The student and working world are changing dramatically. The jobs which attract many immigrants near and far into American soil is now vanishing and also, Students who were accustomed to books now care about world events.
In the past, students were more concerned about their academics. But now, they care just about politics and other issues around them. During the 2008 presidential election half of my classmates went and cast their vote.
During school hours we go around neighborhoods to collect rubbish and also donate clothes to the homeless. According to “The Problem with Youth Activism” by Courtney Martin, “A survey conducted just this year by the National Association of Campus Activities (NCAA) found that 98 percent of students at their annual meeting saw the war in Iraq as one of the issues most important to them”. Working class are paid low wages compared to previous years. They work more but make small amount of money. My friend works at a local store in my neighborhood. They pay him 5 dollars an hour. He wants to quit but it hard to find another job. In consonance with that, “Worked and Overworked” by Greenhouse “delivery men often worked seventy hours a week but were paid just two hundred dollars less than three dollars an hour…… they were told they were independent contractors, a group that is not covered by minimum wage and overtime laws”. It is hard for employees to save money for future use. Most of them are not able to take care of their household. As pointed out by Greenhouse “20 percent of families with children under six live below the poverty line, and 22 million full time workers do not have health insurance”.
The work that was always available for Americans is now scarce. Many skillful workers cannot find a job. According to article “Unemployed Find Old Jobs Now Require More Skills” by Christopher Rgaber, Forty percent of all unemployed Americans, at least 14 million, have been out of work more than eight months.” Many are discouraged they have lost hope that a job exits for them. My uncle, who is a college graduate, got laid off from work ten months ago, and he still can‘t find a job. Greenhouse said, “A profound shift has left a broad swath of the American workforce on a lower plane than in decades past.” The American labor force feel they are being denied by their own government as they sit and watch their jobs shipped overseas. In “High Tech Hijack” by David Moberg, “The off shoring of work once done by Americans is growing rapidly. Over the past few years, corporations have shifted roughly a half million businesses …to developing countries”. Working people can no longer get aid from their government as corporations are in control of everything. In line with this, Greenhouse pointed out “investment banksers, mutual fund managers, hedge fund managers … and increasingly , managers of private equity funds wield great power and are forever pressuring the companies that they’ve invested in to maximize profits and take whatever steps are necessary to keep stock prices at their highest. Companies in response, often skimp on wages, lay off workers, and close operations.”
The work environment which most American workers used to boast about is no more. Workers are treated cruelly like second class citizens. The laws that protect the work force are not well enforced. The working class are losing their constitutional rights gradually. Greenhouse said, “workers atWal-Mart and The Cheesecake Factory complained that managers often refused to give them the lunch breaks and fifteen minute rest breaks that state law required.” It feels like workers are on their own now. Even though the number of workers abused at work is rising higher than ever, government officials are in holes and corners hand in hand working with these corporations. As Greenhouse pointed out, “when investigators unearthed serious child labor violations at a dozen Wal Marts, officials in the Bush Labor Department signed a highly unusual secret agreement promising to give Wal-Mart fifteen days’ advance notice when… to look for more such violations”.
As pupils are highly involved in world matters, the working world is becoming substandard for workers. I may not be an expert, but I think over 90 percent of American workers now think their government has given its power to corporations. As said perfectly in “Worked and Overworked” by Greenhouse, “The squeeze on the American Worker has been further exacerbated by corporate America’s growing sway over politics and policy, making it harder for beleaguered workers to turn to government for help”. Washington should tax companies for shipping jobs overseas. If corporations keep in control of our businesses, the American economy will collapse.
