...Summary of American Ways In chapter 9 of the book American Ways, the author provides a thorough analysis detailing the manner in which the American educational system works. The author starts by emphasizing the importance that is attached to education. The American society is shown to have different classes either in the lower stratus, the middle class or in the upper class. However, it is through education that everyone is provided with an opportunity to prosper and become whatever they desire. Established in 1825, the American public school system operates under the principle of equal opportunities for all Americans regardless of their social and economic background. The author also adds that the public system is funded through tax papers money. Despite the existence of the public school system which is shown to be very efficiency and accommodates a majority of the American population, there are other types of schools which are ether run by religious organizations or by private entities that target the upper class. Althen, Doran, and Szmania (276) say, “In spite of these dangers, public education is likely to remain one of the most important institutions in American society. Although it has many flaws, no acceptable substitute for it has yet been found”. Financial success is a great motivator for most students and American students are not an exception. This is emphasized in the book which explains that Americans have the desire to be financially successful and one of the...
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...that is vastly different than the America of today. Essentially, the authors premise is that the American laissez-faire capitalist system along with a “winner take all” mentality produces a culture where Americans are trying to ‘cheat’ – or take advantage of – each other for financial and societal gain. According to the author, this behavior is often observed by the upper class “screwing over” the lower class – however, it can occur between members of the same economic class. You can apply this concept to sports as well. For instance, many baseball players use steroids to become stronger and thus perform better. If you elected not to take steroids, you would do it at the expense of not being as good as another player, and could lose the potential to make as much money as the player who chooses to cheat with steroids. The average American seems to have a self-serving inclination to compare themselves to others, along with a desire to be relatively more successful financially and socially than the individuals that encompass their social circles. These are the attitudes that drive the income inequality and cause us to “cheat” others in order to get ahead. What has allowed this economic inequality to exist is due to a myriad of factors. Since the late 1970’s, globalization and technology have reduced the amount of pay for jobs that at one time could easily support a middle-class family. They have not necessarily...
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...The American Capitalist System: All for One or One for All? The American capitalist system goes to show that you can be successful, if you’re wise enough to manipulate the system. Once this condition exists, the freedom to choose a profession and the freedom to determine socio-economic class exist. Workers’ wages are too low to support the average middle class family, the minimum wage being approximately 7 dollars and change in New Jersey. In addition, corporations ultimately force workers to veer towards giving more money in order to supply for public assistance programs, like Medicaid and food stamps, thereby increasing personal profit since the company is then dependent on the public and outside resources. Also, with intense costs of living, any freedom to determine socio-economic class is slowly brought down. Although capitalism paves the path for a freedom to choose the way in which money is earned, the money-sucking policies associated with it prove to hurt the majority of Americans in today’s society. On paper, the American capitalist system does allow for an independently chosen career, however, is this system as ideal as it seems? Although the freedom to choose one’s method of income exists, many people in the middle class are still limited to few options when it comes to jobs. These limitations may be due to lack of a college degree, or it may be a result of a lack of job availability. On the educational side of job searching, it is a fact that the higher paying jobs...
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...American Airlines 1992 Value Pricing Strategy Evaluate American’s 1992 announcement of a new rate structure: a. What changes did American make? To replace the old domestic air-fare system with 16 different prices, discounts, and restrictions that are constantly changing, American made four key changes to its fares. 1. Instead of 16 different prices, American simplified its pricing structure to include only 4 kinds of fares: a first-class fare, a coach fare that can be bought anytime before flight time (full-fare), 21-day advance-purchase fare, and 7-day advance-purchase fare. The new fare structure was expected to reduce administrative labor costs related to managing different fares by $25 million annually. The change was also expected to reduce coach fares by 38% on average and first-class fares by 20% to 50%, while the cuts in discount rates were smaller. American believed that the fare cuts will produce an increase in travel (number of air tickets sold) which would not only cover but also exceed the reductions in prices per ticket. American anticipated the new system will eventually increase annual revenue by as much as $350 million. 2. Unlike the old fare system which did not allow refunds or reschedule, passengers who buy advance-purchase tickets under the new system will have the option to reschedule their flights if their travel plans change by paying a $25 processing fee. First-class and coach tickets are refund-able, which stays the same from the old system...
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...CHALLENGE WE NEED TO RESOLVE 16. Because of the enormous cost of the average civil trial, the average middle class American no longer has access to our justice system. That is to say, unless you have a personal injury claim, in which case you might be able to hire a lawyer on a contingency-fee basis, you cannot afford the thirty to forty thousand dollars that it could easily cost in legal fees to take your case to court. Once the middle class finally figure out that it has lost almost all access to our justice system, is will stop supporting that justice system and our government. How do we make legal services, and the right to a court trial affordable for the middle class, and restore the middle class’s access to our legal system, before it is too late to save entire system? Most Americans would say trials are essential for American society because it has a functional role in keeping the society stable, and if the trial system were to collapse, the society would be full of crime. However, there is a question whether a trial is really for every citizen or just for the rich in America. I’ll show first how expensive to sue someone or a company, and then, suggest that the American government should make the cost to sue much lower, and, at the same time, the American law system should quit the pay-per-success model. The process of taking a case through the civil court system costs us a lot. The breakdown of the costs is below according to AllLaw.com. First, you have to pay legal...
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...in the society. Different forms of social inequalities are constructs of geographical distribution, and status within the country, however, cultural aspects, mostly integrated with cultural identities, of society are perceived to be the major contributor of social inequality. Discourses have, therefore, been raised on whether the poor deserve to be poor or not and whether the rich deserve to be rich or not. In order to address this question, I examined different dimensions of social inequalities in my life such as social class, educational level, and race among other factors. In this paper, I will also try to bring out understanding of different theories in attempt to explain social stratification. A comparison will be done between different perspectives through interviews and my own perspective of social inequalities. In essence all factors discussed in this paper show a link between social inequalities and different factors such as economic and political system. Trends such as widening inequalities among the groups are associated with low standards of national cohesion and patriotism in the society. It is for these reasons that the patterns of social inequalities need to be understood from an individual perspectives. The society I live in has become more complex with different changes from different regions. Such changes have categorized people by giving them a high or low...
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...The flexibility of the American education system is its greatest strength and weaknesses. Students can choose among a host of courses . This means they can change their major midway through college. This usually means that students in the US receive more exposure to a variety of subjects and, are more aware of their career options and opportunities. However, the downside is that they can avoid taking courses which are hard. On analyzing the root of the problem, the general problem with the American education system is that it is designed so as not to hurt the self-esteem of any kid in class. So, the system is designed in such a way that nearly everyone can pass the high-school level.This leads to lowering the standards at the high school, in turn leading to lowering the standards for subsequent college programs However, the flip side of the coin is that the Indian education and social systems are very hard on kids and completely ignore their feelings, opinions , ambitions.The preferred choice of learning is memorizing facts. These facts do help in the long run.However, the memorization approach to study does not allow and teach kids to think independently.The American school system lays stress on individual ability development , encourages kids to express themselves ,their opinions from an early age.As a result, most Americans are way better at getting their point across as compared to people from other countries. However, again,the downside of this is that students in the...
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...CJA 483 criminal justice system ( A+Material ) Get Tutorial by Clicking on the link below or Copy Paste Link in Your Browser https://hwguiders.com/downloads/cja-483-criminal-justice-system-amaterial/ For More Courses and Exams use this form ( http://hwguiders.com/contact-us/ ) Feel Free to Search your Class through Our Product Categories or From Our Search Bar (http://hwguiders.com/ ) CJA 483 Choose a component of the criminal justice system: police operations, court systems, or corrections. Write a 700- to 1,050-word paper that answers the following questions: a.What is your definition of justice as related to the component you selected. b.What are three current practices of the component selected that demonstrate the successful achievement of your definition c.What do you see as the three biggest challenges in the next 10 years for the component. Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines. Abstract Jenkins (2011) contends that Americans have increasingly turned toward the American court system as a matter of redress and protection (p. 1). Seeking justice from a dualistic entity charged with fairness, interpreting and honoring the law, ensuring retribution is granted when warranted and protection from abuses of authority and/or due process is maintained in accordance with the Constitution and federal and state statutes, the court system balance these dualistic duties and obligations to society and the government (p. 1, 2). Since September 11...
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...levels in the Americans economy. The author is concerned about the increasing gap between the filthy rich Americans and the middle-class citizens who are the majority with the capacity to promote economic growth in the American economy. In his works, Reich expresses his sentiment over wealth concentration of the bigger part of the economy in a few hands. He argues that the disparity is the sole reason as to why the American economy is experiencing a recession and not the 1980 crisis. Statistics show that the period between 1930 and 1990 the total income was more distributed equally between the different classes of people. By then the top one percent richest people own below nineteen percent of the overall economy income. Since then the gap between the rich has continued to widen with the top one percent owning more than 23% of the total revenue. The great depression experienced between 1913 and 1928 saw a drastic increase in private credit and clash of the Dow Jones stock index. With time, the American experienced significant recession up to the period between 1947 and late 1970s when rage flattened. At that time for many Americans to survive they drew down savings, more women joined the workforce, and many people worked for long hours. Repair the broken bargain Robert Reich, therefore, recommends rectification of the broken basic bargain as his first idea. He suggests progressive tax rate to boost the bargaining power of the middle-class workers. The middle class is the frequent...
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...accomplish the so called “American Dream”? Some have been able to accomplish this dream, but many still struggle and continue to work non stop in order to reach a dream that is almost impossible to achieve. The United States of America, “the land of the free and opportunities”, hasn’t really been the land of the free, with opportunities for all. During my 7 week summer course, I was able to have a better and deep understanding of how the United States is structured to benefit a certain group while denying others opportunities. How those in power acquired their power, work to maintain it through inequality, how these inequalities can a lot of times be correlated, and how can we work together to make a difference. In order to understand inequality we must first identify what are the factors that contribute in creating it. Social class, which can define one’s position in society, contributes to a form of conflict. Social class divisions have always played a prominent role in America. These class distinctions inflict unfair on all Americans. The idea of social class has been a central concept in determining the opportunities a person is capable of having. People from different socioeconomic backgrounds live different lifestyles as well as have different opportunities available to them. The film People Like Us: Social Class in America, discusses the class system, social stratification based on both birth and individual achievement, which the American people use to define...
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...1. Perspective/lens 2. Shape the nature of political system 3. Cement An ideology is a more or less coherent set of ideas that provides the basis for organized political actions, whether this is intended to preserve, modify or overthrow the existing system of power. All ideologies therefore have the following features. They : A . offer an account of the existing order,usually in the form of a 'world view' B . advance a model of a desired future, a version of the 'good society' C . explain how political change can and should be brought about – how to get from a to b be able to explain the marxist concept of ideology p.6: First, ideology is about delusion and mystification: it perpetrates a false or mistaken view of the word, what Engels later referred to as 'false consciousness'. Second, ideology is linked to the class system. Marx believed that the distortion implicit in ideology stems from the fact that it reflects the interests and perspective on society of the ruling class. The ruling class is unwilling to recognize itself as an oppressor and, equally, is anxious to reconcile the oppressed to their oppression. Liberalism, which portrays rights that can only be exercised by the propertied and privileged as universal entitlements, is therefore the classic example of ideology. Third, ideology is a manifestation of power. In concealing the contradictions upon which capitalism, in common with all class societies, is based, ideology serves to hide from the exploited...
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...CAN THE MIDDLE CLASS BE SAVED? ANDREW NELSON MGMT 6400 PROFESSOR R. BING JUNE 14, 2014 CRITICAL ANALYSIS-ACADEMIC LITERATURE The severe economic downturn known as the Great Recession of 2008, has spurred the hastening of the challenges of the middle class in America. It has also highlighted the deepening chasm between the mass populace and the income elite. The resultant course has carved out significant consequences and changes that have widened the gap. The critical question is: what can we do to bridge that gap? According to research by a Citigroup a team of analysts in 2005, it was reported that the average U.S. consumer had essentially retreated relative to the patterns of growth for the U.S. economy. The 2005 report clearly outlined that America was composed of two disparate groups. Simply put, the two groups are the wealthy and everybody else. From an investment standpoint it was further noted that the rich were really the only group that mattered, and that everybody else had very little impact in terms of involvement with investment capital. From an analytical standpoint, the spending habits and savings rates of the second group had little to no impact because all of the influential factors for the American economy were coming from the top. In other words, the wealthiest 1% of households earn as much each year as the bottom 60% put together. Furthermore in terms of wealth, the top 1% possessed as much wealth as the bottom 90%...
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...Our Liberty, and Our Democracy, by Gar Alperovitz claim’s that our political/economic system can no longer sustain equality liberty, and democracy to the American working class. Alperovitz argues that a radical change to our political-economic system is needed. He also believes that it is at the lower or grassroots level that this change has to take place, but that it is going to take some time and a lot of commitment on their part. An analysis of Alperovitz’s book America Beyond Capitalism provides a unique but radical perspective on overhauling our political/economical system. However, his perspective depends on the American working class people to create a new political/economic system in order to restore equality, liberty, and democracy. This idea is plausible, but reducing the federal government down to the city and state level is highly unlikely. Alperovitz claims that our political/economic system can no longer sustain our equality, liberty, and democracy for working class Americans. Alperovitz’s first argument is on equality. His concern is that globalization, changing technologies, and sectoral balances are creating a widening gap of inequality. The decline of labor unions has enabled the corporations to lead a number of campaigns that have challenged redistribution programs. Globalization has increased the influence of large corporations over our economical and political system because they have the option to take their business elsewhere. This increases the corporations...
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...In his article the The Myth of The Working Poor, Steven Malanga analyzes the United States economic system and tries to prove that despite the claims of journalists such as Barbara Ehrenreich, the system is not set up against the lower class or built to make it harder for them. His accusatory tone and diction paint Ehrenreich as an enemy of the middle class, whose illogical and emotionally based arguments are not supported by facts. His logos combines with his tone and diction to appeal to middle class Americans who are tired of being portrayed as the enemy. All of these strategies come together to paint Malanga as a friend of the middle class, and Ehrenreich as the ultimate enemy. Malanga uses logos and a specific tone to purposely paint Ehrenreich as the enemy of the middle class, which he believes ultimately makes her argument biased and invalid. Throughout the article, Malanga uses very harsh diction to describe Ehrenreich. He paints her as a “socialist and radical feminist.” This line ultimately appeals to the reader's brain and tries to convince the reader that Ehrenreich is not a reliable source, and thus her arguments are invalid. Ehrenreich’s supposed “rage toward middle-class Americans” makes her someone who Malanga says must be viewed as an...
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...Business Case Study: American Airlines 1. Perform a five-forces analysis of the US airline industry focusing on entry barriers and pricing rivalry Threat of new entrants: Though it might appear to be hard to get into, entry into the airline industry depends on whether there are substantial costs to access banks and credit. If borrowing rates are cheap, then there is more of a likelihood that new competitors will enter and the more saturated it will become for all competitors. However, an airline with a strong name brand like US Airways, combined with the offer of incentives, can lure customers away from new entrants, even in prices are higher. Power of Suppliers: In the airline supply industry, there is a duopoly between Boeing and Airbus. Because of this, there is not much cutthroat competition between the two. Moreover, suppliers will not likely vertically integrate in order to start offering flight service in addition to building planes. Power of Buyers: The bargaining power of buyers in the airline industry is very low. There are high costs for the buyer if he wishes to switch airplanes. Secondly, the service between airlines is practically identical. The seats won’t be any more comfortable nor will the food be any better. Threat of Substitutes: For those who need to travel internationally for business or leisure, the threat of substitution is low. For regional travel however, one might opt out to take a train or simply drive. For those that need to conduct business...
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