Posts by Michael Sanchez
The Health Problem Facing the Nation: Obesity
New York City, and America in general, are facing one of the most serious health issues that affects the whole nation. This health issue is so bad, that when stereotyped, this is almost always a description that is associated with Americans. This problem is obesity.
Obesity is a real epidemic. According to the New York Times article, “Obesity Around the Nation” by Anahad O’Connor, 1 out of every 5 adults in every state is obese.In two states, Mississippi and Arizona, the rate of obesity has gone over 35%. O1 out of every 10 children, ages 1-5, also have problems with obesity. This is a major factor, as obesity increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, and lowers one’s life expectancy. O’Conor also points out that obesity rates are highest in minorities, specifically the hispanic and black communities, with whites having the lowest rates. She says that this: “showed an economic divide, with people in the lowest income brackets having disproportionately higher rates” (O’Connor 1).
The issue with obesity is known nation wide. So much so in fact, that national entities and private corporations are sponsoring active campaigns, in order to get kids to live more active lifestyles and avoid a sedentary one, leading to higher rates of obesity. These include instances like Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign, and the NFL’s “play 60” campaign. However, as O’Connor pointed out, this goes beyond just getting children to be active, this has to do with an economic divide. The best way to deal with that, is policy revision.
Mark Bitterman’s Article, “Bad Food? Tax it, and Subsidize Vegetables,” advocates one of the best ways to combat obesity. Bitterman states that a lot of the unhealthy processed foods are subsidized, making it cheaper to produce, sell, and even consume. The problem is that these processed foods are highly unhealthy; they are high in sugars, fats, and sodium. Bitterman advocates to change the policy around, subsidize fresh food and fresh vegetables instead of the processed food. He states that we could start by subsidizing staple foods, like seasonal greens, whole grain, and fruit, and sell this locally, at drug stores, street corners, convenience stores, etc. This would work perfectly for New York City, where the city itself thrives on local businesses.
However, we can take this policy one step further, changing school lunches. Children, the next generation, are unfortunately the ones overly susceptible to processed foods. During school, the main responsibility of children for the first 18 years of their life, the lunch program which many kids depend on is full of processed and unhealthy foods. In Lucy Komisar’s article, “How the Food Industry Eats Your Kids Lunch,” Komisar explains that the processed food industry is subsidized, and is more cost effectient in providing cheap, unhealthy foods. However, Komisar explains that this isn’t the actual case. Schools may believe that they are saving money by using a private corporation for school lunches, but the reality is that the money they “save” is wasted through bureaucratic issues. There should be a policy change, and advocacy from the federal government to get rid of privatization of school cafeterias. The schools should use their funds, and be helped by the federal government, to hire their own kitchen workforce to prepare fresh food for the children. In this system as it stands, the only ones that stand to profit are the companies providing the fast food. As Komisar states, in this system: “Unfortunately, profit, not health, is the priority of the food service management companies, food processors and even elected officials. Until more parents demand reform of the school lunch system, children will continue to suffer” (Komisar 1). With such high officials like the first lady recognizing and acknowledging the problem, a push to publicizing the school cafeteria, put that into the hands of the schools themselves and provide schools with all the same funding to have their own kitchens, all these policy changes should at least have some support. If this is put into place, the obesity epidemic will take a major blow.
Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/opinion/sunday/school-lunches-and-the-food-industry.html
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/08/obesity-around-the-nation/
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/20/nyregion/college-cafeterias-get-bad-grades-from-new-york-city-health-department.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/opinion/sunday/24bittman.html?_r=0
Gender Inequality Solutions: Working Against the Pay Gap
As I mentioned in my previous post, one of the most vexing problems of gender inequality in the workplace is the pay gap. The pay gap is a serious issue, with women roughly earning 77% of every dollar a man is paid, based on various studies conducted by interest groups, academic organizations, and even governmental entities. While there is no easy way to just close the gap, as economics is much more complicated than that, there are several steps and theories that can be worked out and tested. The pay gap may not close with a single legislation, though any step in the right direction would be positive.
One solution, besides the over encompassing Equal Pay Act, could be to lobby for a policy that ensures equal hourly wages. Now, solving the pay gap is not as simple as this, as various jobs pay their employees not only based on hourly wages, but continuous work with familiar clients like in the case of doctors and lawyers, and based on product, like in journalism fields. However,Harvard Labor Economist Claudia Goldin stated in the Forbes article, “A New Way to Close The Gender Gap” by Susan Adams, stated that pay based entirely on hourly wage is an excellent way of obtaining a step closer in equal pay rights, and she points out the pharmaceutical professions:”In contrast to fields like law or finance, where job-sharing doesn’t really work because clients want the same individual to focus on their case or transaction over a long period of time, pharmacy customers don’t care who fills their Prozac or Viagra prescriptions, as long as the person knows what she’s doing. That means that women can take long leaves and then come back and work part-time without suffering a wage penalty” (Adams 1). Regardless, there is still a wage discrepancy, of about 5-7% according to the article. Still economists like Jordan Weissman claim pharmacies to be “secret little altars to gender equality” (Adams 1). This is the type of institution we can look to in which basic programs, like equal hourly wage pay, can make the difference in closing the pay gap. This setting can be applied to various jobs that share this hourly pay set up, and for more diverse jobs, other steps can be taken that will need to be further explored.
I would also suggest the formation of a preparatory women’s focus group, to mentor women in college and prepare them for the realities and challenges in the workplace. Myself being a male individual with no work experience, I could not fairly identify the problems that women may encounter in the workforce. However, if a focus group mentored by woman from all walks of life started a program of that caliber, and if that program could have the same status and broad interaction as lets say famous campus greek life, considerable changes could be made. Some studies attribute to the gender gap being influenced by women not being active in asking for wages, or pursuing more technical jobs. Obviously this is not the only factor affecting the pay gap, but they may contribute, even if its as little as 1%. Fighting against this institutionalized sexism would be beneficial to all people, and certainly to women.
Lastly, there should be more information on the details of the wage gap. This gap is so debated and convoluted through red tape, political jargon, and survey errors and biases, that it is hard to track down conclusive data that all people will readily believe. The first step in solving a problem is addressing it. And once people address it, institutionalized sexism, right down from job selection to employers asking employees their current finances, can all be resolved.
Sources:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2014/03/19/a-new-way-to-close-the-gender-pay-gap/
http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2015/02/22/bill-aims-close-gender-wage-gap/eAX5j5HxHZU9h14orWLXJJ/story.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/10/opinion/the-truth-about-the-pay-gap.html
Questions for Kim Wales
1. Do you ever help startups based on a social cause or just based on monetary interests?
2. Has there been any memorable startup company that you believe is trying to revolutionize gender equality in the work place?
Questions for Arielle Kandel
1. Does working for women’s rights in so many different countries alter your strategy in overcoming obstacles? Does each country have its own set of issue that you focus yourself on? Or is the goal of your work more universal?
2. It seems you’ve been very active in social reform activities before joining New Women New Yorkers, especially active in International organizations for asylum. Why did you switch your interests and dedicate yourself to women’s issues?
Gender Inequality Problems
The Gender Inequality problem is a long and ongoing problem thats been affecting society, arguably, from its very foundations. There is a sense of an engrained culture of gender inequality, with females and males both being subjected to it. Gender Inequality itself also greatly affects economic growth, not just on a personal, day to day levels, but on a whole society wide scale. This way of thinking only deepens the divide between an equal assessment of males and females, and creates a culture that chastises anything for being “too” feminine. One of the most prevalent problems is the proliferation of the gender pay gap.
The gender pay gap is a very real and serious issue. According to various NY Times articles, blog posts, and even governmental sources, women, on average, receive 77 cents of every dollar that men receive. Despite women being employed for the same job, doing as much or even greater work then their male counterparts, women are consistently paid less. And this inequality goes beyond the private sector, as female members of Congress, the literal law makers of our country, are also consistently paid less. This is just an unfair burden upon women. In this era of capitalism, a worker’s value in the corporate scheme is to market their productivity, what does it say to women that their productivity, no matter the amount of success they garner, is inherently less then men? What’s worse, is that companies and higher ups, while acknowledging the problem, do nothing about it.
In the article, “Vigilant Eye on Gender Pay Gap, writer Robert Neubecker explains that very little is being done to close the gap, unless in the private field. He contends that only about 46% of instituted agencies that are dedicated to closing the pay gap actively work to shut it down. In fact, Neubecker explains, the want to fight against the pay gap is working with a response, not an active participation. “They are doing it proactively, but it is a proactive response to risk,’ said Brian Levine of Mercer’s work force strategy and analytics group, who said more companies had become interested in the reporting over the last five years.” Neubecker basically explains that the work coming from the private sector against the pay gap is out of fear of lawsuits. Anything created in response to fear does not tend to carry over well.
Another issue in the economic climate is the absence of paid maternity leave. it is almost hypocritical to expect a woman to be as productive as possible, pay her less than a male counterpart, and then not give her the benefits of paid maternity leave when she becomes a mother. Economic principle that does not offer some sort of long term pay and benefits for a mother simply does not understand the social implications and practices of humans. It glosses over human experiences and livelihood, just to keep productivity up. They literally treat a employees as machines, and any complications in finishing their tasks, be it a very real, involved, and very human experience, is not valued or understood, but punished. According to the article “In Paid Family Leave, U.S. Trails Most of the Globe,” the writer even suggests that only maternity leave furthers a divide between men and women: “When only the birth parent can take paid leave, you put people in a situation where they have to follow traditional gender roles, which doesn’t always make sense,” Dr. Matos said. “If the male partner has a more flexible job it doesn’t matter, because she is the one who gets the leave. A lot of people are beginning to talk about how these issues need to be looked at as overall family issues, and the decisions need to be made in the context of all of the people involved.”
These are very serious issues that take place in the economic world, and this unfair practice of looking down on another gender must be resolved.
Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/23/your-money/us-trails-much-of-the-world-in-providing-paid-family-leave.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/15/business/keeping-a-vigilant-eye-on-pay-equity-for-women.html?_r=0
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/03/21/rising-wealth-inequality-should-we-care/the-gender-complication-in-wealth-distribution
Workplace Solution – Reimagining Internships
In my problem proposal, one of the issues I addressed was the proliferation of unpaid internships. This is a tricky area, as unpaid internships are an important experience gathering component of a rapidly changing workforce. However, I argued the proliferation of unpaid internships are a great harm to the growth of the workplace, they only perpetuate greed. As a result, I feel like the idea of internships, the laws enforcing them, and the use of internships to replace/hold paid positions should all be revisited, addressed, and redefined. After all, internships are meant to give experience and benefit to the intern, not the employee. Let’s bring it back to that standard.
The first solution would be to address the Fair Labors Standards Act of 1938, specifically the segment dealing with internships. According to the article, “The Internship Rip-Off” by Alex Williams, this act states that it: “requires employers to pay everyone — not just official employees, but anyone whom they ‘suffer or permit to work.’ Purely educational positions are exempt from this requirement, but to qualify, an internship has to exist for the exclusive benefit of the intern” (Williams 1). How many internships were one goes to fetch coffee and lunch everyday exist for the benefit of the intern? What kind of workplace experience and knowledge does that bring relevant to his career choice, besides the common human woes of hunger during lunch time? I feel that many businesses may take advantage of this educational exemption without properly training the interns. In order for this to be rectified, there should be a very clear check list that exists that qualifies as a “educational position” and an overseer by labor unions and/or federal employees (given this is a federal law) to investigate these positions. A harder criteria can mean a growth in purely educational positions, rather than internships that replace paid positions.
Next, I feel that the internship selection criteria should be altered, and educational positions should only be limited to those in schooling. Any person in a undergrad, grad, or even high school system should be the only individuals who can qualify to apply for educational positions, so that individuals who are post graduates can find paid jobs and internships. This is where a change in the structure must occur. If there is a proliferation of internships, paid internships should be the norm, not educational, free labor ones. These educational ones should be small in number, and again, only available to those in schooling, who are more likely able to need experience more than anything else, and can forgo pay. In the article, “All Work and No Payoff” by Alex Williams, the author makes the argument that millennials feel trapped in an endless cycle of unpaid internships,and create a “revolving class of people” trapped under “the intern glass ceiling” (Williams 1). However, as abstract as changing the system may seem, there are prime examples of such, like the development and use of fellowships instead of internships. In David Carr’s article, “Overlook the Value of Interns at Great Peril,” he cites the example of Atlantic Media, a publication that ended all unpaid internships and replaced them with year long fellowships that “had meaningful tasks, an educational component, a living wage attached and, get this, health insurance” (Carr 1). And whats more, is that this change has been good for the company as well, as Atlantic Media has grown 34% since making this decision. It is obvious that unpaid internships are not the required stepping stone to success, and this over dependency on them, which leads to extortion of working citizens is a definite issue in the workforce. For it to end, limitations and rule enforcement must be placed over internships, in order to foster a strong, paid workforce, and alternative methods, like fellowships, should be considered, especially if they provide more benefit to the worker and the company.
Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/25/business/media/overlook-the-value-of-interns-at-great-peril.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/magazine/the-internship-rip-off.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/16/fashion/millennials-internships.html
Fashion Guest Speaker Questions
1. How does your design, production, distribution and definition of fashion differ from what you would consider mainstream fashion ideas or practices? What’s the main thing that makes this venture unique?
2. Do you see this incubator style of work in the fashion industry as a growing trend? Do you think this can revolutionize the industry?
Workplace Problems
The workplace is the cog of our economic world, allowing our society to continue functioning the way it is now. A job is a sign of status, class, and a means to gain wealth and a better life. However, the workplace has been facing its own social issues in this day and age. These issues vary, from small grievances to large scale injustices and a changing environment. One of the most pressing, that affects students and employees alike, is that of distraction.
Distraction is one of the most common and pressing social challenges that plagues the workplace today. It seems that people rarely get anything done in the workplace these days. Distraction is a common theme, ranging from self-distractions like social media sites or general unproductiveness, to work-related distractions like board meetings. In the New York Times article, “Fighting A war Against Distraction” by Marci Alboher, she states that “the average knowledge worker switches tasks every three minutes, and, once distracted, a worker takes nearly a half-hour to resume the original task” (Alboher 1). The article explains the detrimental affects of distracted working. It leads to higher fatigue and stress, lower productivity, and a declining work ethic. Interestingly, Alboher doesn’t attribute this just to cell phone distractions and websites, but to the original technological advancements of communication, that “shattered distance and upended ancient temporal rhythms” (1). It also seems that meetings could be a huge distraction in the workplace as well, as Jason Fried mentions in his Ted Talk on the subject. It looks like many people are looking for ways to increase productivity and minimize distractions.
Another issue is the growth of freelance work. This concept doesn’t necessarily seem negative. However, freelance work is much less stable than a traditional career path. Without a steady income, employees would most likely have to juggle multiple projects at once, and a life like that means living not just pay check to pay check, but job to job. Your entire livelihood depends on whether you could land the next job or not, and a freelancer now needs to know more skills than ever before. It’s said that a journalist has to know editing, photography, shooting, and interview skills along with the basic writing skills. Even now, the Freelancer’s union in New York, (which surprised me cause I didn’t know something like it existed,” recently lost the ability to cover the life insurance policy they had before, and opt for a lesser quality and more expensive one thanks to government reforms, as shown in the article, “Freelancers Union to End Its Health Insurance Plans in New York,” by Anemona Hartocollus.
The third and final problem comes with the proliferation of unpaid internships. Interning, a component so necessary to college students like myself these days, can bode damaging for the work environment in the future. According to the article, “The Unpaid Intern, Legal or Not” by Steven Greenhouse, internships are at all time high, and are most likely being used to further a firm or company’s profits. According to Greenhouse, interns are afraid to speak out incase of creating a bad reputation for themselves in the field of their choice, and that companies are most likely using internships as employee replacement, getting free labor and giving no benefits, not even pay, to the intern. Apparently, according to the article, a company must fulfill the six criteria to qualify to give unpaid internships, for, at the end of the day, internships are supposed to be design for the benefit of the intern. Using the interns as a source of free labor and a replacement for employees is a dangerous trend, leading to the large scale unemployment rates and difficulty of college graduates landing a job. Greed and selfishness like this make it difficult for the workplace to thrive.
Sources:
“Fighting a War Against Distraction.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 21 June 2008. Web. 10 Mar. 2015. .
Greenhouse, Steven. “The Unpaid Intern, Legal or Not.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 02 Apr. 2010. Web. 10 Mar. 2015. .
Hartocollis, Anemona. “Freelancers Union to End Its Health Insurance Plans in New York.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 30 Sept. 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2015. .
“Why Work Doesn’t Happen at Work.” Jason Fried:. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2015. .
CSI Questions
1. I see that your program is based in Toronto. Have there been any economic or social problems in trying to adjust to New York City? Has the business been affected at all?
2. Is there a specific reason you chose Chelsea as your base of operations? Do you think the community in Chelsea, one known for its gentrification, would be more inclined to socially progressive businesses?
Policing Solution – More Training, More Professionalism
Out of the problems I addressed in my previous post, I feel that the most pressing, and the one with the most potential for improvement, is police officer training. After the Eric Garner and Michael Brown cases, a large protests sparked in an effort to reform police tactics. Slogans like “black lives matter” and “I can’t breathe” were like choruses among the protesters, as the poor handling of the cases led to the careless deaths of Garner and Brown. Some attribute this to racism and police brutality, I however, attribute the unfortunate deaths to a lack of training, and a “heat of the moment” decision that had negative consequences. I highly doubt that Officer Daniel Pantaleo or Officer Darren Wilson intended to kill their suspects, but instead, were undertrained in restraint techniques and had an over-reliance on firearms, respectively. In order to decrease casualties, I believe a police officers should have extensive training in Martial Arts, know the difference between lethal and non-lethal takedowns, and use all the tools at their disposal, like police batons, rather then depend on firearms for every situation.
The Garner case is a fundamental one for explaining the lack of police training. Officer Pantaleo used an illegal chokehold to subdue Garner, and as soon as Garner was on the ground, plenty of officers were on top of him. The use of the chokehold shows that officer Pantaleo lacks martial arts training. For his height, in comparison to Garners, there were several other non-lethal takedowns that the officer oculd have implemented. Wrist locks, shoulder lock control, arm locks, etc. Why did Pantaleo go for Garner’s neck? I obviously cannot speak on his behalf, but I assume it is because that is his go to submission technique; that officer Pantaleo lacks any technical knowledge of non-lethal takedowns, or, that he hasn’t trained nearly enough in such takedowns. This simple concept needs to change. If anyone should be masters of martial arts, it is police officers. We not only expect them to subdue criminals and protect the general public, but be skilled enough to subdue a suspect without causing sufficient harm.
How do we go about giving officers the skill sets that they need however? How can officers be expected to have a mastery in combat? Simple: training, and constant training. I do not mean to criticize Commissioner Bratton’s policies however, police officers will need much more than a one time training session. According to a New York Times article, Bratton explains that “every officer would go through a three-day retraining course, on how to talk to an “uncooperative person” in a way that does not escalate into a physical conflict; how to subdue a suspect if the encounter does escalate or if a suspect resists arrest; and how to be sensitive to cultural differences,” (Goodman 2). The Commissioner and the police force are going about this all wrong. They should not view this as a “re-training” but as a new training altogether. Police officers need a wider range of tools to use at their disposal, and a 3 day course will not give officers the ability to practice, perfect, and use these tools effectively. If you show an officer how to subdue a suspect non-violently only once, there will be no way to commit that to memory. He must have constant training sessions.
Is it with this that I suggest monthly training sessions in the Police Department where officers must learn and practice proper submissions techniques, hand to hand combat scenarios, and weapon scenarios. They should also be graded on their ability as an incentive to continue improving. Allocating funds may be the most difficult agenda, however, instead of squeezing out funds to increase the size of the police force, they could use that money to instigate training programs, possibly at the Police Academy. In fact, Police Academies could host martial arts and training seminars and instruction classes every weekend, where officers would be required to attend at least once a month. These techniques could be taught by licensed martial arts practitioners, and could go under screening until the city finds the techniques suitable Not only does this benefit the community, but the safety of officers as well. Dan Inosanto, a legendary martial artists during the Bruce Lee era (and one of Lee’s closest friends) demonstrated in an instructional video (which I linked below) that a gun is not ideal for every situation, despite the fact it is the officers first instinct to draw it.
In order to improve community relations and keep our streets safer, I believe that police officers need to become expertly trained in their craft, and not only “re-train” but greatly expand their entire martial arts knowledge.
Video:http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_KJ1R2PCMM
other sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/05/opinion/eric-garner-daniel-pantaleo-and-lethal-police-tactics.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/09/nyregion/bratton-outlines-overhaul-in-training-for-new-york-city-police-officers.html?_r=0
Comments by Michael Sanchez
"Your idea of locally grown products is a positive and beneficial solution to counter both the obesity rates and the food desert situations in America. One of our readings did incorporate a part into this, mainly focusing on subsidizing healthy foods and unsubsidizing the processed food. Processed food gets some sort of a government break because of its supposed cheapness to produce, and cheapness in regards for the public to purchase and eat. However, these processed foods are what are contributing to the health problems like obesity and food deserts. Your idea to get farmers more involved in markets for these food deserts is a great one. Not only will the public have access to cheap, fresh produce and healthy food, but the farmers will be able to corner a market they may have previously never been known to them. It seems to be a great situation both benefiting the supplier and the supplied. Also, it would help to introduce this sort of healthy food into school lunches, as the lunch program in America is nothing short of abysmal. In order to bring the most change, starting with the children seems like the most promising venture."
--( posted on May 8, 2015, commenting on the post
Topic IV: Public Health Problems and Solutions )
"You have some interesting comments Yeji, I see that you focus on is the cost of insurance. I really believe insurance is a big issue that faces many Americans, in fact, I've heard that over 60% of bankruptcy is caused by health insurance and medical bills. This is an interesting topic, as it combines health issues with economic issues. As you've pointed out, Obama's Affordable Care Act has caused a significant benefit to people facing situations lacking any sort of insurance. Having a mandated and government insurance guarantees that most people will have access to health care no matter their situation, and basically make health a public property and not a commodity to be sold and bartered. This however, proves a difficult task in America, as health is more often seen as a private company source, even with the idea that private companies somehow have better heath services then public health centers. The best way to combat this would be a change in policy, a move to progressive social institutions of free health care, but obviously that is a far reaching goal, and seems like a radical movement for American politics. Nevertheless, the push for it may be gradual, but someone must try, and our generation would be one to accept that."
--( posted on May 8, 2015, commenting on the post
Health Problems and Solutions )
"Your solution focuses on the wage gap, like mine. I agree with your post, I feel that women should be encouraged to participate in the STEM fields more often, and not see mathematical calculation as a "man's job." I also find this to be a bit of irony, as if these roles are made for men, yet if women are in the liberal arts majors, they are still paid less and looked as inferior to men. So there really are no women fields and male fields in the workforce, there is only, male fields, and super male fields. Now, while it is true that joining the STEM program would garner an increase in income, it would not be enough to close the income gap. Also, this assumes that once the opportunity is open, most if not all women would flood the workforce looking to join STEM fields. Obviously, people are diverse, and will seek different careers and jobs, from STEM fields to liberal arts and social science fields. My solution argued small time policy change, but yours may be a little harder to implement simply because of the structure surrounding the issue in STEM. The structure must be dealt with first for STEM fields to open up, and yet, pay should be equal no matter what job you do."
--( posted on Apr 23, 2015, commenting on the post
Gender Solutions )
"I find your solution on changing culture a very interesting and encompassing answer to the problem at hand. The first part of your solution works at the opposite end of the spectrum of mine, as mine focused on small legislation to ensure equality in the work force. Your solution however, to ensure gender equality in schools, would be able to hit the developing generations at their early stages, hopefully implementing a sense of equality in them. However, there is a difficulty there. The inequality and gender roles are not always apparent, but sometimes express themselves in subtle ways. The teacher is enforcing gender roles simply by asking the girls to put away the pencils and asking the boys to put away the chairs. Gender roles are very hard to target, so these educators must be very aware of the situation at hand. However, I also feel that with enough emphasis on this, this social idea can bleed into the media. Take Sesame Street for example. They recently had a skit where one of the muppets had to deal with his father being in prison, one would assume for a low level drug offense. This is almost unheard of in the media, but is a common occurrence in real life, leading to the media to adopts its ways to become more relatable. If society starts focusing on that more and more, keeps issues like gender equality center stage, it may eventually bleed into the media, giving a double whammy if you will of gender equality education: at school and at home."
--( posted on Apr 23, 2015, commenting on the post
Gender Lens on Economic Growth: Solutions )
"Your post was concerned with women pay and mobility through the work force, which almost mirrored my own discussion on the pay gap. Your post and the sources you use only help confirm it: the pay gap is a very real and serious issue. For women to be paid less then men simply because of gender, having nothing to do with productivity and the actual work and expertise they are paid for, is appalling and hypocritical. I also am not too well informed on the glass ceiling that women workers face when trying to advance in their own professional careers. I am aware that most CEO's are male, and very few are female. Though, CEO's, I assume, generally seem to be more of a monopoly of old white men, very rarely being women or minorities. I assume that this is because of a very personal chain of command, and CEO's and high level employees are based more on connections and old time networking rather than effort, an entirely different problem, but still concerning. It seems that these old networks perpetuate their ideal of a good leader, usually being a white man, and that is the symbol, the staple, they look for. To get a fair assessment and fair representation, the entirely culture must be changed."
--( posted on Apr 2, 2015, commenting on the post
Gender Lens and Economic Growth Problem Set )
"I find your comments on the problems women face very interesting. The domestic violence is something that, thankfully, is seeing more traction to be better monitored in this day and age. Unfortunately, domestic violence spreads far beyond America, with less developed countries with different cultures having more of an affinity towards practices like that. It is my opinion that any societal culture that perpetuates domestic violence, or a de-humanizing of another person, be it through gender, religion, race or sexual orientation, is flawed. This day and age fortunately has the growth of international activism, where any sign of abuse, either through cultural practices or not, are being met with the very least, criticism and the call to reform. Also, the point you made about the STEM fields is also interesting. It leads to me ask, what is the typical female profession then? It seems that in the humanities professions, writing, directing, editing, etc., men are still valued more than women, are paid more, and hold more positions. What profession is the female profession? Or perhaps, people should realize that a profession should have nothing to do with gender."
--( posted on Apr 2, 2015, commenting on the post
Cultural Gender Roles and Economic Growth )
"This is a very well crafted solution. Before your post, I never know about these "soft skills." I wholeheartedly agree that these interpersonal work relatable skills should not only be taught, by focused on in the later years of college. One of the main reasons that finding a career right after graduation is the issue of inexperience. One of the biggest inexperiences is the lack of exposure to a social community in the workforce. An experience like this, which focuses on community building and social interaction towards a specific goal, would be very helpful in preparing one for an upcoming career. However, I believe that professions should also be willing to train employees, especially new ones. It seems to me that colleges, which are supposed to provide the next level of education in order to get a career, provide so basic of an instruction, that they are not as viable in helping land a career. Employers now seem to be looking for employees that already have training, which is unfair to the millions of graduates who followed the system that was provided and expected at the time, and was then expected to do even more. Hopefully, experiences like this will help better their ability to land jobs."
--( posted on Mar 19, 2015, commenting on the post
Work Solutions )
"I find your discussion and focus on internships intriguing, and a great idea to help solve issues we may face as post graduates. This also relates to my own solution that I posted about internships . I feel that internships, while a great stepping stone to careers as you pointed out, do tend to have an abuse in the system. Many companies may use internships as replacements for actual employment, which is a dangerous and unfair tactic. My solution of limiting unpaid internships to just college students can integrate nicely with your suggestion of required internships in college students. Since we are part of the Macaulay program, that requirement does give us a bit more of an incentive to find ourselves an internship. Nevertheless, it seems like the biggest issue is the structure of "entry level" jobs. It always baffles me that entry level positions most of the time require 2-3 years experience. Entry level jobs should be exactly what they advertise themselves to be, entry level. If positions would open up to the newer work force, and be willing to train individuals in their respective professions, then the work force situation would be much easier to handle."
--( posted on Mar 19, 2015, commenting on the post
Work Solution )
"The problems you suggested caught my interest, especially the one dealing with the growing pace of technology. This growth, to me, signifies two detrimental affects. The first being a larger increase of distraction in the workplace, and the second, being your suggestion of robots taking over the work force. While the distraction one you covered pretty in depth, the second concept seems the most troublesome and, to me, downright apocalyptic. It feels as if people are creating robots with the ability to do jobs without realizing the affects it can have. For example, what jobs are we going to program the robots to do? Menial jobs? What happens to the individuals who were using those jobs to make a livable wage? Yes, they have more freedom to pursue their interests, but it seems that they'll be losing the financial stability they once had. Will they all of a sudden be put on par with the next tier of workers? What will qualify as minimum wage if machinery is operating all menial jobs? Will professional jobs like lawyers and doctors now be classified as minimum wage jobs, despite the extensive effort put in to not only performing, but qualifying for such a job? I feel that introduction of machinery to "replace" menial jobs will create a destruction of the lower class, thereby placing middle class families as the new lower class. It doesn't seem very beneficial to anyone in the long run, not unless you own the company that saves money and increases profit because of your choice of machinery over workers."
--( posted on Mar 10, 2015, commenting on the post
Future of Work Problems )
"I find your comments on unemployment and distraction very similar to my own post. Distraction is no doubt one of the biggest killers of productivity. I've been distracted myself just trying to get my school work done. I also agree with your sentiment that distraction mostly comes from an individual basis of self-distraction, rather than meetings. It seems that this day and age many people claim that they can multi-task, or set it as one of their many skills. I feel that if one has the ability to "multi-task" while watching youtube videos and getting work done, then they should have the ability to "multi-task" during meetings and continue to get their work done. Distraction, I feel, is largely self imposed, possibly due to people being unsatisfied or strained in their jobs, are not feeling comfortable in their environment. Unemployment is also something I mentioned, but I focused more on the internships, stealing away employable opportunities. 16.8% of grads being unemployed is a horrendous amount, almost 1/5th of all grads aren't able to land a job. I believe a remedy to this is to have companies focus on training their future employees with pay, rather than exploit internship opportunities to further company gain. The work industry may face many issues in the coming future."
--( posted on Mar 10, 2015, commenting on the post
Work Problems II )
"Your solution to prison refinement is a great way to start paving the path for rehabilitation. The one aspect about your solution that stood out was its concept of treating prisoners like humans who made mistakes, not terrible monsters. That is a concept of the prison system in America, people are sent there to face punishment and vengeance, not necessarily rehabilitate. It seems odd though, that someone who stole money at one time could be placed in the same location with someone who's been a serial killer. Some crimes are much hasher than others, and deserve a much harsher punishment. But just as some deserve a harsher sentence, since they seem to be beyond rehabilitation, so do people who made mistakes and are seeking active change. One of the biggest issues of people who face prison sentences is seeking employment after serving their time. Perhaps a program geared to assuring opportunities outside of prison would also be an area for improvement. There's also been instances where prisoners are treated like human, and respond in a much kinder way. For example, some prisoners were given cats to take care of, and not only did they become protective, but loving, of their pets. Actions like that, no matter how small, would help prisoners, and the population realize, that they are just human, and deserve a second chance like everyone else. http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/cats-bringing-out-the-soft-side-of-inmates/"
--( posted on Mar 9, 2015, commenting on the post
Policing Solutions )
"I find your solution to this problem justice system very promising, and a step in a more humane approach to dealing with certain legal issues. What you propose is basically a counter argument to the "war on drugs" in the 1970's. While I agree that the war on drugs should be upheld to the illegal distribution and production of drugs, the decriminalization of drug abuse should be a priority in justice system reforms. Drug abuse should be treated more as an illness rather than a crime. Mandatory rehabilitation is a safer and better alternative to prison sentences. How can the justice system choose to punish someone who has a physical and psychological dependence on drugs? However, there is a problem that the departments would point out: funding. The main argument against this solution would be how to properly fund it. An argument could be made that a great amount of money will be saved by not imprisoning drug addicts, and that could be used to fund a project of this size. Also, since rehab centers are privately owned, another issue would be trying to find which rehab centers would be part of a government program, etc. Of all the reforms however, this seems the most feasible. And with the changing drug laws slowly taking place in the country, hopefully the criminalization of drug addiction will begin to falter as well."
--( posted on Mar 9, 2015, commenting on the post
Policing Solutions )
"Hello Claudia, I found your comments on the overall issues facing police very interesting, in particular the Stop and Frisk policy. The Stop and Frisk Policy has been a long standing debate for years within New York City, with many protestors stating its detriments. It is entirely true that the stop and frisk policy is centered towards minorities, and, before the new marijuana laws, was most likely the leading technique to charge and arrest many young minorities with pot possession. In fact, I think the change in law may actually be a factor in altering Stop and Frisk, as police may no longer have to factor that into their quotas. However, I have heard that the stop and frisk policy does help prevent suspicious behavior, for example, if a man seems to scoping out a car, it gives an officer legal right to question him. I believe this was the original intention of the law, but has been taken advantage of. To this end, I feel that stop and frisk should be heavily reformed, but maybe not completely repealed. I'm not sure, but it would make an interesting debate! I also found it interesting that you mentioned the broken windows theory. Im not sure if you are aware, but the current NYPD commissioner, Bratton, was the commissioner who instituted this theory with Mayor Giuliani. Its almost ironic that he is the commissioner once again when the public is calling for reformation. Im curious to see what reforms, if any, the NYPD will be able to accomplish."
--( posted on Feb 18, 2015, commenting on the post
Policing Problems I )
"I find your comments on policing issues quite interesting, and similar to the ones I stated in my own post. Police brutality and an over-reliance on guns is a very pressing issue in the police community. In my post, I mentioned the officer discretion laws, giving New York City officers the choice in using guns during emergency encounters based on their judgement. However, you took it a step further by mentioning the Peter Liang case, which I've heard about earlier. In my opinion it was an accident. I believe the firearm went off and struck a bystander further down the stairwell, whom the officers were unaware of. Unfortunately, he just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Despite being an accident, the question arises, why did officer Liang have his gun unholstered in the first place in a housing complex? There could be many bystanders who are in danger in that situation, and it is up to the officer's discretion to use his firearm. This, however, just points to the police's over dependence on firearms. Ideally, officer Liang should have had more training to deal with situations and learn not to depend on his firearm as much. He has many other tools at his disposal, but out of habit, he decided to use his firearm. I believe the only way to effectively reduce the over dependence on firearms is a yearly or monthly training session on firearm use, takedown use, and martial arts training. An officer with a larger skill set means more tools at his disposal in tense situations, meaning he may start to feel comfortable doing routine searches without his weapon drawn, and perform takedowns without chokeholds. Though this seems a big venture, an added training program to the NYPD doesn't seem like to big an idea to handle."
--( posted on Feb 18, 2015, commenting on the post
Problem 1 – Policing )
