Week 9 Reading Response

The degree of government interference with the societal structure of ethnic enclaves continues to be a difficult subject of matter to discuss. You can’t please everyone but you should definitely work to make every citizen happy if not content with their lifestyles. That being said, I believe the government should be doing what’s best for the community as a whole, not just for a specific individual or company. I definitely don’t believe large corporations should have the right to swoop in and out buy the smaller businesses that serve as the only job options for poor immigrants that need to support their families. The working conditions for these people were very difficult to bear with, and Mayor Bloomberg should have definitely stepped in earlier to change the circumstances of the situation. No sidewalks, sewer system, or heating? It sounds like these immigrant workers were exiled out of the civilized part of society and forced to do labor there. The plan for Mets-Willets Point sounds like it could have a positive long run and would benefit many citizens and aspects of the community, but the mayor cannot just abandon the immigrant workers and leave them jobless. The ideal solution would be to rehire them with jobs in the newly built apartments, condos, hotels, and shopping mall after providing them with proper training and educational classes. Then, they would be able to make higher salaries and avoid working in a dangerous environment. The immigrants staying within their poor ethnic enclave does not ensure any vertical mobility socially nor economically. They also need to step out of their comfort zones and put a little more effort if they want their kids to have better opportunities for jobs and careers in the future. It’s hard to have one without the other, to say the least.