Income plays an integral part in the choices individuals and families can make for their future and how they are able to problem solve their current situations. The case study (The Open University, 2016, p. 36.) illustrates how the Brett family are virtually stuck without solutions to problems, even to the point where plans for the future have almost evaporated, whilst the wealthy Confino family are occupied with decisions such as where to eat out next. Debbie Brett has misinformed the repairers so the repair estimate will be greater than a fee she would struggle to pay anyway. This behaviour will have an influence on her children. The danger being if they accept such a despondent and irrational approach to the world, their own future could
In the article “Extreme Wealth is Bad for Everyone- Especially the Wealthy” published on November 12, 2014 for The New Republic, the main argument is whether wealth is beneficial for people in terms of society, happiness, and life or not. Geared towards the common public, based on the fact that the source is for commercial entertainment, Michael Lewis successfully points out that wealth is indeed a negative influence on people’s lives. However, Lewis would have struggled with successfully conveying his ideas on the effects of wealth with a more educated audience because he failed to point out both sides of the argument. After reading this article and keeping the audience in mind, Lewis used rhetorical principles to adequately show his side of the article, the idea that the quality of people’s lives is directly correlated with the amount of wealth that person has, but struggled in portraying the benefits of wealth.
Wetchler and Hecker (2015) identified larger contexts surrounding family units, including both social and physical environment, as having a large potential impact. With little education amongst the family, much of their income is either made from illegal activity, jobs that they may not want to do (exotic dancing, prostitution), or low-paying wages. The environment that encompasses offers few escapes from this reality, and has a strong effect on the family system. One example of this would be younger sibling Karl’s awareness of his and his family’s socioeconomic status, and being drawn into the thrill and quick money of dealing
reality of not being able to make ends meet. (p. 262) The very real problem that Mr. Collinge and
...their lifestyles or values, but merely funnel greater sums of money into bottomless, self-destructing pits” (23). If this is true, then certainly the American Dream wins out for virtue. Indeed, throwing money at a problem absolutely does not make it go away – but when families are legitimately struggling to make ends meet and goods are scarce, when they’ve established these complex chains of organized networks and trades, and when they can empathize with others in their situation and see the big picture beyond their own, one is left to wonder why Stack’s voice hasn’t been heard more widely, and why the residents of The Flats are still left to fight against the current in their own comparatively competent culture of exchange, and networks of all their kin.
He further shows us that the people of today are richer than their grandparents but are not happier in their lives (from National Statistics of social pathology). Even with these facts, people in the United States still believe if they had more money all of their problems would be solved, but once they reach that next income bracket they are not satisfied and try to reach the next one. Myers et al tells us, "even if being rich and famous is rewarding, no one ever claimed material success alone makes us happy. Other conditions like - family- friends- free time - have been shown to increase happiness" (Csikszentmihaly 145). therefore we must find balance in our own lives, and not just focus on making money. Instead we need friends, family and even free time, as aforementioned doing an activity you enjoy such as listening to music or
John Steinbeck, famous author of The Grapes of Wrath, once said, “Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.” This quote, while fairly amusing, brings up a vital subject--class mobility. Can people in poverty still be rags to riches stories? The book Class Matters reports that class mobility has most likely decrease and that it takes five generations for a family class status to change. In Yakima this poses a very grim problem because 34% of Yakima residents line under the poverty line. And of those 55.9% are single mothers, just like Angela Whitiker (Citydata). That is why Angela Whitiker’s story is so central to not only the world but to
reading this book makes me realize it is a completely different world in “the projects.” I always thought it was that individual’s fault for not getting out of the projects and they chose to live that type of life. MacLeod’s findings and interviews with the kids made me realize that is not the case. I now see that social inequalities make it very difficult for social mobility to
People from lower classes try to achieve success but tend to struggle depending upon their foundation. The problem that people don’t want see is that we all want to become successful, and have the capability to do so but are just restricted by the lack of income.
The Andrews family consists of an African American father and mother that are in their early 50s and two teenage children. This paper will focus on primary heart health for Mrs. Andrews. Mrs. Andrews has a significant risk for developing heart disease, MI, and stroke. Mrs. Andrews non-modifiable risk factors include being an African American female in her 50s. Her modifiable risk factors include stress, hypertension, being overweight, and not seeing a primary care practitioner for two years. She quit smoking three years ago which is a modifiable risk factor that she has changed prior to this visit, the goal is not to sustain the change long term. According to the American Cancer Society the risk of developing coronary heart disease (CAD) is significantly reduced after quitting for year ("when smokers quit," 2014).
According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, six million European Jews were killed in the Holocaust. Within the six million was a famous family that had only one survivor. This family was the Frank family. The Frank family faced many difficulties due to the rise of Hitler. Experiencing hardships in their early life led to the decision that the Frank family made about going into hiding. At first, Otto Frank was very successful in life before the rise of Hitler. However, the Frank family faced many issues in Germany until they felt that they needed to move. Lastly, the Franks' living conditions in Amsterdam were stable before the invasion of the Nazis.
Having a good income liberates some extra stress from people’s lives. In the film, the narrator compares people with different income status, the narrator interviews these two different families in order to observe how income can influence people’s health. According to the narrator, “In some areas, people die twice, and five, even ten years sooner than in others. Cancer and heart disease are almost twice the rate in some areas as in others.” (Page 2) Unnatural Cause-the narrator observes two districts in Louisiana; one area is populated of low income working class, and the other one the contrary. The narrator is interviewing Jim Taylor a sixty year old man who is CEO of a hospital. During the interview Taylor opinions about the benefits of living in a community of effluents. Such as, having less stress, being able to exercise without being afraid of being assaulted. In contrast, to a person who lives in working class community is harder to have a healthy lifestyle because of the lack of time, security and desires. Pertaining to desire, working class people have to work long hours in factory to earn at least 20,000.00 per year, so they end their days extremely tired. Furthermore, wealthy peoples can afford a better quality of nutrition. Thus, people with a low income prefer to buy foods according to the quantity instead of quality. In fact, social stress is the more common
Everyone in the world belongs to a subculture. Each subculture has its own sets of traditions, relics, and artifacts. Relics and artifacts are symbolic, material possessions important to one's subculture. Relics are from the past; artifacts are from the present. These traditions, relics, and artifacts help shape the personalities of individuals and how they relate with others. Individuals know about these items through storytelling in the subculture. Families are good examples of subcultures. My family, a middle-class suburban Detroit family of Eastern European heritage, has helped shape who I am through story telling about traditions, artifacts, and relics.
In Junot Diaz’s essay “The Money” he explains where his family stands economically. Stating that his father was regularly being fired from his forklifting jobs and his mother 's only job was to care for him and his four siblings. With the money brought home by his father, his mom would save some. Her reason was to raise enough to send to her parents back in the Dominican Republic. When his family went on a vacation, they came back to an unpleasant surprise; their house had been broke into. Eventually Diaz was able to get back their money and belongings. Diaz returned the money to his mother although she didn’t thank him for it, this disappointed him. Like Diaz I have also encountered a similar situation where I was disappointed. When I was in second grade, my life life took a completely different turn. My dad took an unexpected trip to Guatemala, on his return, the outcome was not what I expected.
I did not grow up wealthy by any means, but I was always comfortable. I lived in a nice home, I was enrolled in many extracurricular activities, and I always had foot to eat. I started working while I was in high school, but my earnings were mostly for spending money as I only had small bills. While my parents were not considered rich, they were stable. As I grew up, I reaped the benefits of that stability, unaware of how many people lack resources needed to survive. The book $2.00 a Day Living on Almost Nothing in America opened my eyes to what too many people’s lives are like. As I read the book, I became more aware of the fact that I was sitting in my cozy, warm apartment. I would get up for a snack and notice my full refrigerator. I would take a bathroom break and recognize that I had running water and the soft kind of toilet paper. The more I read, the more I appreciated the things in my life that I have always considered simple, but that many only dream of. Between $2.00 a Day Living on Almost Nothing in America and the textbook, Essentials of Sociology, my narrow view of what like in America is like expanded exponentially.
What ties the individuals and their lives together is the manner in which they choose to settle on the decisions against the risk of lack. The economy is about why individuals settle on the decisions they make and what the suggestions or impacts of those decisions are, and it plays a significant part in everyone's lives. As America advances in technology, our materialism appears to grow and technology has become a tool for distracting individuals. A century or two past, our society’s hierarchy was supported by cash and land. Today’s new materialism determines your placement on the social ladder.