29. September 2010 by student.

      According to cthealth.server101.com, the United States is the only industrialized nation that does not guarantee access to health care as a right of citizenship. Twenty eight industrialized nations have single payer universal health care systems, while only
Germany has a multi-payer universal health care system, which President Clinton had once projected for this country. Opposingviews.com also reveals that there are nearly 50 million Americans currently without health insurance who are struggling to pay their medical bills. Cthealth.server101.com states that repeated national and state polls have shown that between 60% to 75% of Americans would like a universal health care system. The US Census Bureau also states that the percentage of people in the
United States without health insurance was 15.8% in 2006, and the number of uninsured was 47 million.  

       Administrative costs for private health insurance are in the range of 11-14% of total premiums, while a shift to a single-payer system would yield net savings of about $99.6 billion (as of 2006) annually in reported administrative costs, or about $2100 in potential health-care benefits for each of the 47 million individuals currently uninsured. According to cnn.com, Republican leaders and some conservative Democrats specifically oppose the government-funded plan, fearing it would lead to eventual elimination of private health insurance. However, the Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, states that a national healthcare plan is on track to pass Congress by end of August.      

            President Obama acknowledged he supports what is called “the national option”, saying it would increase competition for private plans. At the same time, the president insisted a national plan would be one of many choices as part of reforms intended to strengthen the U.S. system. “If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor,’” he said to applause. If you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan’”. He also stated that none of the plans would be able to deny coverage on the basis of pre-existing conditions and that Congress is expected to take up at least three healthcare proposals in coming months.  

      Research has revealed that the United States is indeed the only industrialized nation that does not guarantee access to healthcare as a right of citizenship. While some may say universal healthcare would be too expensive, the facts prove differently. According to cthealth.server101.com, federal studies by the Congressional Budget Office and the General Accounting Office show that single payer universal healthcare would save $100 to $200 Billion per year, despite covering all the uninsured and increasing healthcare benefits. The amount of money this country and its citizens would be saving, from the benefits of a universal healthcare system would be colossal.  

      The United States denies healthcare based on the inability to pay. If everyone had access to a universal healthcare system, there would be less people worrying about how they were going to afford keeping their family happy and healthy. Also, in this country, access to quality healthcare is directly dependent on income and race. If there were universal healthcare, many minority and economically disadvantaged groups would have access to it. This would allow all citizens equal access to easy and quality healthcare. 

      Some believe that healthcare would most likely result in more government control, intrusion, and the loss of freedom of choice. However, this is not true. Once again, according to cthealth.server101.com, single payer universal healthcare administered by a state public health system would be much more democratic and less intrusive than the current system. Consumers and providers would have a voice in determining benefits, rates, and taxes. Problems with free choice, confidentiality, and medical decision making would be resolved.  

      I believe that healthcare is a need, not a right, and that every legal US citizen should be eligible for good, affordable healthcare. Also affirmed from opposingviews.com, many healthcare experts believe that in the end, the cost of a universal coverage system would be less than we currently pay. This should be a huge wakeup call and credible argument as to why universal healthcare is needed in this country. Just because we are one of the wealthiest nations, this does not mean everyone is able to afford or have health insurance. With a universal healthcare plan, this number would be greatly reduced, and our country would most likely be stronger as a whole.  

     I believe that being a US citizen guarantees you the right to an easy, affordable healthcare plan. Whether you are working or not, you should have access to quality healthcare. As is well-known, many Americans are losing their jobs today. Many working families, who were struggling to pay for healthcare before, are under pressure more now due to job loss. Just imagine how many more
US citizens are stressing about their healthcare now.  

     Just as stated in the United States Declaration of Independence, all Americans have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. People cannot pursue happiness if they are not healthy. Some will argue that it’s the government’s job to protect its citizens from harm. The same argument can be made for healthcare, since people are “harmed” when they get sick and cannot get help. It shouldn’t be argued, or even questioned, that a US American Citizen be guaranteed the right to a good healthcare plan; it should be provided.  

Posted in Mr. Andoscia, Social Problems | 1 Comment »

29. September 2010 by student.

                 According to walletpop.com, the National Bureau of Economic Research proclaims the recession ended in June 2009, however is it really over? Some signs that the recession isn’t exactly completely over yet include:

                 1) When your boss actually replaces an employee who retires or quits instead of adding their workload to yours. “This recession taught corporations that they could just dump more work on remaining staff when they axed people. With employees terrified that they might be let go next, everyone just sucks it up.”

                2) When people who have been laid off start getting jobs or jobs with perhaps benefits. “Businesses would rather control their costs this way. They hire who they need, when they need them. If illness or misfortune should somehow befall the poor serf, there is no health coverage, paid time off, or disability insurance to kick in. And the business will just move on to the next serf.”

               3) When you don’t live at home with their parents anymore. “According to Dr Phil, there are close to 14 million adult children living at home. Where else should your recent college graduate go when he can’t find a job?”

              4) When it becomes financially feasible to get a divorce again. “Divorce rates have plummeted in this recession. According to W. Bradford Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project, divorce rates fell from 17.5 per 1,000 married women in 2007 to 16.9 per 1,000 married women in 2008. Divorce rates peaked in 2005-06 when housing prices and the stock market were at their peak”

             5) When a vacation involves airplane travel and you sleep in an actual hotel bed and not your sister-in-law’s house. “Tourism has been down throughout the country”.

            6) When Starbucks isn’t full on a weekday afternoon. “Starbucks, and other places like it with free Wi-Fi, have become the official office for the unemployed and under-employed. It’s a splurge that’s relatively affordable that gets you out of the house for a few hours.”

             7) When you no longer necessarily have a need for coupons. “Imagine a time when if you forgot your grocery coupons that you didn’t turn around and go back home to get them? Or going out to dinner to a restaurant without a coupon? It seems like a long time ago, doesn’t it? Our need for a deal has spurred the growth of sites like Groupon or DealNews.com”.

              8 ) When you can list your house for sale and reasonably expect it to sell within three months at a price higher than what you paid for it. “Interest rates are at all-time lows and still nobody is buying. Home prices in some places have been cut in half and yet inventory grows. Federal tax incentives gave a short shot of adrenaline to the home sales market but once they expired, so did the patient. Many experts believe that the housing market is the key to the rest of the economy”.

              9) When trying to get a bargain becomes a sport instead of a necessity.

              10) When you can afford a new car, your 401k has been restored, you’ve reset your emergency fund with 6 months of living expenses and the term “99ers” is erased from your memory”.

Posted in Mr. Andoscia, Social Problems | 1 Comment »

27. September 2010 by student.

 What is suicide? After hearing the word, what comes to mind is a person standing on the ledge of an apartment building  ready to jump off. The police are there and the fire department is there, the news van is there and the woman is already talking to the camera and a crowd has formed as if there was a street clown act. Then Jim Carey appears appears in the window next to the suicdal man with a guitar, and he sings him off the ledge back into his apartment. If you didn’t catch on I described a scene from Jim Carey’s film “Yes Man.” A very funny movie, but unfortunatly not all suicide attempts end so light-heartedly.Every human being needs contact with another human with another human for at least 8 hours a day to stay sane, starting at birth. It is the parents responsibility to make sure their child is well socialized with their parents and with other children so they can learn what is okay and what is not okay in every context. Socializing your kids since early on also helps the child learn a stable sense of self. A good example is my younger sister. In her early years she spent more time with friends outside school then my older sister and I did growing up and now she is a social butterfly. Isolation is the deprivation of human contact for long periods of time. People suffering from this develop social stigmas and don’t have a lot of self confidence or sense of self and often don’t accomplish as much in life as someone who is well socialized. These people may be experiencing financial hardships, may be in an unhealthy environment at home or may have a physical disability or mental illness and may be at a loss of knowing what to do next. There is such a thing as over-socialization too. This means too many people know about your life. This problem is most prominent in modern times since the creation of the celebrity, where many people infringe on your privacy and they experience a loss of place. A person needs a reasonable amount of time to themselves during day as well as time communicating with people to stay sane. Nosy people in the entertainment industry thrive on building up a celebrity’s popularity to the limit, to the point where the celebrity feels powerful, but even the humblest of people with enough power can go down the wrong path.  They become famous because of their unique talent, and people love them for it, and for advertising purposes they get whatever they want and go where ever they want, and they feel invincible. They get spoiled and they stop listening to their conscience, and push their luck to see how far they can go, and they always crash harder then normal people do. They get caught up, and the tabloids make up rumors to destroy their reputations, it works for the most part and they lose everything they knew, leaving them in isolation and eventually depression. Great examples are Lyndsay Lohan and Tiger Woods.Being raised in an environment where you feel like your part of something real results in a much happier member of society. One thing a sane person of the world always has is a real life foundation. Today the popular thing is living in sin. A lot of the popular songs today are about partying, alcohol, sex, and booty, subjects that have guidelines in old ideas. For example religion or lessons you can learn from your parents and ancestors. Ancient civilizations consisted of tight knit communities that passed down life lessons from generation to generation and everyone knew everyone else and cared for everyone else, hence there was no over socialization or under socialization, though their world was smaller. No matter what, you had someone who cared about you somewhere in the community. You had real friends and family and your purpose in life was known because, for both religious communities and civilizations (pre-colonialism), everything you ever needed to know about yourself and the world was provided. The only difference is, religion had written rules about how to live your life, whereas oral based communities had a less formal ethics communication system, but essentially, both provided guidance for life. To understand suicide you need to understand the conditions in which it is found. From what I understand a person needs an apportionment of socialization as well as privacy or else they have under-socialization and over-socialization. Its in these two extremes that suicide victims are found. To know how to avoid suicide you need to understand a healthy living environment and that means you have ethics either taught to you in writing as in religion or in fables or stories as in oral based communities, but as long you have something real to base your life on and you socialize enough, and have a healthy amount of time to yourself, you have a happy non-suicidal person.

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 1 Comment »

25. September 2010 by student.

Kids are in fact growing up fast nowadays, whether it’s due to the exposure of the media or the narcissism creeping into society. Given this, when exactly is the ‘right time’ for a child to learn about sex and what it entails? My 10 year old niece accidentally happened upon a condom in her parents’ bathroom and completely freaked out. She went to her mother and started yelling at her, asking “Why do you guys have to have sex?!? And why here in our house?!?” She was also grossed out by it. So, my question is, did she over react? Her mom seems to think her reaction wasn’t normal, but then what exactly would be a normal reaction? Hmm….

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

22. September 2010 by student.

Nowadays, a lot of the shows people seem to be enjoying include many that fall under the genre: drama. Not good old fashioned soap operas, but the hardcore drama of today. Some of the mainstream shows include Jersey Shore, Big Brother, and Parental Control. Television seems to be adding more drama shows to the network. Shows such as Degrassi, and The Secret Life of the American Teenager are drama packed specifically for teenagers. What worries me is that although drama shows for teen audiences and adult audiences are pretty crazy to begin with, children are beginning to be exposed to drama packed television shows of their own. Shows such as Hannah Montana, Sonny With a Chance, and iCarly are all kid friendly shows with very dramatic plots in each episode. There are always secret kisses, friends stabbing friends in the back, and various other big scenes. In fact, almost all the Disney and Nickelodeon shows have very dramatic plots nowadays. I believe that this is going to influence and eventually change the way young people create their values. Girls will think it is normal to keep things from their friends and friendships will lose their true meaning.

Another example of how these television shows will influence what the world’s youth will think of is normal, is the wealth portrayed in all these television shows. Hannah Montana is a perfect example because many little girls idolize her which tends to make them think that they too can be just like her when in reality it doesn’t just happen like that; Hannah Montana makes it look easy, as if little work is required. iCarly also portrays this. Although Carly, Sam, and Freddie have Carly’s awesome apartment to hang out at and an even more awesome studio to make the show in, a lot of those things don’t just belong to someone unless they have enough money to buy them. If small children grow up seeing these shows, they may believe that they can have a lot of the things they want, when they truly cannot.

Although many shows do have a lesson or moral being incorporated into their episodes, there are still many negative messages that may be interpreted into the minds of our youth, which may cause false ideas of how life must be lived. Only hard work and intelligence, or a lot of luck, can get you to the high places that are seen on these shows. 

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 3 Comments »

22. September 2010 by student.

A social problem which has been strong in the United States and around the world is the issue of gangs.  Gangs bring criminal activity, that is a known fact.  Where there are gangs there is criminal activity, and in most cases mixed with drugs.  Here are some quick facts I would like to state about gangs.  Straight from the National Drug Intelligence Center which is a component of the Justice Department of the United States,

http://www.nbc-2.com/global/story.asp?s=11769169

” There are at least 21,500 gangs and more than 731,000 active gang members in the United States. Gangs conduct criminal activity in all 50 states and U.S. territories. Although most gang activity is concentrated in major urban areas, gangs also are proliferating in rural and suburban areas of the country as gang members flee increasing law enforcement pressure in urban areas or seek more lucrative drug markets. This proliferation in nonurban areas increasingly is accompanied by violence and is threatening society in general.

According to a 2001 Department of Justice survey, 20 percent of students aged 12 through 18 reported that street gangs had been present at their school during the previous 6 months. More than a quarter (28%) of students in urban schools reported a street gang presence, and 18 percent of students in suburban schools and 13 percent in rural schools reported the presence of street gangs. Public schools reported a much higher percentage of gang presence than private schools.  “

In my high school there was much gang activity, and I did not live in a ‘bad’ neighborhood.  I can’t say that there was organized crime surrounded by these gangs at my high school, but I think they were centered around something that was a ‘gate-way’ type thing.  These kids joined these high school gangs because it gave them a sense of belonging, and it gave them something to live up to, “respect”.  This issue could be harmful because I saw these kids in high school pretending to be gangsters, and eventually got into real gangs after high school.  I’m not sure if anybody reading this is from Lee County, but if you are I’m sure you remember the ‘Cash Feenz’ killings in Cape Coral.  Where two kids were brutally tortured and murdered by a bunch of kids that had something to prove. This gang started off in my high school and it actually started off as a music group.  These kids found a place of belonging mixed with the hardcore attitude of rap music that really gave them shoes to fill, and they filled them.  Now these 16, 17, 18 year olds will be spending most of their life in prison.  I provided a link to an article regarding the alleged leader in the killings.  It is my opinion that a lot of the issue of gangs and gang activity is the type of reality that kids are growing up in, whether kids like to admit it or not, music and the type of mentality they keep themselves in affect their lifestyle.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

21. September 2010 by student.

The subject of illegal immigration in the United States is a very hotly debated topic.  On one hand, there is the common sense opinion that illegal immigration must be stopped. Clearly, the word illegal makes it legally wrong. On the other hand, these illegal immigrants are human and should be treated humanely. This is where the debate comes into play.

                There are many immigrants living in the United States illegally. This poses a tremendous burden on the American taxpayer. Some of those costs include healthcare, welfare, prison costs and lost wages to American workers. Why should American taxpayers have to foot the bill for these people who are in our country illegally? Once illegal immigrants are here they are working in low wage jobs at poverty level requiring many social services.

                If we examine why illegal immigrants come to the U.S., it is to make a better life for themselves and their families. They are willing to risk their lives and the judicial system in order to tray and provide for themselves and their families. It is human nature to want to better yourself and provide for your family. Realistically, will we ever be able to stop this human nature desire?

                The only real solution is to come up with public policy to deal with the issue. Illegal immigrants must have an avenue for gaining lawful entry to be able to provide for themselves and their families. Rules must be followed. They must be law abiding, tax paying members of society. The immigrants must be educated in order to gain good paying jobs to break the cycle of poverty. Their children must also be educated.

Posted in Social Problems | 1 Comment »

21. September 2010 by student.

Teenage Sex is increasing every year, and more and more teenage girls are getting pregnant and more teenagers are catching STDs. In this generation in the year of 2010, many teenagers are having sex like drinking water everyday and 1 of 4 teenagers are catching an STD every year. It has been getting popular and the main social event at parties. Teenagers are having sex in school bathrooms, back of cars, etc. The question is whose fault is it and what more can a society do to help from these statistics increasing. Different cultures have different views of sexual activity, some has to do with religion. Some religion says or expresses that a man and woman should not have sex until the couple has been married. However, can parents really control what a teenager do with the absense of parents, “let’s say we didn’t and do” state of mind is what alot of teenagers think of and do teenagers actually take their religion or culture into consideration. In studies it has been said that 75% of teenagers say they have had sex before the age of 20 years; many reasons are from peer pressure from other teenagers and craving for the feeling of belongness or beauty. It doesn’t help however that in today’s society that everything is about sex appeal to just sell a product and increase their revenue. Should the government regulate and control what the media is exposing children and teenagers to? This is can go against the freedom rights of the constitution. Sex education starts as early as in 5th grade, and express the thought of abstience. In households you would think that parents would elaborate and talk more about the causes and effects of sexual intercourse, but in reality parents are the last people that teenagers want to talk about sex to and teenagers will just say what the parents would want to hear. Teenagers are going to have sex no matter what, and the numbers prove that. I strongly encourage that society should just keep having free clinics, for education, healthcare, and the distribution of free condoms; 33% of teenage girls end up pregnant and most girls cannot afford for abortion or is too embarrass to even tell someone she is pregnant. I think society should not frown upon teenage sex and be more willing to help prevent because society is the one who is actually increasing the statistics of teenage sex.

Posted in Social Problems | 1 Comment »

21. September 2010 by student.

I read an article today on CNN.com about how a University in
Pennsylvania banned facebook, twitter, and all other ways of communicating on the internet except for email. They wanted to do an experiment to help students realize how much they use technology in today’s world and how it affects them. Of course not all students were involved in this experiment because some people have phones that allow them to use the internet and off campus students are not affected by this because these sites were only being blocked on the campus networks. At the end of the experiment the students were to write essays about their findings, realizations, and thoughts.

I find this really interesting because it is true that not just college students but other people too are using technology for basically everything in their life. Most of the time it is being taken for granted and people don’t realize really how much they use the technology. People are getting used to never having to have a conversation with someone face to face if they don’t want to, having all their questions answered by a computer, and having technology be up to speed that even when the days come that it is running just a little slow they get very impatient and annoyed.

It makes me think that with each year that goes by and we get more and more technologically advanced, what will happen ten or fifteen years from now? What will our world be like in consideration to technology? Think about how much money we have spent trying to update the technology and all the energy people use using the technology all day every day. The impact it has today is already a big deal and causing damage to the world and it might only get worse as the years go on.

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 1 Comment »

20. September 2010 by student.

Positions on Death Row are reserved for the worst offenders. It is a section of prison that houses offenders waiting to be executed. Offenders who are awaiting execution are awaiting a convenient time to be executed. Those awaiting execution usually become mentally ill (if they aren’t already) due to isolation and constantly thinking about their execution. This is referred to as the death row phenomenon. The truth is though that lots of these inmates end up dying of natural causes because they are waiting for a long time. According to the Florida Department of Corrections statistics on Executed inmates in Florida, from 1979, when Florida reinstated the Death Penalty, ”the average length of stay on Death Row prior to execution was 12.68 years, the average number of years between offense and execution is 14.29 years, the average age at time of execution is 44.41, and the average age at offense is 30.13.”Using the statistics from Florida Department of Corrections we find that, on average, a person is imprisoned for 14 years. What people may not know is that we pay for them to live while in prison. Our tax dollars pay to sustain these offenders up until we find a “convenient” time to execute them. There are over 3,000 people on death row. Just for the sake of argument let’s say each meal an inmate is given costs $3. So 3,000 offenders times $3 equals $9,000 per meal. Each inmate receives three meals a day which comes out to $27,000 a day. On average these inmates spend 14 years in prison before they are executed. 14 times 365 equals 5110 days not including leap year. 5110 multiplied by the cost of three meals a day ($27,000) comes out to $137,970,000! Americans pay millions of dollars to keep alive someone they are going to execute in a couple years. As I am writing this one story comes to mind and even though it sounds corny, I think it summarizes our actions and on top of that I can make fun of those who are in charge of choosing the ‘most convenient time to kill someone’ without them even knowing it. The story is one I am sure everyone has heard at one point it usually comes after ‘The Little Engine That Could.” The story of Hansel and Gretel is the story I am referring to. Two little kids that start to eat a candy house are captured by a witch and fattened up so they can be eaten. When it becomes time to be eaten the witch is shoved into an oven. The kids are the offenders who by eating the house are in the wrong and are captured by the witch and fed and in the end it was the witch who died. Well, in real life the witch aka the American people had to pay millions of dollars to keep offenders alive just to kill them.  

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 1 Comment »