America and the Flip-Side of Underemployment and Inflation

Discussions/Assignments
Your Name
October 23, 2016
Your Institution of Affiliation
America and the Flip-side of Underemployment and Inflation
Historically, most Americans in the higher echelons have worked hard to get where they are right now (or where they were). Because of that the promise of “social mobility” – getting in the higher ranks – have seduced more people to work harder to achieve what they want. However, there’s one problem in this equation. Social mobility would only work in places with a lot of opportunities. This could be said as true during the earlier days of our nation, but these days, I could argue that social mobility is, for most instances, nothing more than a way for the capitalists to create ‘docile bodies’. This argument comes from the fact that today’s economy is mainly characterized by high rates of inflation and underemployment. Closing in to the ‘human side’, these phenomena could bring a great deal of stress and anxiety not only psychologically, but also physically, socially, and emotionally speaking. This stress comes from a ‘cycle’ of hard work, failure, frustration, and back to hard work again. This might seem a little pessimistic, but the truth is most people would dedicate 10 hours of their lives for work, greatly hoping that it would help them achieve their dreams. Then after some time, when psychological and physical exhaustion already comes in even without the slightest view of their goal, frustration comes in. By repeating this cycle and the two phenomena described above, most Americans are now trapped in the promise of “social mobility”.
Repose to my peer’s topic
The economy affects everyone
Inflation and under-employment have really impacted the quality of life of most Americans. Personally, I know a lot of people who feels the same frustration that you were referring to. The frustration of not being able to make ends meet or go out with your friends can really have a significant impact on one’s psychological, physical, and emotional health. According to statistics, there are also a lot of couples who have been divorced due to financial problems and the anxiety that it brings to every member of one’s family. To further this problem, a lot of children are even at risk of being uneducated. Because of this, not only will the parents be stressed (due to not being able to provide for their children’s needs) but also the child. More specially when they grow up and end up not having any job because of their lack of education. Generally, I totally agree with your idea about the relationship of the swings in our economy and its effects on those people who experiences the downside of it. However, I also believe that its effects can also be felt by people in the upper class of the society, just in a different way. I think that these swings can bring frustration and anxiety when their revenues are not hitting their target marks. For most of us this might not...