Living On the Poverty Line

The government's official poverty line is around $22,113.  Is this too low?  Is it substantial?  This is what I am about to find out.  First, I am going to to figure out the monthly expenses for a typical four person family and then compare this to the poverty line and see what the results are.  Then, I will see what expenses could be eliminated.  Finally,  I will analyze my results.  Here we go!


Assume this family is renting a small house in the Midway area...

Food- $500
Car payment- $85
Gas for one car- $120
Insurance for car and renters insurance- $160
Rent- $1100
Water and heat- $90
Clothing- $200
Internet and cable- $120
Toiletries- $100
School supplies- $30
Misc. (spending money or to fix car)- $150

So I could add even more expenses if needed, but at this point I am already at $2,655.  Multiply that by 12 (monthly basis) and you get $31,860. That is a difference of $-9,747  And this is barely more than the NECESSITIES! Now, I want to trim out some items...  The ones that could be considered "extras" are: Internet and cable (not needed; use a public library if needed), a chunk of the spending money ($75 or so instead), and a decrease in clothing as well.  The negative side to decrease the money spent on clothes is the fact we live in Minnesota and require warm clothing which usually costs more.

Even after trying to eliminate some of the "extras" the total is roughly $26,000, which is still above the poverty line.  I cannot imagine how difficult if would be to live off of that amount of money and try to provide a healthy lifestyle for my family...

Even having $26,000 to spend this family wouldn't be living comfortably.  There would be no vacations,  limited extracurricular activities for kids or parents,  poor quality clothing, no second car, and the list could go on for days.  Factor in the possibility the car might need repairs, you might get a ticket, you may have to pay hospital bills if someone is sick and you can already see it would be near impossible to live an average life with this income.  Over time this would take a toll on the whole family.  Parents may get extremely stressed and use a drug to compensate the stress.  Kids might be made fun of at school for having trashy or cheap clothing and eventually lead to lack of success in academics.  Parents might be working so much that they won't be active in the children's lives, causing the children to experiment with drugs or hangout with the wrong kids.  The possibility of living a normal life would be extremely slim.

I know I couldn't live like this and part of what made me want to be successful was watching my parents succeed.  These kids would never see this and have a hard time reaching their potential in life.  The poverty line is a depressing statistic and changes NEED to be made.  Time to make a stand and help people out living in this situation...

Social Structure

For this entry I took a look at the social structure of the United States education system.  Social structure is defined as: the framework of society that exists above the level of individuals and provides the social setting in which individuals interact with one another to form relationships.  To relate this to the education system we must understand that there are national, state, district, and individual school structures to the education system within the United States.  Each one implements a different type of authority that or structure that guides us to accomplish set goals.  Nationally we might have to meet certain test scores to enter college or graduate.  Each state might have a specific test that each student must pass to meet national requirements.  It is a hierarchal approach to social structure.

The individual school structure or requirements is what I am more familiar with.  Each school sets standards or ways of teaching that are supposed to further your education.  My high school was not exactly the most renowned school in the state of Minnesota, but it accomplished what had to be done.  Ultimately, all I had to do was pass high school and pass the mandatory state tests to earn my degree.  But what if I wanted to go to college?

This is where I saw the importance of the social structure within our school systems.  Grades.  Grades are ultimately what determined if I would make it to college one day.  Also, it wasn't just grades but the difficulty of the class I was taking.  I knew that if I were to finish high school with a high GPA that would be awesome, but the social structure insisted that I could get a lower grade in a more difficult class and colleges would respect that much more.  Is this a flaw within our social structure or is it the right thing to implement?  I was an advocate for the AP or Honors classes because they made me concentrate on a specific issue within a subject and elaborate more.  This helped me build more thinking skills that I still use today.  These classes set me up for success within my college courses.

I never thought about the social structure that was implemented into my brain from a young age.  But is it truly fair to say that if someone doesn't have a high GPA or test scores in high school that they are dumb?  There are plenty of people that I know personally who are extremely smart, but they accomplished neither a high GPA or excellent test scores.  Most of which have a very entrepreneurial mindset.  This is why I am skeptical of the social structure that has been pounded into our brains for years now.

Do you think only good students end up successful?  Think again...
Check out these extremely successful people who did not even graduate college... or high school for some of them!

http://www.neatorama.com/2009/10/13/7-highly-successful-high-school-dropouts/

Funny how you can follow the structure of society and it will bring you success, but you can also break the social structure and create your own success.  As an entrepreneur I have much respect for the people who rebel against the norms and I hope people continue to do this!

To Be Deviant or Not

Deviance is an interesting subject considering I have met many people in my life who would be considered deviant.  If you are unfamiliar with deviance means it is the behavior, ideas, or attributes of an individual or group that some people in society find offensive.  The range of deviance is extremely broad, but a topic that caught my eye was the labeling theory.

This theory defines itself by stating that deviance is the consequence of the application of rules and sanctions to an offender; a deviant is an individual to whom the identity "deviant" has been successfully applied.  A person within a relationship who might be unfaithful is labeled as untrustworthy and will likely repeat the same actions.  An ex-convict will be labeled as a criminal and that they will not succeed in life without being a criminal.  Finally, if a coach were to pay players to hurt someone on the opposing team how would he be labeled by the public eye?

Coach Sean Payton

This question connects with a current issue with Sean Payton.  He is (was) the head coach of the New Orleans Saints, a NFL team. Sean Payton and defensive coordinator, Greg Williams, put a bounty on opposing team's players.  If the bounty was met and the player was hurt they would pay cash to their players.  Sean Payton is currently suspended for one season and Greg Williams is suspended indefinitely.

For more info regarding the allegations go to this site:
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/bounty-345628-suspended-payton.html

Regardless of the outcome of the trials and appeals that will occur over the next year or two, the big question is how will these coaches be labeled for their deviance?  Does celebrity status allow deviant acts to slide by or are they taken more seriously?  We will never truly know the answer to this.  Many people speculate that Sean Payton will keep his coaching job with the Saints and will continue his successful legacy.

Is this fair?  Within the past year, coaching great, Joe Paterno was put under the chopping block for the sex scandal of another coach at Penn State.  He had no affiliation with what happened but was labeled as "dirty, naive, and irresponsible" for being the head coach at the time of the events.  So how can one coach assist in a deviant act of promoting the injury of opposing players without much negative labeling and a coaching legend has his persona torn apart because of the acts his fellow coach committed?

This is where I see the flaw in the labeling theory.  People misunderstand the actions of a person and the affects of the environment at the time of the deviant act.  Sean Payton did take full responsibility for his actions, but he is still given the chance to appeal his case and continue coaching.  Meanwhile, a coaching legend is ripped of his job and livelihood because of the selfish acts of a fellow coach.  I see a large discrepancy and do not agree with the labeling theory.  I would put a label on someone depending on the severity of their actions and only if they personally were affiliated.  And I believe everyone deserves a second chance and if they ruin this chance then it is fair to give them a negative label.  Whether or not you agree, deviant acts will be deviant acts and society will immediately label a person whether they like it or not.  Just another reason why our society is no where near perfect...

Uniquely Family

What does family mean to you? Well, according to the U.S. Bureau of the Census (from our textbook) a family household is composed of one or more people who occupy the the same housing unit. And according to dictionary.com family means a basic social unit consisting of parents and theirchildren, considered as a group, whether dwelling together or not.  But is it truly fair to say a family must consist of just blood-related persons?  I believe it is unfair to say you must classify someone as family just because they have part of the same DNA as you.


A true family is a group of people who love you for who you are and what you represent.  I have plenty of friends that can admit they are not close to anyone in their family.  They should be sad right?  They beg to differ.  They say the only people who are really seen are family are the ones that have always been there for you. Here is an article to support my thought.


http://www.englishforums.com/English/FamilyDefinitionReadGiveOpinions/bljkm/post.htm


I couldn't imagine not being not close to my parents let alone having to live without a parent due to death or other circumstances.  Unfortunately, my cousins have had to do this for the last four years of their life. They told me that even though I am two generations apart from them that they see me as family.  They say family is defined by actions and love than who is blood related.  Sometimes people had that close individual that was blood related but lose them, so what do they resort to?  They realize that its truly the people you surround yourself that classify them as family.  


Family, just a word that describes who really means the most to you not matter what the circumstance.  In a weird way only certain unique individuals can be considered family to one self.  In a way we are uniquely family.

To Impress or Not To Impress

The topic for this week's post is impression management.  Impression management is the process by which people attempt to present a favorable public image of themselves (Newman, p. 175).  This is how stereotypes are presented and/or followed.

When thinking of who shows a favorable public image that would be the perfect candidate for positive impression management was rather tricky.  You may think celebrities of any status would be the perfect subject for this example, but what I found when researching I found its the people we don't hear about as often that portray positive impression management.

One positive example (or multiple) would be the managers of restaurants and small businesses.  They are constantly being looked at to have that positive image and to control the business.  How might a manager show impression management?  First, they usually dress in more formal character than a typical employee.  Second they almost always converse with customers in a positive manager with a smile on their face.  They also show positive reinforcement when they use corrective criticism when consulting employees about mistakes or absences.

A negative example of poor impression management is the infamous show, Jersey Shore.  The men may show positive things such as: well-groomed bodies, fashionable, masculine, etc.  But the negative connotation associated with the show and its characters is the ignorance they possess.  They feel that they have the right to treat women with disrespect in public, fight people at clubs, drink an absurd amount of liquor at one time, and of course have casual sex with just about anyone.  The way the public views them is just the sad reality to how they lack impression management control.

Here are a few links to support the negative connotations associated with poor impression management control or how reality shows have a negative impact on society:

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/07/26/mtvs-jersey-shore-is-a-negative-for-new-jersey/

http://www.ehow.com/list_7305120_negative-effects-reality-shows.html

http://rosalindwiseman.com/2009/12/21/juice-abuse-why-jersey-shore-isnt-just-a-joke/

Sociology and Real World Connection

One concept that caught my eye throughout the first five chapters was globalization. This concept implicates the process through which people's lives all around the world become increasingly interconnected-- economically, politically, environmentally, and culturally.

I did further research to find out the extent of globalization after reading Chapter 2.  I was interested in finding out more about globalization because I am an avid car fan and realize that most parts are shipped to the USA for assembly.  One GM factory in South Korea had a globalization affect implemented into their actual name.  The company name was changed to Korea GM and all domestic products from the American based GM that was their, they were all removed from the country.

Chevy Globalization

This is an instance when globalization of a USA based company backfires in the long run.  As we are getting smarter we are learning from mistakes of globalization but it is still giving other countries a chance to cash in on our mistakes.  An American company like this started a new culture in a different country, but soon had it ripped away because the South Korean's used the globalization to their advantage.

Nonetheless, this is a good example of what globalization rarely turns in to.  It is usually has a positive impact on a community and the businesses with the cities.  Globalization is a unique concept and it would be really surprising to know the real number of companies that have outsourced and had a positive impact within that culture.

Go Green or Not?

Here is a link to an article based on the connection of Psychology and Marjiuana.  This is strictly based off of medical purposes in states that allow you to obtain a medical marijuana license, but it is directed at all marijuana consumers.


I found this is a rather fitting article considering I know a large population of the student body has consumed or currently consumes marijuana in some type of form (edibles, smoking, tinctures, etc.).


To summarize the article, the connection is made that our brain's own marijuana transmitter system is necessary for us to feel hungry, to experience happiness and also to maintain the brain normal processes. A drug, rimonabant, was tested by neuroscientists that interacted with the same part of  feeding center in the brain as marijuana did.  The drug was used in hopes to inhibit the "munchies," or sense of hunger.  The drug worked almost too well controlling hunger but, had major affects on mood and caused depression and thoughts of suicide.


From this psychologists can conclude that the there truly is a connection between marijuana and the psychology of our body.  At least one puff a day could alter your attitude and relieve depression.  It is funny to think that many of my peers are using an illegal drug, but it is actually benefiting their brain and mood.


Is this just another reason why marijuana should be or will be legal one day?  Food for thought...


But the true question is why is this relevant to sociology? Our culture is forever altering and this is a strong issue many people fight against.  Our society has the perception that people who smoke or use marijuana are lazy and have no direction in their life.  This may or may not be right, but the problem herein lies deeper than marijuana issues.  


The truth is that Americans are more prone to trying and experimenting with any type of illegal drug.  The two main experimental drugs are marijuana and cocaine.  Our society (USA) has the overpowering influence of media, and the use of drugs among celebrities is just adding fuel to the curious flame American's possess. 


"Researchers found that 42% of people surveyed in the U.S. had tried marijuana at least once, and 16% had tried cocaine. About 20% of residents surveyed in the Netherlands, by contrast, reported having tried pot; in Asian countries, such as Japan and China, marijuana use was virtually "non-existent," the study found. New Zealand was the only other country to claim roughly the same percentage of pot smokers as the U.S., but no other nation came close to the proportion of Americans who reported trying cocaine."


My question is if marijuana was legal would it make our society less likely to feed off of the rebellious actions of celebrities and higher power people? And if drugs such as cocaine or marijuana were legalized how would that effect our culture and tendencies compared to other countries?


I was shocked to see that a country such as Netherlands that allows consumption of weed in designated places had a lower rate of users or experimenters that the USA where it is a federal crime for possessing and/or use of marijuana.  This raises so many questions in my head but I am not sure how to perceive my friends or people using illegal drugs.  Our society has put stereotypes on drug users, but how might the perception change if marijuana is legal one day? That is the question...