Segregation in Labor Markets, Neighborhood, Education, and Criminal Justice - Essay Example

? Segregation in Labor Markets, Neighborhood, Education, and Criminal Justice Segregation in Labor Markets, Neighborhood, Education, and Criminal Justice Recession – the greatest depression of the current generation – has already transformed lives not only of the Americans but also the entire working population globally and it is foreseen to do its continuous modification of the people’s lifestyle, homes, and personality until the far future. Every individual hungers for change, for the economy to escalate again to its pre-recession state – the era before thousands were viciously pushed over the precipice of unemployment by capitalist to limit the number of mouths to feed as the supplies needed to fuel their production decline rapidly. With the slightest earthquakes, cracks mark the surface, and even the toughest man or sturdiest structure feels its effects and aftershock so as the blow of recession is faced by both white collared and blue collared workers. From late 2007 to early 2009, a dramatic decline in job vacancies and pairing market deterioration caused rising number in unemployment and permanent layoffs as this is by far the worst recession in American history in equivalence to the coined name Great Recession where, as reported, resulted to 10.6 million jobs deficit in just two years. And even with the declared end of the Great Recession in early 2009, the height of unemployment rates continues to shoot upward as the government strives to face the colossal job creation challenge in order to get a resilient economic recovery (Peck, 2010). Three years has passed and the government is still running the same marathon with the victory far from sight. As explained by Peck (2010), the Great Recession may be technically over but going back to the normal economic state is still afar. He used the words “New Jobless Era” to define this time when job opportunities and offerings sink to the bottom. As the government and its policy makers cogitate for ways to solve this, there is one query at the mind of the population, how does this novel system affect the lives and behavior of the people? Can everyone easily cope or will they be impelled to do things unthinkable in order to survive? Both media and labor unions had their eyes pinned on the concurrent lay-offs the following years yet all that was given were only sympathy and not any solution to the problem. The real problem is not absence of work for work has always been available, but it is the dearth of a real job and the career path together with its health benefits and chances for promotion that kills the middle class Americans that used to have a comfortable living. Aronowitz and DeFazio (2010) elucidated that what is offered now are contractual works that offers employment and income only for a specified period of time lacking the stability that it used to offer. They further discussed that the reasons behind this phenomenon are the outsourcing of production to other countries and cybernetics. For a much cheaper labor cost, computer companies such as Apple, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and even some other electrical and automotive companies ought to send production processing off-shore to countries that offer much cheaper salary rates and higher number of workers. This scheme maximizes the company’s production budget while still producing high quality materials for the market. On the other hand, cybernetics and automation had been part of everyone’s daily living including in some factories where robotics replaced the then job of one human highly skilled for that certain task. Automation is a path worth investing by the capitalists for this requires no health benefits or retirement plans and offers precise production at much faster rate. An example is the bankruptcy of Solyndra and New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI), which both used to be the powerhouse manufacturers of solar products and automotives respectively. Both were struck and defeated by their off shore competitions as the jobs were brought to countries with cheaper and often non-unionized labor (Wilson, 1997). With this, they were forced to shut down eventually cutting off 5,800 employees with their job as reported by Ross (2011) in the San Francisco Chronicle. Lucky for the few 18 percent, they were re-employed by companies such as Tesla Motors as they prioritized highly skilled employees from NUMMI. What happens now for the remaining 82 percent? Peck (2010) envisaged that this trend will definitely alter that characters and life course of today’s generation particularly of the youth and many blue-collar workers. He cited stories of people who were laid off from their jobs, facing a downward mobilization from being in the middle class to that of in the border of poverty. This shock could bring about obliteration of marriage and wrapping of depression replicating the history of the preceding recessions. Eventually, it will affect our culture, our society’s moral fiber, our government and its politics for the coming years. As Wilson (1997) cited, with all these changes and joblessness, they may be hopelessness and abruption of negative sentiments, lack of work-related behavior and norms, and even deterioration of personality may appear as some may sort to illegal activities for the chance of survival. Some of the previous employees of NUMMI were offered training workshops for auto mechanics and machine shop operating to truck driving, roofing, waste management, pharmacy work and even baking (Ross, 2011). Such courses were tendered by local agencies and community colleges to help those affected to reemploy for a new job. Others ought to undergo retraining programs particularly those in older population because although they have served the company for so long or have previously held a managerial position, some requires new skill and adaptation to the latest technology that they must learn before plunging head on to their new jobs. Better training could provide these older jobseekers with the gear to compete in today’s job market and the skills employers in high growth industries stipulate. As Portes and Rumbaut (1996) discussed in their book, education makes all the difference on finding an occupation as the diversity of nationalities in America is as scattered as their educational attainment. In times of joblessness, those who have lower educational attainment, such as the immigrants from lesser developed countries, have the least opportunity to be reemployed. Furthermore, Rossi (2011) reclaimed the devastating end of the NUMMI workers as they became almost invisible after the layoffs considering that they used to be considered as the best workers in automotives manufacturing. He also bolstered that their agony where left unattended and out of the limelight and it’s such a pain to have a great number of successful workforce ending up unemployed for a long period. Through all these, economists are still optimist that there will be a U-turn for the recovery to eventually appear. As Peck (2010) laid down the possibilities of recession recovery, the few possibilities are V, where there will be a rapid rebound; U, as aspired by the economists with slow yet still escalating progress to normalcy; W, which we’re not hoping to have as this is describe with double rebound of recession. Another industry that was harshly affected by the recession is the United States Postal Service (USPS) as conveyed by Lochhead (2011) in her written article from the same newspaper aforementioned. Phillip Herr, General Accounting Office’s postal expert, told the senate that the stark reality is that the USPS' business model is broken. Owing the downfall to the fame of internet and major funding to retiree health benefits, the nation’s second largest civilian employer is expected to meet its end on summer this year (2012). In this article, it has been reported that after Saturday mailings were terminated, the congress is planning to redirect mails to community establishments such as grocery store or retail shops consequently after the closure of a number of postal offices and processing plants. In congruence to what Aronowitz and DiFazio (2010) affirmed, this is due to the effect of internet and the cyber era where electronic devices serve not only as means of communication but as a cultural artifact transforming humans to half electronics with escalating usage on a daily basis. E-mails, e-vites and electronic billing have replaced the first class mail which serves as the milking cow of the postal service. As companies request their clients to opt e-mail from snail mail to cut their costs, it also cut down the income of the postal service forcing them to seal up not just the stamps but also several postal offices across the country. Postal unions, business mailers and most Democrats justified that the Congress is liable for more than half the agency's losses are because of a $5.5 billion prefund payment for retiree health benefits which, together with federal pension funds, was overpaid by at least $50 billion creating a crushing boulder that eventually pulverized the Postal Service (Lochhead, 2011). As both journals have concisely conferred these sociological issues in congruence with the theories and concepts consequently discussed and in a manner that is politically unbiased, it gives us the fleshy picture of the real scenario at hand. These are mere morsel compared to the vast selection of journals, article, and reports written to awaken the capitalists, economists, and political leaders on the aftermath and consequences of this economical earthquake. Yet, as journalists, Lochhead (2011) and Ross (2011) went to various levels of depth as they direct to reach the earshot of their diverse audience. It shouts for thousands of unemployed citizens that were harshly affected by the Great Recession and up until now are still trapped it the pit. As a journal writing, it discussed the matter concisely covering specific points of the issue with testimonies from few people such as managers, previous employee and politicians to have a better understanding on what is currently happening. Although in sociological point of reference, having a handful of interview from random people could not be considered as a valid sample, these articles, like a sociological report, attempts to unveil the essential components of the situations under study. Both delivered a factual, united, and descriptive approach to unravel and explore the several facets of the complex phenomenon. Though Lochhead (2011) included the involvement of the Congress to what transpired with the fate of the postal service, it was done in a matter which is unprejudiced leaving the hanging conclusion in the hands of the reader. In matters discussed regarding the American workforce and how it was clobbered by the Great Recession, the newspaper articles gave a crisp summary of what transpired in that current day focusing on one subject at hand and discussing the issue objectively. They may have included other issue intertwined with the main topic yet they were not further tackled unlike how sociologists would have done it. In line with this, articles discussed in class delivered a comprehensive outlook of the concept with careful exploration to details of every strand of the complex woven topic. The investigation process stretched out far more that those of the journalists’ wherein the arguments may be a year or two earlier but the concepts and theories that were reflected are timeless and factual. Both the works of journalists and sociologists utilized a parallel approach in observance and description of social conditions and problems as well as the way in which these approaches have alleviated to generate both a public and research agenda through the years. In culmination of what transpired in this analysis, Lochhead (2011) and Ross (2011) delivered a sociologically precise discussion on the Great Recession. They brought justifiable articles for San Francisco Chronicles that is presented in manner that is in congruence with the theories and concepts articulated by the sociologists. The new generation of journalists truly reports as sociologists do, though the execution and presentation are almost always different, its intention to make known to everyone in the society on what is happening is always at the upper hand. References Aronowitz, S. & DiFazio, W. (2010). The Jobless Future. Minneapolis, MN.: University of Minnesota Press. Lochhead, C. (2011, October 1). Congress gives Postal Service reprieve on debt. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved from http://www.sfgate.com Peck, D. (2010, March). How a New Jobless Era will Transform America. The Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com Portes, A. & Rumbaut, R. (1996). Immigrant America. Making it in America: Occupational and Economic Adaptation (pp.72-94). Berkely, CA: University of California Press. Ross, A. (2011, September 25). Ex-Solyndra, Nummi workers in 2 different worlds. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved from http://www.sfgate.com Wilson, W. (1997) When Work Disappears: Ghetto?Related Behavior and the Structure of Opportunity (pp. 51?86). New York: Vintage Books. Read More