemia three years before this story takes place. Holden speaks highly of his brother. He discusses how Allie was younger than him but fifty times as smart. Holden also tells us that Allie was much more mature for his age then he should have been. This is the basis of Holden's fear of growth and change. The more you grow, the closer to death you find yourself and death is the ultimate change. Reveling in innocence, perfectness, and being untouched by change is the most comfortable pattern of living for Holden: "In chapter 5 when Holden is waiting for Ackley to get ready to go to town, he looks out of the window of his room, opens it, and packs a snowball from the snow on the window ledge. He begins to throw it at a parked car, but doesn't because the car "looked so nice and white". Then he aims at a fire hydrant, but stops again because that also looks "too nice and white". Finally he decides not to throw it at anything and closes the window...What Holden sees through the window is for him a visual embodiment of what he unconsciously seeks: a state of Being which is distinct from the flux of this world of Becoming, with its corruption, violence, noise, decay and death." (Burrows 84) When Holden talks to us about how much he loves the museum, he says that the museum is great because everything just stays behind a piece of glass and does not change. Some things should not change. He is really saying that he doesn't want to change the way Allie changed. Also, he says

Social Policy and Its Application to Social Services Provision

Private problems become public issues when an individual’s problem/problems spill out into the community for example youth homelessness. Youth homelessness is greater than you might think in May 2008 it was thought that there were over 75000 youths at risk of becoming homeless, mostly due to the breakdown of the family or the introduction of a step family, 65% of these young people experienced violence as their family broke down and 20% experienced sexual abuse. The really sad thing about the number of youths at risk of homelessness is, in order to be detected as at risk something extreme has to happen e. g. the young homeless person was arrested for causing a disturbance or ends up in hospital after a violent incident. Mostly when families breakdown we as a community know nothing about it (their family problems are kept private) this becomes a public issue which may require the creation of a â€Å"policy for dealing with social issues†, when we see young people sleeping rough or the crime rate increases as the homeless person steals to feed them self. Over the years there has been significant research and development of policies which are aimed at combating homelessness among the 16-25 year olds and in 2002 the homelessness Act was endorsed by the Scottish parliament after it was highlighted that the numbers of homeless people sleeping rough in our cities, could affect the tourist trade, which in turn would affect our economy, this act extended the definition of priority need to include new groups of vulnerable people including youths. This Homeless act means that young people are no longer turned away from hostels; in fact there are hostels that are just for young people (these hostels help protect the young people on the streets from abuse i. e. prostitution) This homeless act also made local authorities develop homeless strategies e. g. the housing and support team that we have in West Lothian. Due to new policy the numbers of young people sleeping on the streets is few, and the ease of access to information/services means homeless people have hope and can access services before they actually become homeless, which in turn combats drug/alcohol abuse (which also relieves pressure off the NHS) and crime statics. 2. Social policies come about due to various influences. Nationwide statics are gathered for various reasons and as a result these figures/statics can and do bring around change in policy or even the implementation of new olicies e. g. it was found that the number of people binge drinking and requiring hospital treatment was on the rise, so the government created a policy that it was illegal to have happy hours in bar’s and it was illegal for shops to have two for one offers on alcohol. Another way the government is influenced to change or create policy is through pressure groups. Pressure groups don’t have to be official bodies or organisations like â⠂¬Å"fathers for justice†, they can be a group of people who are concerned about an issue in their community e. . a group of concerned parents petitioning the government about the lack of services for teenagers in their area (youth club) due to the planned closure of the community centre. Social policies can also come about if there is a threat to society e. g. terrorism, after 9/11 the pass port policy changed, before 9/11 children were able to travel on their parents passport, after 9/11 the policy changed and now everyone needs a passport regardless of age. Before 9/11 we could travel within our own country (Glasgow-London) without a passport now we can’t. Policies have also changed after public outcry. After the abduction, rape and murder of a child in England by a convicted paedophile, who had been housed in the area on his release from prison. The policy that gave these people anonymity was reviewed and changed, so that anyone who is concerned about an adult, who is working with children, can ask the police if they are a risk. 3. The mixed economy of care came about due to the governments of the 1980s being concerned that the place for the care of people should be provided from within their communities and that the â€Å"sense of community† would be lost as people stopped â€Å"looking after their own†. People would stop contributing charitably to the community and the people in it ( popping in on a neighbour to give her a break from her ill husband or running to the shop for an older person as well as fund raising and legacies), as it would become taken for granted that the state would provide everything i. e. ousing and Health Care as well as meals on wheels and respite, as a result, people would not feel like it was their job to help themselves, their community or their neighbours, that it was the states job, and so the fear was the sense of community would be lost to dependency on the state. The mixed economy of care means that different services collaborate/works together in order to provid e a service for an individual which not only meets their needs, but makes sure that the care being provided doesn’t over lap i. e. one care plan is made for the individual and all the required services work within this plan. Our government as it is now (2009) has picked up where the 1980/90s left off (they carried on where the last government left off instead of returning to state provided care) and is working towards a â€Å"mixed economy of care†, it has identified 4 sectors of care provision i. e. statutory, private, voluntary and informal. The statutory sector is care what is provided by the state for example benefits, cars for the disabled and access to health care e. g. occupational health (home adaptations). The private sector offers care as part of a business for example private nursing care, respite and private pensions. The voluntary/charity sector provide care that is funded through fundraising and donations and offers things like lunch clubs (help the aged), meals on wheels (WRVS) and hospital transport (red cross). The final sector, the informal sector comes by way of care provided by a non professional/specialist; this could be family, the community (neighbours) or friends who give up their time to look after their community and the people in it. The informal sector saves the government and NHS millions of pounds every year as their contribution relieves the need for official respite services and health care and it’s free. The Community Care Act 1990 came about as in order to fulfil the recommendations /objectives that the white paper (1989) Caring for People had identified (the enabling of older people to live independently for as long as possible in their own home, practical support for carers, guidelines for quality individual needs assessments and accountability for service providers and the quality of care they provide) new legislation was needed, thus the community care act (1990) was passed. Nowadays we see people living and working in our community who, not so many years ago, would have lived their lives in institutions or sanatoriums without any human rights or even choice, but now with implementation of individual/ person centred care plans/assessments, designed with the individuals needs, rights, circumstance and abilities in mind, as well as making access to different care services more easily available e. g. upported accommodation/residential nursing care, benefits, disabled employment (Remploy), occupational therapy, day care and befriending, not only are the individuals needs being met, the human rights of these individuals are being recognised. The individuals who were once locked away from the rest of society without any rights, choices or quality of life are now (with a little help from the care in the community act) living, working (Remploy) and contributing in and to communities (Volunteering in a charity shop). 4. Funding for different care services comes from various sources for example the services that are state/government services e. g. benefits, NHS departments (occupational therapy) and pensions are funded mostly through income tax, VAT, and national insurance, but not all of these services are completely free for example an older person who requires residential care will have to contribute financially if they have enough of an income or assets to cover the cost, they will also receive little or no help financially if they have a private pension i. e. they will have to pay for glasses and prescriptions. Funding for the local authority care services is much the same as central government funding comes firstly from the annual government grants as detailed in the 2009, amendment of the local government finance act 1992 Scotland order. Funding also comes from council tax income, business rates, licensing (alcohol) and recycling. While all this income generates wealth it does not mean everything is free and individuals will still contribute via user charges. Voluntary/charitable organisations also contribute to care services through fund raising and free care service i. . volunteers. There is also the Scottish post code lottery which has funded community projects as has the national lottery. Legacies also contribute to the financing of a service. 5. European commission was established in 1954 and has members from every country in Europe (two from the UK) its job is to form policy and legislation that protects the individuals’ human rights. They give the country an amount of time t o comply adequately to any new policy/legislation, before the country is taken to the human rights court e. g. he Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment, in employment and occupation. The minimum standard (directive) as stated by the EC included the protection of equal rights. The regulations (which must be implemented immediately) for this act included equal employment opportunities (promotion). Sometimes new legislations/policies cost money to implement and it falls to the local authority to decide how best to do this, finding the money often results in other services suffering through smaller grants e. . the promotion of electricity produced from renewable energy sources (â€Å"Renewables Directive†) the local authorities are obligated to implement these directives within a set time frame. The local authorities have to find the money, this is usually through council tax and money they make through council busin ess e. g. Neighbourhood Recycling, this in turn affects the care service and volunteer services by reducing the budget or funding they receive and possibly a rise in taxes and rates. The guide lines that come from the EC are a bit like expectations for example the government/EC expects local planners, architects and developers to take into account crime prevention when designing streets for example, this is to provide a safe and secure environment (your human right to live in a safe/secure environment) The duty to make this happen falls on local authority that, for example would have street/security lighting and the installation of CCTV as a condition of the planning application or they could create a local policy that says new housing schemes will only receive planning approval if there is security lighting fitted as standard.

Modern Lovers By Emma Straub - 1347 Words

Part Two of Emma Straub’s generational novel Modern Lovers, titled Jane Says, includes chapters twenty-four through forty-five. This section is much more action-packed then the last, each of the characters finally going after what they really want. Harry finally connects with his long-time crush Ruby, emotionally and physically. Ruby even makes sure this continues after warnings from Harry’s disapproving parents, Elizabeth and Andrew. Jane and Zoe are finally shown conversing with each other in a pleasant way, giving off the vibe that they are getting along better than in the previous section. This shows a possible positive outcome for their questionably divorceable marriage. Elizabeth takes control over the movie rights plotline, by†¦show more content†¦One of Andrew’s personality problems that was touched on in the story is his short temper. Elizabeth recalled that â€Å"it had been a problem in their youth, Andrew always flying off into the stratosph ere with rage over something totally inconsequential,† (Straub, 2016, p. 94). We see Andrew get very angry in this part of the story, but with a reason to be. When Jane, Zoe, Elizabeth, and Andrew find themselves in the police station after Ruby and Harry were caught â€Å"having sexual relations in the playground,† (Straub, 2016, p. 175). However, his short fuse caused him to put all the blame on Ruby, saying â€Å"Well, I think we all know whose fault this is,† (Straub, 2016, p. 176) instead of taking responsibility for his son’s actions. This causes Zoe and Andrew to quarrel, and then Jane and Elizabeth chime in on an argument that is no longer about their children’s relationship but instead their own unresolved issues with each other. Akter and Begum also found that criminal activity is another factor that leads couples to divorce, saying â€Å"it creates distress in their marital life,† (Akter and Begum, 2012, p. 649). There is a run-in with the police due to Harry and Ruby’s actions, but the criminal activity I think will have more of an effect on Elizabeth and Andrew’s relationship is the signing of the rights to Naomi. When Elizabeth impulsively forged Andrew’s signature, it shows that she was not thinking about the repercussions of herShow MoreRelatedMetz Film Language a Semiotics of the Cinema PDF100902 Words   |  316 Pagesthe Image Track Chapter 6. Outline of the Autonomous Segments in Jacques Rozier s film Adieu Philippine, 149 Chapter 7. Syntagmatic Study of Jacques Rozier s Film Adieu Philippine, 177 vii viii CONTENTS IV The Modern Cinema: Some Theoretical Problems Chapter 8. The Modern Cinema and Narrativity, 185 Chapter 9. Mirror Construction in Fellini s 8 1/2, 228 Chapter 10. The Saying and the Said: Toward the Decline of Plausibility in the Cinema? 235 Notes, 253 A Note on the Translation by Bertrand