The Looming Shadow If life could be solved on “good” intentions alone then the government would be revered as a miracle worker, unfortunately in reality good intentions are often followed by those who would seek to profit from them Across American history this trait is a pattern that has repeated itself numerous of times, from the past century alone good intentions created the great depression and the savings and Loans collapse. Most recently the new good intention became low-income families, and from it blossomed a thorny rose of a new standard of business ethics. The intention of assisting low-income families started becoming more prevalent under Bill Clinton’s administration, and can traced to 1992 with the creation of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO). In time, from administration to administration while people either looked away or got paid under the table the remaining ethics of every the American industry vanished, leaving in its wake a crisis which even today remains as a shadow on the minds of all Americans. A shadow greater than the one created by the explosion of the USS Maine in the harbor of Havana, or even the darkness on the day of Pearl Harbor. The reason the shadow remains is because of that very vanishing ethics, which had created it under the guise of good intentions starting with OFHEO. In 1992 the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act was passed, which was responsible for the creation of the OFHEO
Political forces, which are controlled by the government, can majorly influence and change the way people live their life. From the Federal Housing Administration, which enabled citizens to become homeowners by underwriting mortgages, to the Interstate Highway Act, that change the route of expressways, political forces can dramatically change the way a city runs and functions. Wilson (2011) states, “In short, public housing became a federally funded institution that isolated families by race and class, resulting in high concentrations of poor black families in inner-city ghettos” (pg. 14). Wilson describes political forces as
Federal Government has the ability to create positive change in many social welfare systems. The support of the government ultimately determines the success of a social welfare program. They play an important role in the decisions of how funds are allocated and the importance of these various vulnerable populations. The federal government is used as a tool, to help implement and support social welfare programs. However, from my own opinion, it is sometimes lacking in the proper support needed in many aspects. This is caused by a plethora of reasons, not to say that the government is completely unsupportive. Yet, there may be a gap in the perception of these social issues. The government puts in place laws, regulations, system structures, and so on. Therefore, because the government are the implementers of how our country is ran, it is their responsibility to be a main facets in the support of the gaps that inevitably occur. Nonetheless, it can be difficult to understand the needs of these population’s and the reality of their hardships. Most in a position of power, such as the federal government, have not experienced the severity of the many situations, that results in individuals needing assistance from these social welfare programs. Moreover, it is essential that there is outreach to these populations. All the same, getting a more realistic view of the life in these contexts. For instance, the time cap of being on assistance throughout one’s
The basic communication concepts can be utilized in everyday conversation and can be seen in different forms of media, such as television and film. In this paper, the 1962 version of The Miracle Worker is discussed and analyzed in terms of these communication topics and I will discuss how our communications class made me see this movie differently. In the movie, the concepts regarding conflict, perception, non-verbal communication, and paralanguage make up the majority of the film’s plotline. Each one of these principles will be discussed in a paragraph and I will discuss how the concept was represented in the film.
It was estimated that if the corporate welfare dollars were distributed to the poorest 10% of United States families, homes would receive an additional $47,000 dollars annually (Huff, 1993). Another concept that resonated with me what the government spending for corporate welfare in the 80’s. There was a great deal of spending even in the 80’s to various expenditures and subsidized services, there was 181 billion dollars spent (Huff, 1993). It was shocking to think of how much was spent and where the cuts were made. It seems there are some type of flaws and changed that could have been made to make a difference in this gap. The concepts will contribute to my practice because I now know how far these issues date back and where the problems in the system
The respected political scientist James Q. Wilson summarized this political reality in a single sentence: "Telling people who want clean air, a safe environment, fewer drug dealers, a decent retirement, and protection against catastrophic medical bills that the government ought not to do these things is wishful or suicidal politics." Along with Wilson, Arthur Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute, recently noted that the "government social safety net for the truly indigent is one of the greatest achievements of our society....We have to declare peace on the safety net.”-(National Summit Video) Providing such services and securing that safety net does not mean accepting the technocratic mindset of the liberal welfare state. It means replacing that mindset with a conservative approach that puts government on the side of civil society and private enterprise in order to achieve a more just and thriving
It is easy to pass laws to help those in America financially. Many factors shown in “The Glass Castle,” and our text books touch on subjects, such as; homelessness, child neglect, alcoholism, physical abuse and sexual abuse. America has among thousands and thousands of homeless citizens. Currently, in New York
Although most American citizens do not typically notice government programs in their daily lives, implemented policies have major effects on American citizens. It is estimated that around 1.35 million children suffer from homelessness due to their families living on the streets (Crook). With this massive housing conundrum, the United States government should increase funding for the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. Increased funding would decrease homelessness by lowering the crime rate, educating students, and improving American living conditions.
During the 1960’s the unemployment, and poverty rate in America increased to a new high. Not only were Americans starving for jobs and finances, but, minorities were not being given equal rights by the government. The government saw what was going on, and in order to appease potential voters for the election, president Lynden B. Johnson created, “The Great Society”, an ordinance created by the government to solve the problems of financial discomfort that had plagued America in to open new opportunities for Americans of different ethnic groups. However, the Great Society was not a hit with many conservatives, and did not fully protect people from the harsh effects of poverty, and hardships. Even though the Great Society started great concepts to create equal opportunity in reducing the amount of impoverished people in the United States, the Great Society failed because of its lack of federal involvement in programs that were created
The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act was originally written in the 1987 to address the increasing epidemic of homelessness in the United States. During earlier years of the 1980’s, homelessness was not seen by the Regan Administration as a problem that needed federal intervention (NHC). Instead, in 1983 the Regan Administration created the first task force to provide information to local communities on how to acquire excess federal property. This did not address homelessness through programmatic or policy actions (NHC). The population was still left with little to no resources or support from the government and the problem continued. In the preceding years, advocates around the United States demanded that the federal government needed to address the widespread problem of homelessness in the country. This lead to the making of the Homeless Person’s Survival Act and it was introduced to both houses of Congress in 1986. “This act contained emergency relief measures, preventive measures, and long-term solutions to homelessness” (NHC). However, only a small part of the act was ratified into law and there was a need for emergency measures to
The 1870’s-90’s in the United States was a period of rapid industrial, population, and city growth. Dubbed “the Gilded Age” by Mark Twain, this era of growth also brought on new, unprecedented problems. Unhealthy living and working conditions and corruption were rampant and immigrants settled in cities that were unequipped to deal with them. Under bossism, the dominant political system of the day, one political giant controlled much of the cities they were the “boss” of. These bosses only solved problems when they could see how it would keep them in power and relied on the vulnerable poor and immigrants to make up much of their base. They learned to appease them, but never to actually solve their problems.
In any fundamental American history class we have learned about the great depression and the impact it had on many families struggling to survive it. What is often overlooked however is the lack of government support. It is a shock to also learn about the different types of racism and discrimination that the social workers had to combat while working during the great depression, and also some of the social themes during the great depression are still present in modern society. During the 1920’s there was a negative stigma around accepting public assistance: “the belief that public assistance would demoralize and enslave its recipients while private charity would not- that somehow private was democratic and public undemocratic…”
Throughout history, there have always been people willing to work for what they want, and those who expect things to be handed to them as if it was a natural-born right. While the welfare system does positively impact some families in need, many people take advantage of it. With this being a well known fact, the government still continues to use ten percent of the federal budget on welfare (“Budget” 1).
Page 1 Child Growth and Development: "Life's Greatest Miracle" Paragraph In the video Life's Greatest Miracle, I was informed about how children are conceived, how they develop in the mothers body, and how amazing child birth can be. In the beginning it takes you through the steps of how sperm travels as for looking for an egg to fertilize. Although, in just one teaspoon of sperm there can be over 300 million sperm cells, only around 40% of them are usable. The other 60% can be deformed such as having two tales. The sperm can reach the Fallopian tube within 30 minutes, but it can be a 2 day swim just for sperm to reach an accepting egg. After the sperm that was strong enough to make it through the rough travel have met up with an egg, they
What is heroism? Things preformed Superman, Batman, or The Flash? This is what most people think about when they hear the word hero or heroism. Although these characters show heroism, the definition of heroism does not have to be narrowed to the stereotypical hero. Many people have different concepts on heroism. A hero can be a ordinary person like a firefighter or cop. Heroism is a attribute that a person can obtain but they have to choose actions that help others like a fearless firefighter or cop helping others. Heroism also does not call for a reward for being heroic. Heroism is a quality or an act in all of us that a person uses to benefit for the good of other people even if there is a risk.
The foreclosed houses purchased by the federal government could be put to use as temporarily house the increasing number of homeless families in America. Families in need could stay in the houses for three month periods without making rent or mortgage payments. The award-winning news show, NOW on PBS, explored a similar tactic used by a nonprofit organization called Take Back The Land in Miami, Florida.3 The installation of the families into the homes was considered illegal and was often met with opposition from local law enforcement. If the homes were purchased by the federal government for the purpose of temporary housing, then the families would not have to worry about being evicted by the police and becoming homeless