In the 1988 science-fiction film They Live, filmmaker John Carpenter addresses and criticizes homelessness among other issues of the times in the United States. Through the movie, John Carpenter immerses his audience into his vision of what the 1980’s American culture is. Political views portrayed mainly come from the disdain Carpenter feels towards Reagan’s policies. He portrays the American people as a naïve people who are consistently deceived by a corrupt social and economic environment. Their abusers are portrayed as aliens who have control over them. Carpenter shows that average American citizens are under governmental control and are taught through subliminal messages such as ‘conform’, ‘obey’, ‘watch television’, ‘marry and reproduce’, …show more content…
His plan of action called for a market that was free and deregulated, rather than government assisted. The budget for pubic housing was cut in half Reagan’s first year in office, and throughout his presidency, he attempted to put a stop to housing assistance entirely. By 1985, there were only 5.6 million low-cost housing units available, while there were nearly 9 million people who needed access to these households. This lead to the homeless legacy of Reagan; the late 1980’s saw a great increase in the number of homeless individuals, many of which were veterans and laid- off workers. (2) On a talk show in 1984, President Reagan tried to defend himself stating, “People who are sleeping on the grates…the homeless…are homeless, you might say, by choice.” This offensive statement of blaming the poor for economic problems only made those who were against him, more outspoken in their ridicule. Economic prosperity was credited to Reagan. However, the growth that occurred mostly benefited those who were already in favorable circumstances. The income gap grew between the classes and poverty rates increased. Cities with rent control, on average, have two and a half times more homeless people as cities without them. This is an example of how governmental control has a negative and severe impact on the people. When rent control is imposed, homelessness increases by 250 percent. Even during a time of 7
During the last decade of the Cold War, President Ronald Reagan presented a battery of economic reforms influenced by supply-side economics. The reforms of 1981 and 1986 lowered the tax rate for individuals and corporates, introduced deregulations and simplified taxation. The belief in the Laffer curve, which claims that deregulation and lower marginal taxes will increase government revenue and economic growth, justified the reforms in addition to neoliberal ideas. Did Reaganomics, the Reagan application of free market capitalism, encourage social mobility and prosperity for all citizens, or did it let the wealthy retain and develop their economic status
(Kaitlyn Miller Disc.) 3. This occurred, while "the income of middle-class families, especially those with a wife who did not work outside the home, stagnated while that of the poorest one-fifth of the population declined". So in other words, Reagan's idea of lowering the taxes for all, was a good idea, but in practice fell short. Instead of economic freedom for all, it was economic freedom for the wealthy.
From a liberal perspective, the Reagan Revolution was insignificant for the United States. For example, Reagan’s plan was to stimulate the economy by introducing the Reaganomics. He lowered tax rates, which left more money for individuals and businesses to spend, save, or invest. President Reagan cut federal taxes by 25 percent over a three-year period, but the economy continued to struggle for two years and the unemployment rate rose. Although, the personal income grew in the 1980s, the income gap between the rich and poor widened. The Reaganomics assisted the rich, but hurt the poor. These tax cuts would raise wealth among the rich and then would “trickle down” to all Americans. The problem with that is that the middle class Americans would have to wait for trickle effect.
As early as 1965 he stated, “What we have found in this country… even in the best of times…is the people who are sleeping on the grates, the homeless, you might say, by choice.” Reagan was also firmly anti-welfare, and believed that homelessness was a choice, that welfare was exploited by ‘lazy bums’. By tarnishing the image of the lower classes in the eyes of the American people he was able to justify the neglect of social
In “The Homeless and Their Children”, author Jonathon Kozol explains how poverty and homelessness can go hand in hand, but he also shows his readers that the government in New York City during the 1980’s did not really attempt to assist those in need. The author shows us how the homeless and illiterate struggled by sharing with us an interview with a young woman called Laura who resided in a massive welfare hotel. Kozol did not find it necessary to write this piece in a persuasive tone, or a compassionate tone, or even an angry tone to get his message across. He did not need to include a multitude of statistics to convince his readers that homelessness, illiteracy, and governmental apathy were issues. As stated in the introductory
He inherited a misery index (the sum of the inflation and unemployment rates) of 19.99%. Under Reaganomics, sixteen million new jobs were created, and helped fuel an economic boom that lasted two decades. At the same time, not only did he cut tax rates, but the Tax Reform Act of 1986 simplified the income-tax code by eliminating many tax shelters, reducing the number of deductions and tax brackets. After years of drowning in unemployment, high taxes, and a slow economy, America was finally looking up. Ultimately, one of the reasons Reagan was the best president was because of his attentive ears for the public.
Poverty can be reduced through economic policies by slashing taxes and regulations, and by reforming the welfare system. High tax rates and excessive regulation have been shown to impede economic growth. By cutting the tax rate and deregulating industries, the economy will boom and poverty will decline. One of the best examples of the effectiveness of these measures can be seen in the Reagan recovery. Two points of Reagan’s four-point economic program were to cut tax rates and deregulation. These, along with the rest of Reagan’s plan, proved to be a huge success in turning the economy around. Peter Ferrara, who served in the White House Office of Policy Development under President Reagan, reports that nearly 20 million new jobs were created during the recovery, which increased civilian employment by almost 20% and reduced unemployment to 5.3% by 1989. Ferrara also reports that the American standard of living increased close to 20% in just seven years, and that the poverty
Within seven years the wealthy had more money, but could also afford to give better pensions and pay raises. He reduced income tax from the top bracket 70% down to 28% spurring growth from the top on down and vice versa. This gave some people who lived in poverty a view that Reagan was indifferent to their struggles. This may have seemed the case but growth did happen, and hopefully those critics found jobs; however, driving to those jobs still pinched the pocket book a bit due to the energy crisis at that time.
“The Reagan Revolution was an effort to scale back the scope of government, lower taxes, and reinvigorate the Cold War.” (Voices of Freedom, pg. 321). He proved that reducing excessive tax rates encourages growth, increases economic activity, and boosts tax revenues. Reagan said, “I believe we, the Americans of today, are ready to act worthy of ourselves, ready to do what must be done to ensure happiness and liberty of ourselves, our children, and our children’s children…of freedom and a beacon of hope for those who do not now have freedom.” (Voice of Freedom, 323) He accomplished and helped the economy tremendously. I truly believe that he made United States of America a better place for us to settle
Last month, the Obama administration released a plan designed to end homelessness in 10 years. The goal reflects new optimism among academics and advocates that homelessness is not an intractable feature of urban life, as it has sometimes seemed, but a problem that can be solved. This belief is fueled by recent research debunking a number of long-standing myths about homelessness in America -- and showing that many of our old policies were unwittingly making the problem worse.
One of the biggest leading social issues around the world is homelessness. In the United States alone, there are more than half a million people experiencing homelessness. There are different factors that led a person to homelessness, economic, social, political issues, and natural disasters. But in the United States, homelessness is often caused by system failure, and people and with related issues. A brief history of homelessness, the issues documented during the early colonial period, back then it was viewed as a character flaw in the person and not outside causes. The Great Depression hits the United States hard and millions lost their jobs result in homelessness. Comes swooping in with the New Deal policy from presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt helps save the economy by providing jobs and helps reduce homeless population (Homelessness). In the early 80’s the economy was losing jobs again due to the decline of manufacturing, causes a high-rise in homelessness. That led to many cutbacks in affordable housing, medical care that makes many mentally ill patients unable to afford housing. With that many Individuals with disabilities or mental health issues that can’t afford proper health can be in danger of homelessness. But for those who are already living on the streets don’t have access to nutrient, personal hygiene, and other serious health conditions. There is some organization across the United States that provides health care service for
People who have low income are all willing to pay their house rent at a reasonable and affordable price, in order to accommodate public’s wishes, the New York City regulated the Rent Control law in 1947. The rent control is originally designed to against the potential increase of house rent, and also protect citizens’ personal property. This is an empirical example of the implement of the price ceiling, which is the maximum price set by the government, any price beyond this price would be considered illegal. (Microeconomics) But after the rent control was enforced, does it really help the public as it was supposed to do? The answer can be either yes or no.
Everyone knows that blondes are dumb. They're always being silly and love having a good time. They don't take life too seriously and are always up for a laugh. They're never ambitious. But hey, at least they're always up for a party. Everyone knows they have more fun.
Violence is also strong and present in Hansel and Gretel. However, unlike in Cinderella, the violence in Hansel and Gretel is not described in details allowing the readers to use their imagination. Indeed, the story begins with a stepmother who forces a father to abandon his children in the forest which is itself already a certain kind of violence. One of the first aspects of horror that the children Hansel and Gretel are faced is the potential of starvation and their consequential exiling by their step-mother: “You know what husband? Tomorrow morning, very early let us take the children…and we’ll be rid of them” (59). The story simply states that there is not enough food for the children at home, so they must fend for themselves in the
Who am I? Where am I going? What is the meaning of life? These three questions are simple, yet when asked, many people are at a loss for words. We live life wandering the plateau, searching for meaning. In fact, we are all walking this Earth oblivious of our fate or place in the world. Ernest Hemingway’s, The Sun Also Rises, offers a glimpse into the lives of the lost generation by displaying the cruelties of love, the differences between France and Spain in Jakes life, and a sense of wandering despite being at either end of the food chain.