When Work Disappears By William Julius Wilson: Article Analysis

As the future approaches, automation and technology are quickly evolving and diminishing the amount of jobs available for Americans. American work-life has evolved drastically over the years. Certain jobs are being replaced by drones and robots, leaving many Americans unemployed. It has caused a slight shift in how we work. However, the continuation of work is still alive. In the article “A World Without Work,” (2015) the author Derek Thompson expresses how people are losing their jobs. Nevertheless, they’re using their hobbies and talents to generate money. Someone might sell their poetry and written work when they have lost their job generating income while also fostering creativity. President Nixon’s “Address to The Nation on Labor

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that as of 2015, 100% of married couples had at least one family member employed, including 19.4% of married-couple families had no one working. In 36% of that 100, the man was employed in that relationship. The possible reason why so many Americans aren’t working could be due to the fact that the way money is distributed in America isn’t what the people think it is, and it isn’t even close to the ideal. Uneven distribution of wealth is the cause of poverty is the United States, and here’s why.

Specifically, white efficiency expert Dwight Thompson Farnham said, “A certain amount of segregation is necessary at times to preserve the peace” (Doc. 3). This reveals how despite the popular belief in the south, the north also had segregation and racism prevalent. To further support this idea that segregation was still prevalent in the North is Document 7. Specifically, the black population grows over time, but the blacks scattering throughout the city does not change at the same rate. Even though black population is growing, they still are in a part of town they is predominately black only (Doc. 7). Next, a white-owned newspaper discusses the topic of the poor quality of life for Negros in the north: “…the decent, hand-working, law-abiding Mississippi Negros who were lured to Chicago by the ball of higher wages, only to lose their jobs, or forced to accept lower pay after the labor shortage because less acute” (Doc. 4). This reveals how African Americans did not have jobs where they had sustainable income, appreciation, and reasonable hours, which was the complete opposite of what they expected. In all, from the perspective of white men in the north, white men believed that black men should be separated and be working in poor and unbearable conditions. The black individuals had an ideal picture of life in the north, but the white men clearly explain the difference between expectations and

Together, they made around $83,000 and had around $90,000 in assets which placed them solidly in the middle class. Twelve years later, Allison and David experienced setbacks but increased their income to about $125,000. Their financial assets quadrupled to a whopping $368,000 and saved up thousands of dollars for retirement. However, with the economy downsizing on the heels of the Great Recession and uneven job recovery heavily tilted toward low-wage jobs, David joined millions of other Americans in unemployment. Having spent half a year unemployed, David returned to work working at a significantly lower wage. Over the course of 12 years, David witnessed how work became less stable and more contingent for many Americans. The working experience illustrates a larger transformation in America’s employment landscape, away from middle-class jobs and jobs with significant benefits toward low-paying jobs with few benefits, accelerated by the Great Recession.

The lives of the American society is concentrated on working to live and spend money, under a capitalist system that are

The United States is one of the wealthiest nations in the world. Despite the high levels of affluence there are still millions of Americans that do not share this wealth. The deprivation of the basic necessities affects the quality of people’s lives. Unemployment comes in several forms and affects millions of people at any given time. People often find themselves out of a job because of the economy. Sometimes people have a job but the job that they are working is no longer thriving like they once was before.

There are many families out there who are currently struggling to make ends meet. Regardless of their hard work and commitment, the economy will not take pity. I wish I could say that it was not always like this. Unfortunately, no real change has taken place within the past few years. It may not be as difficult as the time of the Great Depression, but who’s to say that we have recovered from it? My claim is supported by Barbara Ehrenreich, an American author, who published a novel called Nickel and Dimed which digs deep into the economic situation in the early 90’s. Ehrenreich decided to run an experiment becoming a blue collar worker to see if she can manage to make a living on low wages. She later blogs of Nickel and Dimed in 2011 to see

He gives distinct, realistic examples of the extent of segregation: “Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States. It's ugly record of police brutality is known in every section of the country”(para 3). By stating that “Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States”, it proves to the reader that because of this, African Americans are being mistreated. He also exclaims: “It's unjust treatment of Negroes in the court is a notorious reality. There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than in any city in this nation”(para 3).

Gentrification in Detroit, with whites beginning to move in and occupy areas that have been previously inhabited by blacks is gaining momentum, with a cheerleading media and political elites leading the way with tax breaks for corporations, new residents who are predominately white and economically middle to upper class, and a heavy police presence. All of the above factor are manifestations of a political climate in the United States of Republican led initiatives of austerity programs. Spurred on by the idea of privatization, and the Free Market economic policy of corporations having the freedom to influence and control the resources of Public institutions and politics, further eroding the opportunities for the average person, which is magnified in the Black community with disastrous results. Juxtaposed with the majority of the city, where, blight, unemployment, closing of schools, crime are all remnants of a once great city are evident to anyone that courageously visits these

Many said racism will cease after the 1960s, but we are living in the 21st century and yes people are still racist to all the ones that are not their "same kind". He mentions the opportunity of more diverse schools, for me that was just like, " Are you Kidding Me?" I attend a very diverse college where I have had Asian, White, African Americans, Jewish, Hispanics, and Arab classmates, and he comes to that bullet point when we have that already in society and we still have discrimination and racism. If a school isn't diverse enough we should the parents why their children don’t attend a school that has a lot of African Americans and Latinos, but private schools tend to be a better choice. Sometimes even teachers have discriminatory comments towards their students and you don’t need to be Einstein to read that between lines. Then he goes on mentioning an example that it would improve public transportation by connecting the "creative class" with working class. That sentence was like humm….

In the U.S., the primary source of income comes from jobs. However, people are unable to find jobs because businesses are outsourcing unskilled labor to developing countries since workers there are willing to be paid less than the average American worker. This creates problems for people who are trying to look for jobs because many lack the skills to function in a job that requires skill and will remain jobless until they find unskilled labor jobs. Since the Recession, working class families who had lost their jobs are struggling to survive due to the little job availability (Heritage Foundation, 2011). Because the majority of working class families are suffering from prolonged

I the article Race the Power of an Illusion, Dalton Conley says, “the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s really marks both an opportunity and a new danger in terms of racial relations in America. On the one hand, the Civil Rights era officially ended inequality of opportunity. It officially ended de jure legal inequality, so it was no longer legal for employers, for landlords, or for any public institution or accommodations to discriminate based on race. At the same time, those civil rights triumphs did nothing to address the underlying economic and social inequalities that had already been in place because of hundreds of years of inequality.” (Conley pp 1). What goes on in the American ghetto is not as glamorous as Hollywood makes it out to be now, this film does a great job at depicting what life in the ghetto for black teens is really like. The ghettos in America are full of broken culture that is left behind from centuries of oppression by the white man. Most teens like those in the movie never make it out of their neighborhoods alive. Thousands of kids die every years from gang on gang violence, damaging all chances of them escaping the ghetto and making something of themselves. Death, gangs, and drugs is the more common way that young people are left with to deal with a life of poverty and survival that seems to have no escape.

During the Great Depression, the stock market had crashed horribly and the country was in financial crisis at the time. Many people, were out looking for jobs to help their country. Most importantly, what got the country back on its feet was the fact that many people went from the status of being unemployed to employed. But now it seems like America is having a minor unemployment crisis that is not as major as the Great Depression, but one that should definitely not be overlooked. Strangely enough, this crisis has become extremely controversial on how to properly correct the situation. Seeing as the rates of unemployment only seems to increase, the question of forcing citizens to work is an alternative solution. Moreover, the unemployment crisis

Every American dreams of finding a job that pays well enough so that they may comfortably take care of their loved ones and themselves for years to come. Most Americans hope to find some way to make a living that they enjoy, something that they view as productive. Unfortunately, many do not have this luxury. In our society, a good portion of the population is forced to hold the base of our country in place while hardly being redeemed for their time and effort, and thus the problem of income inequality. Numbers of these people live from paycheck to paycheck, barely getting by, not because they manage their money poorly, but because the value of their time at work is negligible.

Americans believe that inner city residents, mainly African Americans, struggle to survive and choose violence and crime intentionally, and that they are lazy and unmotivated to improve their lifestyle. However, William Julius Wilson, writer of When Work Disappears, disagrees with these thoughts, and he believes that results of joblessness have caused the violent behavior and the poverty in inner cities. Wilson states,”Many of today’s problems in the inner-city neighborhoods—crime, family dissolution, welfare—are fundamentally a consequence of the disappearance of work.” He also explains how this problem will cause “lasting and harmful consequences” if it is not addressed. He also believes that there are practical