Haves and Have Nots Seminar - Moody Middle School

" In 39 states, welfare pays more than the starting wage for a secretary." This article explains how the majority of states offer a total potential government-provided welfare benefit that is higher than the annual pretax wage of many common jobs. The article also includes a chart comparing the annual welfare benefit and the annual pretax wage earned in a given job in each state.

"My favorite phrase in Josh Barro's much-discussed piece this week about who's rich and who's not was this one: "$400,000 isn't a lot of money - after you spend it." Josh's argument was that while many people with household income of $400,000 - or $200,000 - may consider themselves middle class, they're actually affluent. Nationwide, fewer than 5 percent of households make at least $200,000. In New York, the share is only modestly higher." This article expresses the idea that, in today's society, there is too much of a fine line between upper, middle, and lower class. This can help us throughout the project because, in Rome, there were very obvious lines between classes, so it is helpful to compare and contrast it to America's situation.

This article talks about how it is harder to move socially in the US than in most of Europe. Also, it shows the Horatio Alger myth, which states the ideal aspects of the American Dream without stating the truth. Although Obama and the government believe in this lie, stating that someone born into poverty has equal chances as anyone else. The writer disagrees with this stating that she is bound by poverty and is a slaves for life, without equal opportunities as some other students

"President Obama is in Tennessee on Friday, along with the state's Republican governor and two Republican senators, to lay out his plan for free community college. The plan - which would require congressional approval - would apply to students attending a two-year college, including part time, so long as the college offered credits that could transfer to a four-year college or provided training that led to jobs." This article explores the idea that President Obama and the Republican Congress are considering passing the proposal to grant two years of free community college. From the New York Times, this article can help students work on and relate to the project because the issue of free after-high school education is a common dispute between the upper and lower class citizens all throughout America.

"A substantial majority of Americans (65%) said in an July 2012 Pew Research survey that they believed the income gap between the rich and poor had widened over the last decade. Just 20% said it had stayed the same and 7% said it was smaller. Most of those (57%) who believed the gap had grown said it was a bad thing for society." This article discusses the general public's idea of the growing gap between the income of the rich and poor. Many do in fact believe that this difference has been increases for the last ten years. However, there are many different agreeable reasons for why people believe the rich are just getting richer. Some say intelligence is a key factor when discussing income, which is true, but richer people also tend to be greedy in a democratic point of view. Also discussed in the article were the opinions on what kind of people receive a smaller income. Two major factors included were race and amount of effort applied in educations (what level of degree/education they received).

"Much has been written about the domestic consequences of growing income inequality in the United States - how inequality depresses growth, puts downward pressure on the middle class, accentuates wage stagnation and creates added difficulty paying for a college education and buying a home " This article by The Washington Post talks about how income inequality would not only affect America domestically, but also internationally. Having income inequality would undermine America's authority as a world power on an international level as well.

This article explains how "gifted" students or students who live near fluent areas have better opportunities. For instance Deep Run's A.P. exam showed 1 in every 1.6 students passed there Exam while as Highland Spring's A. P. exam showed 1 in every 45.3 students passed there exams. Overall kids living in the west end are probably going to do better than kids living in the east end.

"Local public high school students saved more than $9 million in college tuition last year by passing Advanced Placement exams before graduating, but the results were heavily influenced by students in a regional school for the academically gifted and in five largely affluent suburban schools. In the city of Richmond, students at three of the eight high schools didn't record a single passing score, and students in the city as a whole earned only about $150,000 worth of tuition, based on the cost of a three-credit class at Virginia Commonwealth University. Across the city and in the counties of Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico, students at schools in older areas and with predominantly minority enrollments took fewer AP classes and performed at lower levels on the exams." This article talked about how students living in older areas received minority enrollments and also performed low on the tests. This proves that there is opportunity gap because of the old area influencing the students (Reid).

""We need our kids to not just take these classes, but to pass the exams. It proves again the importance of making sure we have effective teachers in every classroom."" This article shows the different disparities in test scores in Henrico County and the things the county did to try to help the range of test scores.

"The report says that the learning levels of children in the province are very poor." This article conveys the fact that "have-nots" people commonly have a lower level of education through statistics. The percentages shown in the article exposes the truth about separation between social classes, and how it is evident in the learning environment.

"The opportunity to learn-the necessary resources, the curriculum opportunities, the quality teachers-that affluent students have, is what determines what people can do in life." Linda Darling-Hammond, Professor of Education at Stanford University This includes information such as the different percentages of experienced teachers in different counties, states, cities, and districts. It mentions data about the education gap between different races in the US. It also gives information on how the access to high-level courses varies by state, and reasons and ways to close the opportunity gap.

In this article, they talk about opportunity gaps in America. They also talk about racial discrimination when it comes to getting a good education.

"Disability can be both a cause and consequence of economic insecurity. It is a cause because disability or illness can lead to job loss and reduced earnings, barriers to education and skills development, significant additional expenses, and many other challenges that can lead to economic hardship." This article depicts statistical data of people bearing disabilities and their employment rate. It shares how disabled Americans should have the same opportunities as a normal work applicant. This article also describes some barriers that can be present with disabled workers.

"Yet the intersection of disability and poverty is too rarely discussed. In fact, despite the fact that 1 in 5 Americans live with disabilities, the U.S. Census Bureau's annual report detailing income, poverty, and health insurance coverage did not even include poverty rates for people with disabilities until recently. It does now, and the most recent available data put the poverty rate for working-age people with disabilities at 34.5 percent in 2013, compared with 12.2 percent for those without disabilities." This article explains how Senator, Tom Harkin, speaks about immense the unemployment rate between the disabled and the non-disabled. The comparison between the "haves" is and the "have nots" is a difference of tens of millions of people. It describes how the disabled have problems financially which lead to no health care and are in need of aid from the government. However, Senator Harken speaks about program and policies that are helping the disabled for finding jobs, food, and more.

This article talks about how disabled persons have a less chance for getting a job.

"under President Obama, the rich have gotten richer, income inequality has gotten worse and there are more people in poverty than ever before," This articles talks about the Republicans' view on income inequality. It shares the opinions of different figures and their propositions for what should come next. The "American Dream" also comes in question and views on this situation are shared.

"Americans are about $3,000 a year worse off than they were when he came to office" This article is about the changing politics of both parties on income inequality. It is stopped being a political problem and it has become a American problem

"One factor is that the students themselves sometimes are not motivated enough," said Ruscitti. "They need to understand the role of education in helping them go out and get a job. We want all children to have great skills for today's jobs." This article talks about the growing education gap, and how many people, including Darlene Ruscitti, want to be able to close the gap. She addresses some aspects of what may need to be done to close the gap, including the topic of student motivation.

"The government helps students' education." This article talks about what the government is doing to help colleges and how people can get into college because of the government.

"Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin has buzz. He has impressed conservative activists in Des Moines and is the front-runner for likely Republican Iowa caucus-goers, according to a Bloomberg Politics-Des Moines Register poll published over the weekend. Supporters say Mr. Walker, who is 47, has more diverse qualifications than the other Republicans: a non-Washington Republican who has won tough contests in a blue state, has taken on labor unions, and appeals to Christian conservatives and the business constituency. There is one credential that he doesn't have: a post-high school education. America hasn't elected a president without a college degree since Harry S. Truman." This article focuses on how the governor of Wisconsin might try to run for president without having a college education. According to the article, more than 40% of voters and all members of the Senate have higher education. Many strategists in both parties believe that Scott Walker's lack of college education could be troublesome if he chooses to run for president.

"Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin has buzz. He has impressed conservative activists in Des Moines and is the front-runner for likely Republican Iowa caucus-goers, according to a Bloomberg Politics-Des Moines Register poll published over the weekend. Supporters say Mr. Walker, who is 47, has more diverse qualifications than the other Republicans: a non-Washington Republican who has won tough contests in a blue state, has taken on labor unions, and appeals to Christian conservatives and the business constituency. There is one credential that he doesn't have: a post-high school education. America hasn't elected a president without a college degree since Harry S. Truman."

"When it comes to our budget, we should not be stuck in a stale debate from two years ago or three years ago," Obama said at a nonprofit social services center in a poor neighborhood in the capital. "A relentlessly growing deficit of opportunity is a bigger threat to our future than our rapidly shrinking fiscal deficit." This article includes an in depth look into President Obama's take on income equality, and its effects on our economy. In addition, he included the topics of economic theory, which was included in his statement about income equality.

"The bottom 20 percent of households lost over three times as much in real earnings as did households at the top," says Michael Cassidy, President of The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis, a Virginia-based independent fiscal and economic policy research organization. "As a result, income inequality in Northern Virginia has grown substantially since the start of the recession. In 2007, the top 10 percent of Northern Virginia households brought in 7.61 times the income of the bottom 10 percent. In 2010, they brought in 8.5 times as much." The article details the increasing difference between the incomes of Virginia's highest and lowest classes. The annual income of the highest 10 percent has grown almost 100% in three years, an unhealthy and irregular amount compared to the rest of the country.

"Women have yet to close the wage gap, even when they have similar jobs to their male counterparts. That's especially true on Wall Street. Last year, women who graduated from business school and took jobs in financial services earned an average of $21,872 less than male MBAs, according to data collected by Bloomberg Business. Drilling down into the numbers shows part of that discrepancy is explained by differences in the type of finance companies that hired women, but a gap persisted even when women worked in similar sub-sectors of finance as men. " This article discusses the wage gap between the sexes. It explains how men who work on wall street get paid over $11,000 more than the women who work on wall street and do the exact same jobs. People have been trying to close this gap for years, yet it still stands.

"Americans have long looked to our public schools to provide opportunities for individual advancement, promote social mobility, and share democratic values. We believe good schools are essential to democracy and prosperity - and that it is our collective responsibility to educate all children, not just a fortunate few. Over the past three decades, however, we have witnessed a betrayal of those ideals." This article includes information about local economic inequality. It talks about how all students have a right to learn no matter what there zip code is or their parent's ability to work. It also states that the education system should not focus on how badly poverty has damaged them, education opportunities should focus on the needs of any student.

""We're facing right now a divided America when it comes to the economy. It is true that the top 1 percent are doing great under Barack Obama. Today, the top 1 percent earn a higher share of our national income than any year since 1928," he said, quoting an oft-cited (by liberals) statistic from the work of economists Piketty and Emmanuel Saez." This article is about the problems with income inequality we are facing in America.