Shame By Dick Gregory Summary

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Baylee Mock Dec. 5 2016 Mrs. Robinson In the story “Shame”, by Dick Gregory, he tells his story of his poverty and his family being on welfare. He explains how he was so full of shame that he threw away the mackinaw the government gave to families that are on welfare. People should not feel ashamed for being on welfare that is caused by lack of available jobs, physical disabilities, and lack of education. Due to the lack of available jobs, many people are put on welfare. In September of 2016, the hires rate was 3.5 percent. Many companies will not hire due to the cost of paying the employees. Out of the jobs that are available, most will only pay minimum wage. The minimum wage for the United States is $7.25 an hour. A person who works a 40-hour week on minimum wage will only get a yearly salary of $13,926.38. A family will not be able to live off of a minimum wage salary alone once they deduct their bills and amount of money spent throughout the year, therefore they are put …show more content…

More than 30 percent of people on welfare are physically disabled. Many jobs in American require you to be on your feet, use your hands, and be physically active. Many companies and jobs will not hire disabled citizens due to the risks and dangers that could happen. If an incident happened that involved a disabled person in the workplace, the company would be held liable for it. Companies and corporations don’t want to take that risk, which leads them to look for other people fit for the job, therefore, disabled people are left looking for a job that will hire them. Though some companies will work to accommodate their needs, majority of the jobs will look for someone else to hire. As a result, it leaves disabled people constantly looking for work to pay their bills and afford them food. This leads the government to put them on welfare, so they have the means to

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