Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Oct. 28/29--Reflection on "The Collapse of the Middle Class Report"
After reading through the testimonies of those who are experiencing first-hand the hard economical time our country is experiencing, reflect upon some of the testimonies you read. You can either respond to one or a couple specifically or a more general reflection.
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31 comments:
I believe I can safely say that I fell into the catagory of ignorant middle/upper class Americans. I knew of the existance of the poor, and had done some charity work through my church, but I had not fully realized the difficulties of the lower classes. I saw anyone who lived in dumpsters and begged on the street as poor, but I did not extend that definition to anyone who held a job somewhere. This book helped me realize the difficulties faced by many of these workers, and exposed the underbelly of society, in which prejudice, censorship, and a stripping of rights still occurs.
Seth R., Block 7
One personal account of the effects of the collapse of the middle class that strikes me the most is one from the chief of a small town ambulance service, which is mostly constructed from volunteer workers. The declining economy has caused the numbers of volunteers to decline--suddenly, a survival is the main goal for many Americans who were formerly comfortable enough in their economic lifestyles to spare time to help others. When rising costs of fuel and food make it hazardous to put others above oneself, there is a major problem. America needs to remain a country where men and women are able to lend a hand to one another without upstanding and hardworking citizens having to fret over simply feeding their families.
Lydia Clark-Hargreaves
Block 7
I am on the same page as Seth in saying that I am in the category of ignorant middle and upper class Americans. I never realized the decline of the economy and all of the economic hardships the lower class is going through at this point. Because I am not going through these hardships, I never really payed attention to economic news until I read these articles. The story having the most affect on me was the family who had to decide between feeding their baby or heating their house in the winter. I did not think it would come down to this-- I did not ever think anyone in America would have to choose between their child and warmth. I now understand the emotional consequences of how difficult life can be for the working, lower class, American citizen.
Hillary Simpson
Block 1
Dang, I feel like a copycat...in America. I ALSO believe that I'm one of the ignorant middle class Americans. The hardships faced by the many lower class citizens is really tragic to hear about. What's worse is that I feel I could be doing something to help, but haven't until just this year. The underbelly of society has indeed been exposed, and it's gut wrenching. This book may not have been my favorite...okay maybe not even that...but it did open my eyes to a new world of injustice.
It was informative, to say the least. It was eye openning to say the most.
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On a seperate note, I have been wondering if I should get a new account for this blog. The only problem is that "In Rhetoric!" doesn't have that feel to it as "In America!", plus it would be harder to use effectively!
So was this good? Yes? No? Maybe? Go Away?
Ryan Mattox, Block 1
Having read Nickel and Dimed and now having read the testimonies I still stand as one who is aware to the fullest extents of what poverty. All these things are in no way shape or form are a new concept and I know for a fact I was not ignorant to them. These people are poor, these kind of people are around us every day but do we know it? NO. This is because they don't want us to the poorer society wishes us to see them the same as the upper class so they hide their social status the best they can fitting in and hiding the fact that there is a huge economic issue and poverty problem in this nation.
So as an aside I can understand how people don't understand.
Block 2 Logan Pippitt
I feel the same way as Seth. I never really associated poverty with people who actually had jobs. The stories I read in the report made me realize how carefully these people have to live. It's hard to think that some people had to choose between heating their house or feeding their baby. Living in this country we should not have trouble providing necessary items to our family, such as food and shelter. I guess this book and report made me see how difficult living as part of the working class is.
Kayla Duran
Block 2
What struck me most about all these stories was that people could no longer to afford to pay for heating, gas, and health insurance. These things have been such an integral part of our lives for so long, and our parents pay for them, so we don't really know the troubles others are going through. It was especially saddening to see how people that have gone into retirement are being forced to go back to work to make ends meet. They should be sitting back and finally enjoying life.I guess I haven't really realized how much food prices have gone up, but now that I read about it, my mom has been cutting back a lot on groceries. Babies should also not be getting pneumonia because parents can't pay the heating bills. Something must be done to help save the economy, though I doubt universally free medical service would make that much of a difference in peoples' lives, besides not having to pay for insurance. The freer it becomes, the more the quality will go down because the doctors don't want to work for less. It makes you wonder if anything can be done to save our economy.
Kayle Grossnickle, 7th block
When reading the letters sent, I felt a little ashamed. Here I was complaining about not being able to eat out more than once or so a month, but when I read that some Americans couldn't afford half the time to even eat, I was in shock. I myself had never knew to the extent of the poverty in American. I had thought It was either in rags in the street begging for money or middle class in which I find myself fortunatly at, I didn't know that it unfortunatly was worse. Through these letters, I was able to be more simpathetic to the lower classes, not just assume that it's their fault for being where they are today.
Shelby Stevenson
Block 7
While reading the letters I realized that quite a bit of people were going through such difficulties, i just used to believe there was an equal or stable amount in each social class, apparently not.
Although being ingnornant to the amount of the poor, I don't believe I'm ignorant in what they go through. As I stated in class I believe a lot in power of conviction, since i see my mom work two low wage jobs and still keep 4 kids fed, clothed and sheltered. I guess i still believe that if you work hard and take advantage of opportunities and stay humble great things will happen. And unlike many, I don't see great as bathing in riches but rather as finding a manageable stable life. So work hard, stay smart, humble, and take advantage of any opportunity.
Edgar Suarez 7
It's one thing to hear about our economy collapsing, it is another to read first person accounts. My heart goes out to everyone in this packet; I feel so lucky for what I do have. At the same time, along with making me more aware, these letters make me extremely nervous. I have always wanted to go to a good university and even though I always knew that would be difficult money-wise, it will be even more difficult now the way our economy is declining. I don't want to have to live out of my car. I don't want to have to forego medical treatments because I can't afford them. I don't want to not be able to retire when I'm older. That is simply horrible. People shouldn't have to worry about simple tasks such as these.
Erica Rains
Block 7
I can, in many ways, relate to some of these situations. My mom has been single since I was one years old and my brother six. We have had incidents like this where we cannot eat out because costs are so expensive. We also do not have family "bonding" time where we go out and see a movie because it is almost like " Why waste the gas?" or "Why waste time when we could be working to make money?" I have a great amount of empathy towards these testimonies because some of these accounts, I have lived too. We conserve on what we buy- buying only the necessaries. (milk, eggs, bread, butter, cheese..) My mom also has three jobs which takes a toll on me as well because I hardly see her. I barely see my dad as well because he is ill with cancer and I never have a car to see him because my mom works and needs her car. Some of these accounts are in fact an eye- opener because I did not know that these people were suffering this harsh. I figured that some might not have gone out to eat for a week or something similar to that but these people really do need help. This also gives me a different view of America in the sense that most are sinking surely down to the lower class as opposed to the dissappearing middle class that used to exist.
- Kelsey Lauersdorf, Block 7
I was greatly suprised by these personal letters. One specifically struck me most one woman shares her story but ask to stay anonymous because she lives in a small town and is embarassed about what she going through. Howeve little does she know that so many more are going through the exact same thing. The fact that families are force to skip meals, or go without heating, even come out of retirement to pay for gas to drive is scary. If this is happening now days i hate to think of whet will happen when our age is out living on our own going through this. I mean this is just the beginning! The government needs to fix this it use to be middle class was the status to strive for if not better, but if things keep going this way will soon be looking for the upper of the lower.
Caitlyn Sanner
Block 7
Along with everybody else, i too, can say i belong to the category of ignorant middle and upper class. We take most things we have for granted and don't think that many people have it much worse. I have definitely never associated the many in poverty with the employed until reading our packet. One letter that moved me was the one where the lady had to burn her mother's living room furniture for warmth. That really made me greatful for what i have in my own home because i now know that there are so many others that live life ten times worse than me.
Diamond Davis
Block 1
I completely agree with Erica's worries about the futures. This packet made me realize that in just a few short years I will be out on my own facing the same struggles that the people in this packet are now. With the economy so rapidly declining, how will I ever be able to pay my way through college even if I have my parent's help? The future seems bleak and now I realize that I may not have the future that I want. It seems that now a college degree and a good attitude cannot get you where you want to go. I guess all we can really do at this point is hope for the best and try to help those in worse situations as much as we can.
Hannah Stirnaman
Block 7
From the plethora of testimonies in the packet, the one that I most was taken aback by was one about a woman (or possibly man) that worked 12 to 14 hours a day and was still struggling to live. To work over half of a day is insane to me. Just being in school for a measly 7 hours I can hardly stand. It's awful to think that the chances of people having to live like this, in a world of poverty that has been newly opened up to me, is steadily increasing.
Kelsey Kreiser
Block 7
I could not believe the conditions people are forced to live in because of their inadequate wages. Agreeing with the rest of the class, most of the middle class is unaware of the dire situations flooding the lower class. I would be torn between choosing food for my child or heat for the house. Then there are the ederly who have worked their entire life and retire, only to go back to work to make ends meet. Being a part of the middle class, I relieze that something can and needs to be done. We might complain about how rough we think we have it, but compared to these people in poverty, we got it made.
Ashleigh McDaniel BLK 2
I have seen this type of lifestyle up close and personal. Not that I have gone through it, but i have seen the lives of these people and how they deal with it. A year and a half ago I was on a mission trip with my youth group to San Antonio, TX. We were able to see this type of life to an extreme, even though we live in "prosperous" country. At a soup kitchen, I saw thousands that could not afford to buy their own food and were forced to either starve or eat the meager meals placed before them. In this country, the cost of living keeps rising and the door for those who need to find a comfortable living wage is diminishing. People cannot even afford to drive to work everyday. They have to choose food over electricity, diapers for their babies instead of heating and AC, to suffer instead of get proper medical help or atention, and its becoming a rather sickening subject.
Josh Poindexter, Block 1
I am also in the upper middle class. At my house we live comfortably and we spend money on many things that we do not need. I am spoiled by my parents and I am not afraid to admit it. But yet I still have a job, I work whenever I can and I pay for my own cell phone, my insurance on my car, my tags for my car, my own gas, and anything else I want to buy for myself. I know the value of a dollar. I feel horrible for being so spoiled when people are having to burn their furniture to keep warm while they sleep. It is terrible that the wealthiest country in the world has some of the worst situations of poverty. I wish our country as a whole could do something to help these struggling people. No one should have to live like the people who wrote the letters. It is absolutely heart renching. I feel so terrible.
Aubrey Young
Block 7
Im not proud of it but I can honestly say Im one of the ignorant middle to upper class. I thought I knew what people had to go through to stay afloat or attempt to stay afloat in today's society, reading this packet was at the least a humbling experience. When someone says the word poor I often thought of alcoholics, drug addicts, hobos, or something negative but I now know that to be "poor" is simply being less fortunate, just because a person is "poor" doesnt mean he/she doesnt work as hard and the most apparent example of this is i believe the second or third story where the woman talks about burning her mothers furniture to stay warm in the winter, I'm not sure why this impacted me so much but I cant stop thinking about this woman.
Dylon Cale
Block 7
One of the common struggles that almost all of the articles mentioned was coming up with money for fuel. The most common being gasoline to get to work. These stories do not really surprise me. I work in an agricultural business that pays low wages and I have seen people that struggle to make ends meet. A few of the emails however, were surprisingly extreme. One was the baby that got pneumonia. That is just a terrible situation and those people truly need help. The other story that struck a nerve was the one about the retired 71 year old man that was going back to work to pay his bills. No one should have to come out of retirement. These people are in desperate need of help.
Quincey Johnson
block 1
I have seen the hardships of the crashing economy through some family friends and through my job. The two passages that stood out to me the most are "We have at times had to choose between baby food and heating fuel" and "Not spending those 10 hours at home with my husband and son makes a big difference for all of us..." When reading the first one, I couldn't even imagine haveing to make a decision like that. It's like there is no right answer that will solve the problem. You can either let your baby starve for a day or you can let your baby get pneumonia, which you can't afford to get medicine for. And the second one made me see a side I never really thought of before. When researching this subject you tend to only focus on the hardships on getting a job that will pay for all of your expences, but you never look at how the economy is tearing these family's apart. Time with your family is more important than anything else in the world, but if you don't take that job, you have no world to go to. It is a heartbreaking decision either way you choose to go but unfortunatly these are the kinds of decisions our economy is facing at this moment.
Kiley Ulses
Block 1
Honestly, when I started reading these I thought that maybe I could relate but, I was sorrily mistaken when situations like not being able to afford the gas to seek treatment for things like cancer arose. I realized then that there are many Americans right now who are really struggling. And no one really speaks of it because of shame as well as pride. Though I too can say it would not be easy to admit that I could not provide for my family I feel it is necessary for testimonies like these to be put in public forum and show how really scarce our country has become.
Aubree Smethers - Block 1
I agree with Seth and the others as my family and I have fallen into the ignorant middle class however my family has now fallen even lower then that and even I am being dragged into trying to pay our way through. I can relate with most of these testimonies. The novel, Nickel and Dimed, and these testimonies just reiterate the fact that Americans need to unite together and help those who are less fortunate.
Brenda Saphangthong
Block 1
While reading Nickel and Dimed and the letters from citizens in Vermont, I found myself realizing just how selfish America actually is. As many Hollywood stars that we have roaming the streets with Gucci bags and billion dollar cars, one would assume that they would majorly contribute to help prevent poverty but it doesn't appear as if they are doing much.
Clarissa Johnson
Block 7
10-28-08
Okay, here is my actual resoponse to the articles:
Of all of the letters, despite the desperation and hunger pervading them all, I thought one of the most heart-wrenching was the letter which read: "I am a 71 year old man and have been retired since 2000. With the price of fuel oil I have been forced to go back to work just to heat my home and pay my property taxes." This is the shortest of the letters, and I think it is the example which epitomizes the sentiments found in all of them. The naked desperation and despondancy flows out of the letter, every word filled with exhaustion and a horrible sense of powerlessnes. Imagine toiling your entire life in order to be able to retire properly, and then, being dragged back out of that retirement because you can no longer support yourself. Some might call that the game of life, but it's really a game of death, because what these people are doing is NOT living. It's surviving. They can only survive so long.
Seth Rector, Block 7
It seems everyone is posting blogs about recognizing the lower class, but you all seem to be missing the point. These are not letters from the lower class. These are letters from the Americans who up until very recently have been able to not only get by, but do so quite comfortably.
The middle class is losing a class war brought on by upper-class tax cuts, lowering wages, deregulation of businesses, and the extermination of worker's unions. The reason that everyone thinks it is ignorance is because:
a) Those who it is affecting don't want others to know about it.
and
b) We reside in a state with a low unemployment rate, and in one of the richest counties in the nation.
It is the responsibility of our generation to deal with these issues because the politics of our parents and our grandparents are ineffective and stale. Full out socialist principals adopted by countries like the U.K., Germany and France is the only way to achieve social prosperity and equality.
Though I am not a fan of personal anecdotes I have no problem telling you that my father got a well-paying job with no college education. However, that opportunity will not be availible for me or my generation. This article, like many others, helped reinforce my belief that the only way to succeed in today's America, unlike that of my father, is to graduate with at least a bachelor's degree from a college or university.
Preston Pyle
Block 7
I feel for these people. Some things are just to difficult to rise up from. I know that there is so much our government can do to help these people, but it doesnt. Our country is ran by money and we turn our backs on the ones who fall behind. I knew that this kind of stuff happens. I have thought about how hard it is for people to make it through todays world. I am fortunate enough though to not have to go though that. We as a society, as a country, as a world need to forget about money, about how much something costs and focus on each other. Our greed is what is bringing us under. There is so much we can do. The problem is that very few want to try. Very few want to think about the fact that there are people out there who struggle every day just to be able to eat.So we just look away. We can not face the reality thats happening all around us. So we try hinding it with a lie. We need to do something, if this continues then we will be nothing left in the near future.
Kelly Schadegg
Block 2
I believe now, after reading many of these personal storys, that our country is not in an economically sound situation. The gap between rich and poor is growing and the middle classs is slowley but surley being destroyed. Even those who work two jobs and are single can barely aford the basics of living. How is it possible then for a family to survive whose parents didn't go to college and make $8.00 an hour or less. Its not. People are trying to get ahead anyway they can because if they don't they cannot survive. Another thought, people just did not get to their situation because of coincidence. They had to have made errors in their ways. I understand accidents happpen but for example a kid at our school who has no drive, no ambition. He starts smoking drugs or whatever.Or a girl who partys and gets pregnant. Life becomes hard for these peole because of the choices they made. My parents went to highschool, did well and didn't get in trouble. Then they went to college and paid for it with loans and scholarships. After all that work it still wasn't easy and it still isn't but they made a life for themselves through hard work and determination. This determination, drive, and ambition is lacking in our society. People don't understand that they must work hard and make good decisions to have a decent life. People just expect things to happen. This is what is destroying our economy.
David Gardiner
2nd block
i can say from expierence that it is very dificult to live in this tme in America. The things the government do they could try alot harder in what they do. i feel for the people in the book because it very hard to judge wether you should drive that extra mile to get some where or rather than eating a good portion meal.
Justin Edwards Block # 2
The stories really opened my eyes to true hopelessness.
Right now I have a single mom who works for about $20 an hour at Quintiles and has a part-time job at the Overland Park Police Department for about $12 an hour. We can barely pay to get the gas turned on. We are two months behind on our house payment. We are often forced to eat spaghetti, chili, Ramen noodles, or sandwiches several days in a row. If I wanted a car I would have to pay for the car, gas, and the insurance all by myself. I can't get a job because I would have no way to get there. I actually walked home while it was snowing because I had no other way to get home. I live almost a mile away. I will also have a new brother in March.
Through all of this I call myself lucky. I am able to sleep in a bed and fall asleep without chills and a growling stomach. I get to live in a house and I can plan a better future. It is hard to be cold, but it must be hard to not have the option unless you starve your child.
I can't see how anyone can go without being able to see a doctor even in the worst conditions. If we can barely survive on $20 an hour then how can you live off less? I thought life was hard, but I can't imagine what it must be like to live as some of those people do.
Chris Hohman
Block 2
What tends to worry me the most personally is the fact that the poorer, homeless, and jobless people haven't been recognized until our country's crisis mode. We have hit the panic button for life and just now we are going around asking poverty striken people how in the world they are managing to live every day. I, too have not really payed attention to anyone but those of my kind...the upper middle class. I did not take time to realize the country's state of despair. It is kind of a cliche thing to do, to donate, but also it really does truly help. These poor citizens of America really do use everything that they recieve.
Callie Naegele
Block 2
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