Session 14

·         Who

            Discrimination and Racism is something that is directed towards people of a different race than the attacker. Discrimination and Racism can be directed towards a minority as well as a majority group.

            According to the film "The Divide", the people tend to be angry and blame the illegal immigrants (Mexicans) for coming into their town and taking their jobs and businesses. While this starts out as an immigration issue, you could see there were reserved prejudices and discrimination that come out during the heated arguments and rallies. Before, when the blacks used to do all the work no one wanted to, now the Mexicans did it was mentioned as well.

            There are two types of immigrants, legal and illegal's. Legal immigrants come to the U.S. with proper papers and have a work authorization and also pay taxes. Illegal immigrants bypass the system and tend to live on cheap labor and on cash without paying taxes. These immigrants can be any race or color, they are just people.

            Also post-9/11 reform on immigration, laws were targeted against Arab and South-Asian men of Muslim religion.

           

·         Why

              Main reason for immigration reform was because the immigrants were taking jobs from U.S. citizens. They also drove down wages for people hired in the United States as the immigrants were for much lower wages.

            Other reforms were made to legalize long term illegal immigrants living within the United States. This was done so that the immigrants would be considered legal to work and start paying taxes as well as don't drive down wages.

            Also the post-9/11 immigration reforms were  mainly done due to terrorism concerns. Although these were aimed specifically towards a certain race and religion, they were done to protect the U.S. borders.

 ·         What

            "The Immigration Act of 1990 increased the level of employment based immigration and allotted a higher proportion of visas to highly skilled immigrants".

            The welfare reform act of 1996 also played a part in the immigration laws. The reform made the immigrants lose their government assistance programs such as welfare, food stamps, and supplemental security income. It also gave states the power to revoke Medicaid insurance from immigrants (legal and illegal both).

            The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1996 increased the U.S.-Mexico border security, heavily penalized employers hiring illegal immigrants, denied illegal immigrants to social security and driving licenses and also grant amnesty to long term illegal aliens who had been within the United States since 1982.

            Post 9/11 reforms took place mainly due to terrorism. These reforms included more stricter immigration availability and security, also made sure international students were accepted to colleges before they could enter the country and also allowed the government to racially profile people according to the patriot act.

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     ·         How well

            While the government continues to work on immigration laws, they have not handled it too well. A lot of the laws are flawed and vague. Also giving illegal aliens amnesty every decade is not good sense as they get used to it.  

·  What you personally think should be done

            First of all, the legal immigrants who are in this country should receive full benefits as citizens do since they pay the same taxes there are. Also the illegal immigrants who are here, majority of them do not pay employment taxes as they are paid under the table and should not receive ANY government benefits period. That pretty much handicaps them and makes the taxpaying Americans to pay for others as well.

            Although the racial profiling after 9/11 does seem extreme, it is a necessary evil in my opinion to keep everyone else safe. The people who are there to harm us do not give the civilians a choice, so it's something that must be done no matter how bad its criticized. I personally have been selected for "random" shoe checks many time at the airports, but I have no problem with those extra 2 minutes to make sure I am safe.

Session 13

·         Who

            The housing talked about in this session is for the low income and needy people. This includes but not limited to low income areas, projects etc. Also mainly targeted towards the employed and working people contributing at least 30% of their income towards rent/mortgage.

            Atlanta also ranks 7th in the least affordable rental markets among the top 31 metropolitan cities. 13th in least affordable housing market and 12th in critical housing.

           

·         Why

       This is an issue because low income families cannot afford to pay for expensive housing as it takes away most their disposable income.  Also these programs improve the standard and quality of housing provided by landlords and make the neighborhoods safe and healthy.

 ·         What

            In the "Visionaries" video, one of the steps being taken to develop Mons Valley was the Mons valley initiative. This helped people get job placement, get quality and affordable housing and give out loans to people wanting to start small businesses in the area. This was done to boost the failing economy of Mons valley due to closing of steel mills.

            The Housing Act of 1937 was the first federal step towards the housing problem. This act enabled the safe and sanitary housing, helped remove slums and this helped stimulate the economy by getting more businesses in the area and remove unemployment. This law also established the U.S. Housing Authority and public housing.

            Next, the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 created the Community Development Block Grant Program. This provided cities and urban counties with yearly direct grants. The goals of this program were to revitalize neighborhoods, expand affordable housing and economic opportunities, improve community facilities and services, and benefit low and moderate income persons.

            The Cranston-Gonzales National Affordable Housing Act of 1990 also created block grants for state and local governments through  programs called HOME and HOPE. This helped decentralize the housing policy and preserve existing federal housing policies.

            The government also started the section 8 voucher program which would either give landlords the vouchers in exchange to provide safe and affordable housing, or would give the vouchers directly to homeowners to seek out private affordable housing. These vouchers helped families to stabilize their housing situation and indirectly helped children stay in one school rather than moving around and losing hope.

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     ·         How well

            Currently the government has achieved a lot towards housing in my opinion. Even though there are homeless people out there, they do have shelters to take advantage of. Also the affordable housing really does help those who are willing to stay employed and help themselves. Also the absence of slums shows something. There are other countries that have slums and people living in unsanitary and unsafe places, at least here people have the basic facilities when it comes to housing.

·  What you personally think should be done

            I think these programs are great and help those directly in need for it. They also encourage people to work for the benefits and not just getting them handed down to them. Even though there are downsides to these programs, the benefits outweigh the challenges.

Session 12

·         Who

            Social security and Medicare benefits in this session are for the aged population. These benefits include Old Age and Survivors insurance (OASI), Disability insurance (DI)) and Medicare benefits such as Hospital insurance (HI) and Supplemental Medical insurance (SMI). The targets of these benefits are retired people who have at least worked  40 quarters (10 years) in their life.

            The working population is the one that feeds the social security fund. Social security fund is taken out as taxes on paycheck from the employee and the employers also have to donate certain amount towards it. Also if someone is self employed, they pay more taxes towards social security but do get more tax deductions towards their income tax.

            Generally the lower class depends on social security as their primary and sometimes the only source of income when retired.

           

·         Why

       SS fund is there to provide a decent and dignified retirement for all Americans. It is like a savings account for which they have to add during their working time so that they will have money to retire on. The Medicare also provides aid towards health bills for the elderly. These federal programs were passed into law by FDR during the 1930's. SS also does not hold certain stigma's that other welfare programs hold and every working American is eligible for it.  

 ·         What

            The SS fund is pretty much contributions of workers during their working age to support their old age. The way the current SS structure works is that workers pay taxes, and these funds are being used by the current retirees. Although back in the 50's there were 16 Americans contributing towards 1 retirees SS, today its 3 Americans per 1 retiree. In the near future it will be 2 to 1 because there are more elderly people than the working people due to the "baby boomers".  This is depleting the SS fund faster than the revenues coming in and according to economist, it will be depleted in the near future. Most of the SS funds are invested into federal bonds to accumulate interest. Some of the Medicare money is invested into riskier stocks. 

·         How well

            Currently the way SS is on track of being depleted, the current administration has not addressed the issue much. Obama administration is on a firm no for the privatization of SS and yet it offers no other solutions. In my opinion, socializing health care on one end and letting SS funds run out on the other has to be grounds for concern.

 ·         What you personally think should be done

            I definitely believe in privatizing SS as the benefits outweigh the risks. Right now the working people are putting in tax dollars towards social security which they might never see. It is not guaranteed. As for the arguments against it stating that the poor people solely depend on this and they will take the biggest hit, but if there is nothing to give in the future to ANYONE, what's the point of this argument? Privatizing SS will in face make everyone more money conscious and smarter budget wise to secure their own future and also leaving their family with their own hard earned money. Given that privatizing SS will be cost around 2 trillion dollars, but it will outweigh this cost in the future as this transition is definitely required.

             

          

Session 11

·         Who

            The highest number of uninsured population falls for people between the ages of 18-32. These people either choose not to be insured or can’t afford health insurance. The highest numbers of uninsured racially are Hispanics then Blacks then Asians and then Whites. The Hispanics and Blacks lead due to higher population of poverty. Also children in poverty have higher rate of being uninsured than non-poor children.

            The working class has the highest number of uninsured population following by the children population. The elderly have the lowest number of uninsured population.

·         Why

The main reason as stated in the chapter for no medical coverage is the high costs. The cost of healthcare is rising faster than the rate of inflation itself. Cost of healthcare has nearly doubled from 2001. Also the federally funded program Medicare is soon going to be depleted and will start depleting the Social Security fund which will be depleted by 2025. All of these are the reasons why a Health Care reform is necessary.

 ·         What you think is being done

            Healthcare reform is one of the most important agendas of the Obama administration. The current healthcare reform bill that passed earlier this year states that everyone will have health insurance (public or private). The way the publically funded insurance will be able to work is that those without private health insurance will be forced to buy the public insurance, no matter how healthy they are or even if they can’t afford it. If anyone that is not insured by 2014 will be fined monetarily. The government has promised to give tax rebates to the middle class for putting the lower classes’ burden on them. This bill is still being debated amongst the population and still could be repealed by Congress.

 ·         What you personally think should be done about healthcare

            I do not think Obama care is the answer to healthcare reform. This reform bill has too many flaws and is completely unfair to majority of the population, which is the middle class. This bill also goes against the foundation of this country, freedom. This bill will give more government control over the people and socialize the country. This bill might look good on paper and will work in the short run, but later on like communist regimes, fall on its knees and will be harder to close the can of worms.

I really do think that healthcare reform is necessary and there are probably other ways to do it. I personally do not have an answer yet as how to tackle this issue as it is really complicated and some amount of population will get the short stick in most scenarios.

          

Session 9

·         Who you think is poor, both in the United States and globally.

            This session again confirmed that highest percentage of poor consist of African Americans, single mothers and children. The American dream film showed a single mother and a single father who were both African American as surviving on low income.

            Also people who were on welfare program during the Clinton administration, were statistically helped and aided better. More people had jobs when they left the program and also gained work experience as well as education while being on the program. After 2004, this completely changed. Higher number of people were unemployed and they received welfare benefits for a shorter amount of time.

·         Why you believe people are poor in the United States and globally.

       A lot of poverty comes from a young age or a previous generation. Apparently the single parents who have low income and are supporting a family were in the same place as their children when they were young. They themselves were raised by a single parent on low income and now they have a child in the same situation. It seems like an endless cycle.

            Another reason that derives from the first is teenage pregnancy. A lot of single mothers have a child at a very early age and can barely support the child with the time they have. They can work a fulltime job, but then have to pay for childcare and if they worked less to take care of their child they would barely survive off the money they make.  

            Also, the welfare program being separated on a level of federal and state government does not help the people on welfare. In Georgia, the benefits last less than 60 months whereas in other states with less poverty rates, it is 60 months or more. The maximum benefits are also less in GA and the south overall even the fact that the south has the highest poverty rate in America.

 ·         What you think is being done about poverty

            The government of the U.S. has put into place several anti-poverty programs. Many administrations have also tried to reform welfare with Clinton administration being the first to have a major healthcare reform.

            Programs such as Mothers pension, ADC, and AFDC are the main programs offered by the goverment. AFDC was a major change in the 1996 reform act and was transformed into TANF.

            There is a fairly recent anti poverty program put into place as well. The EITC (earned income tax credit) helps poor families get more tax rebates. Also married parents with more children get more credit.

·         How well you think poverty is being addressed currently in the United States and globally.

The welfare programs are sub-par at the best in the United States today. Newer programs like EITC is a step in the right direction for reforming welfare. As for separating federal and state benefits, that really damages more than helping poor people. Georgia only spends 2% of its budget on these welfare programs, which is just sad.

 ·         What you personally think should be done about poverty in United States and globally (e.g., policies, programs you would suggest).

            I think instead of encouraging families to not have kids out of wedlock, the government should have educational programs to even think about having kids after marriage. The endless cycle as see in the movie in Angie's case proves that. People first need to have financial responsibility and security before planning a kid as that not only affects the parents, but more importantly the child's.

            Also programs like TANF should be federally governed instead of individual states choosing their own agenda. Programs like EITC are also good for progress.

          

Session 7

·         Why you believe people are poor in the United States and globally.

       According to statistics shown in this session, lower wage blue collar workers remain poor due to a freeze on minimum wage since July of 2009. This chapter shines light on how people working for $7.25 or less per hour do not even make enough to self sustain themselves.

 ·         What you think is being done about poverty

            The minimum wage increase has only taken place in some states. The Federal minimum wage is stuck at $7.25/hour while Georgia's minimum wage is at $5.15/hour. I learned that a group called 9 to 5 is trying to raise awareness about the living wage, which would increase the poor families income by a while 130%. This would set a standard wage for certain jobs and would include healthcare as well. About 120 cities so far have taken on the living wage and have already benefited without any major setbacks. There are definitely people and groups out there trying to abolish poverty from different angles, but they just do not have the power to create a huge impact yet.

·         How well you think poverty is being addressed currently in the United States and globally.

         Apparently the federal minimum wage has not been raised since 2009 and the GA minimum wage was $5.15 till the federal took over. This just shows that the cost of living is getting higher, but the income stays the same. This shows that the government is not putting poverty as one of their top priorities yet.

 ·         What you personally think should be done about poverty in United States and globally (e.g., policies, programs you would suggest).

            After reading this chapter, I really do support the living wage. This would help poor families self sustain and also have access to health insurance without socializing the entire health care system. This would also make companies who get tax dollars from the government, be more ethical and keep them in check. I also agree with the organization 9 to 5 to raise awareness about the many pros towards the living wage. This would definitely create a better standard of living and boost the economy as well. 
                However, one thing I do not agree about with the 9 to 5 project is that raising the servers and waiters wage from $2.13 all the way to the federal minimum wage level. I personally used to work as a server and was paid the same amount 3 years ago, but the amount of tips I received, it made the wages almost close to $10/hour. Obviously this would vary from locations and jobs, but this was just a diner with no bar. Also when they mention that they have to share their tips with other people, its only with the busboy's and that too on credit card transactions. The cash tip is 100% theirs to keep. The information provided in the video is the bare minimum with no strong premises to back it up. 
               Another point I keep picking up from these chapters is that education is definitely the key towards a better income. Majority of the people on the poverty level have not secondary education. Another thing I believe should be done is educate people on financial planning. Majority of the population mentioned to be poor in these chapters are single moms. The younger generation need to be educated to be financially stable before having kids and not the other way around as that does not work out well.

              

Session 6

·         Who you think is poor, both in the United States and globally.

            According to this session, there are four theories to define who is poor. Lack of money and through that leverage of human capital, cultural shortcomings, economic processes and politics and structural and institutional factors. The human capital includes knowledge, skills and education. Apparently people with less than a High School have a population of 23% that is living in poverty in the United States. People with a High School Degree have a 10% and bachelors degree have a 3% poverty rate.

Also African Americans are poor due to discrimination and racism which prevents them from moving up. On the contrary, Lewis argued that the poor are poor due to their own faults through behavioral faults.

Also females tend to have a higher rate of poverty due to their lack of resources as well as majority of the time them being the head of household. In Sweden, women have a poverty rate of around 7% as compared to the U.S. which is 28%, even after Sweden having more percentage of children in a single family, that is a huge difference!

·         Why you believe people are poor in the United States and globally.

       There are many causes to poverty. Some of them which I learned in this session are:

 Lower Education, language barriers, drug abuse, family structure and conditions, immigration status and political conditions. Like I had stated before, these are both helplessness and self-defeating ways of poverty.

There is also a big emphasis on class inequality causing poverty according to Karl Marx.

 ·         How well you think poverty is being addressed currently in the United States and globally.

            In Sweden, women have a higher rate of pay than women in the United States. Great government programs as well.

 ·         What you personally think should be done about poverty in United States and globally (e.g., policies, programs you would suggest).

            After reading this session, I have to disagree on a lot of solutions that were pointed out. When it mentions the reason for poverty among African Americans is a lot due to racism, I totally disagree. We live in a globalized world. Even though racism does exist in certain parts of society, in my opinion it does not affect ones poverty rate. Same thing for women, they are paid equally or greater than men in the workplace if they have the same qualifications. I think instead of implementing a Marx socialist policy in our country, we need to think and imaging what it would actually do. The distribution of wealth would bring down the number of skilled labor which would lead to the collapse of the economy. No one would be motivated to go and seek higher education of the wealth is distributed equally.

Instead of implementing such hardcore policies, the government should re-allocate tax spending. Instead of using it towards foreign policy, war, economic bailouts, the government should in fact use it towards domestic growth. As I said before, build more educational institutions, increase the literacy rate and increase government jobs in the process.