Preview

Robert Reich Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
537 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Robert Reich Analysis
I really enjoyed the film that we watched class. Robert Reich wasn’t someone that I had heard of before the film and I grew to really like and respect him. After the documentary I did some reading up on him and I liked what I found. While I had a very positive reaction to the film, I went home and talked to my parents about it and I was shocked about their reaction. I agreed with everything that he said, and while Reich was reluctant to label himself as a socialist, I believe that I am and I am proud of it. My parents are basically a caricature of your typical conservative. My mom was interested but when I went into investing in people, she started spouting against welfare and poor people. My dad, I said the words wage inequality and he left …show more content…
It’s an idea that I believe has been deeply ingrained in our society. When that happened, I was reminded of one of my guilty pleasure shows Poldark. The story is focused on a British soldier right after the revolutionary war. That was a turbulent time as far as class inequality goes, especially when the French were gearing up for another revolution. It didn’t strike me that that show was still so culturally relevant until that point. There is a point on the show when one of the upper class characters says that poor people are a different breed and if they can’t take care of themselves than they shouldn’t be breeding. We are shocked by that but our very own politicians preach this idea if you can’t take care of yourself, for whatever reason that may be, then you don’t deserve to …show more content…
I think that we’re all a little guilty of this. When some people see someone cashing in food stamps, they think free loader and they are on their day. It’s because of these stereotypes that nothing is getting done. I’ve tried to talk to some of my family members about abortion and that is a heavy talk. I’m very pro-choice and they are very, very pro-life. I’ve noticed that when I talk to them about this, they tell me that the only women getting abortions are the ones that don’t use birth control and think nothing of terminating a pregnancy. I don’t think that anyone could take that that lightly but, if one or two people do that then what about the millions of rape victims, the people who can’t take care of a child, the women that would never survive a

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Many of the problems now and in time have been the product of someone stereotyping someone else for being “different” than they are. It can be based off the pigmentation of one’s skin, the religious differences between people, but more often than not, it is because of the class a person falls into economically. Class is a system that distinguishes people by the amount of money a person makes, or that is what class is supposed to be. We often see the upper-class portrayed as educated, clean, and powerful people as opposed to the lower-class who are seen as dirty, lazy, and powerless individuals. The way the media stereotypes the economic classes makes a class seem like a culture instead of an economic standing. In many cases, us individuals allow those stereotypes to become who we are.…

    • 588 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The second World war is understood as having been started and ended in various fashions. We know this to be true as there is copious amounts of literature analyzing, explaining, investigating, and theorizing "the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich", or as some may prefer , " The Fall and Rise of the 3rd Reich". From these books and works produced on the subject matter, an underlying fundamental truth has been scribed for all to accept at the true story of WWII--or more accurately the allied version of WWII. The general public around the world has some knowledge of the story of Hitler and the Nazi's campaign ending with an Allied victory. With this undeniable knowledge granted to us by hindsight understanding the allied victory is often seen as inevitable. The supporting justification for the Allied victory is the notion…

    • 933 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This was the life for many people during the great depression when war had consumed most of all humanity and left the survivors to start over again from scratch. People were left without the basic means of survival, disease and illness took many lives because health care was unaffordable, and even education for children was considered a privilege for only the richer children. Many of the richer people were selfish and locked their doors up tight and employed very few workers at demeaning wages as to fatten their pockets and not have to pay out too much for labor costs. Handouts were almost unheard of among the communities because there was simply…

    • 853 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Using the UK as an example of a wealthy country, increases in wealth over the last 25 years and government interventions have not been able to reverse severe inequalities in income, prosperity and life chances. Those on the margins live in a society characterised by accelerating rates of change and new forms of poverty and deprivation.…

    • 1243 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The aspects of a person’s life are not entirely determined by the circumstances he is born into – his decisions, the actions of others, and luck plays a large role as well. Since people are autonomous, they control how their lives turn out, but everyone’s life prospects are more “deeply shaped by a social structure that he or she did not choose” (page 130). This means that the poor are not entirely at fault for their living conditions; society’s structure may also affect their life outcomes. Not every citizen is granted equal opportunities, so not everyone should have the same social…

    • 867 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The world we live in is constantly unfair and when looking at from its deepest level there is nothing we can do about it. It is a known fact that some people are born better off than others it is a basic sociological concept. Individuals a born and they are dealt a hand of cards, and they’re life is what they make out of it with those cards that they were dealt. Some would say that those who are better off should help those who were not born in a well to do society, but it is not morally…

    • 564 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    For many families in the middle class that's how life starts out; but later in life generations grow up to realize that they need to become part of the working middle class to provide a sufficient lifestyle. Now a days though, it's always about buying the trendiest thing, name brands, and getting a discount for EVERYTHING! Things like that cause for a higher demand of standard living. The social needs…

    • 748 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Moral standards in the United States are much too low. Today, many US residents seem to feel that they shouldn't have to work and that they should just get everything they need or want from the government. People on welfare find that if they get a job, they may only get as much income for their unskilled labor as they received while on welfare. Because of this, they do not have the incentive to work, and they do not try to improve themselves. Then they try to get minimum wage raised, only to find out that everything else gets more expensive as minimum wage gets higher. People who get temporary help for disabilities, can unfortunately find some unscrupulous doctor who will say that the still need aid even after they have are capable of…

    • 364 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Six Myths About The Poor

    • 652 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In today's society, we live where income is important, it can put you in contact with the "right people" and put you in the "right places." America is a capitalist country so money will always be a huge vantage point, and because of this it causes society to look down on the less fortunate and these who are called poor or workin poor. In our sociology book in Chapter eight of page 145; the six myths mentioned are: Myth 1 "The poor are lazy and refuse to work"; Myth 2 "The poor live in inner-cities"; Myth 3 "Most minorities are poor"; Myth 4 "Many poor are single moms"; Myth 5 " Most poor ate…

    • 652 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    When will normal people realize that they do not have the household funds to just go off and spend food or house repair money on frivolities? Many reports are showing that middle and working class people are incurring massive debt because of the reckless spending on big houses, expensive vehicles, and other items that are beyond their budget. There is a stark contrast between the media framing of the upper class to the framing of the lower classes. At best the poor are portrayed as deserving of our sympathy only around the holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas). Around these times, the poor are depicted as people who are just down on their luck, working class families who work really hard but just can’t catch a break. The worst types of depictions of the poor are stereotypical bums, drug addicts and losers who are poor because they deserve it or because of their bad decisions. “Episodic Framing” shows some of the problems of the poor, but does not link it to larger societal problems such as limited educational opportunities, high rates of unemployment, and low paying jobs. The media will keep this status quo of depicting rich people as perfect and poor people as…

    • 1671 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    I am the eldest of three to a school teacher and professional musician turned deli clerk. I grew up on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. Like most of my classmates, I qualified for free or reduced lunch. It is difficult for families to find any house to rent year-round, never mind a safe one. I remember in one house we weren’t allowed to jump, or run for fear the floor collapsing. I had classmates who didn’t have enough to eat; one of my best friends in middle school was a foster child whose mother struggled with addiction. I was among the few who, though poor, was well cared for and loved by my happily married parents. I believe that in a “civilized” society no one should have to struggle for the most basic necessities. At first, I was not…

    • 248 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Robert Reich was an average man who had strong beliefs, and among those beliefs was the belief that to help people was just. His career in law began as a law clerk to a judge, and he eventually worked his way to the position of Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton. All of the time that Reich spent in Clinton’s cabinet was dedicated towards attempting to make his idea’s bear fruit. Although in the book Reich is the Secretary of Labor, he did not start out in this position. He worked his way up from the position of a law clerk, as I have previously stated, to a job that came with some measure of power. Reich attained this place in the government through his own efforts, and by showing that he had ideas suitable to fill in the role of Secretary of Labor. Reich is just one example of an ordinary person with true passion for their beliefs who was able to make a difference in the government. In Reich’s book, he talks about how an average person named Steve Wandner had an idea to reduce unemployment. Reich explains that Steve’s idea was when unemployed people claimed that they were unemployed, that they had to be screened to…

    • 1077 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    People are described as “bad poor” because of their financial position and their failure to overcome it as shown in figure 1. However, that is easier said than done. Children who are born into poverty are already poor and they have no control over that. They have to work very hard with little assistance just to get to the point where a change can be made or an upgrade in class is possible. People of low class are generally regarded as less valuable or even disposable. They are the subject of much ridicule and prosecution due to their financial status. This sort of classification is attempt to be stabilize by welfare and other government money programs, but the taxpayers fund that, so the money is taken back away from them. Income inequality is one of the main causes of social segregation of…

    • 1215 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Growing up poor was important for my intellectual development. I was angry, upset, and humiliated that my parents were (and still are) on welfare. I would go through life hearing people say that poor people are lazy, need to find a job, stop leeching off people who actually work, and so on. The people who typically said these phrases lived in their own ignorant world, without actual regard or compassion for others who aren't so fortunate. Not once did I view unwealthy people as "lazy", in fact, they are one of the hardest workers I have ever seen in my life.…

    • 249 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Some people and families in poverty have to save up in order to pay the next month’s rent, food, and have decent clothing for their own good, while many people who take things for granted are perfectly fine. In Sarah Jae Blake’s article, I never knew what it was like to be poor…, she talks about a friend that is going through poverty and how her friend had to raise up 100 dollars in order to pay the landlord for her family’s rent. She says that “People never seem to care about the poor unless they actually know someone who is poor.” (Blake), stating that people just keep a blind eye to the poor until they see it firsthand themselves. She shows how hard it is for the family to negotiate with the landlord, but she showed no care for this poor family. Being said that people are greedy for money instead of helping the one in need. More than 45 million people in the United States was estimated total in 2014 and continues to grow as the years go on. Some political parties take a small toe dip into the cold parts of poverty and quickly ignore the harsh truth about…

    • 704 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays